october 14, 2022 - Ludwig Museum

Smaller Worlds - Diorama in contemporary art

Bazaar spectacle, a tool for scientific illustration, children's toy, or therapeutic method? As the love child of art and the entertainment industry, since the beginning of the 20th century the diorama has been a beloved, though nowadays often critically viewed presentational medium of natural science museums. This presentational format that combines painting methods, stage design and optical illusion, aims to present natural scientific or anthropological results and theories to laypersons as an immersive installation, conveying the illusion of reality within the limited space of a box.

However, the origins of the diorama are rooted much more in visual arts than in the natural sciences. #louisdaguerre, the French painter heralded as the pioneer of photography, presented the prototype of diorama in Paris in the 19th century. He placed layers of grandiose painted canvases on top of each other, which he brought to life with projected light effects.

Other than its educative purposes, much like the so-called peep show and the doll house (which gained popularity in the second half of the 19th century), the diorama achieves a visceral effect in the spectator through a deep psychological mechanism. Here, the mischievous thrill of voyeurism meets other-worldly mistery and the absolute control over this fantasy world. With their secrecy and obscurity, peep shows were able to show the unspeakable and undepictable, hence becoming the form of expression for grotesque and horroristic fiction over time. In close kinship with the diorama, miniature doll houses are popular therapeutic tools in child psychology for processing trauma.

The contemporary works displayed at this exhibition make use of the complex mode of action of the diorama, to render our inextricable modern world accessibleand intelligible not only for the spectator but also for the artist. The works presented take on layers of almost mystical connotations. They awake a childlike wonder in us, allowing a glimpse into another dimension, be it science-fictional, scary, or simply an expression of our subconscious.

In terms of their format, the works presented here at #ludwigmuseum range from scientific, field-table-like representations (Ádám ALBERT, Kata TRANKER), through eclectic collections (György BP SZABÓ, Zsili Bertalan BABOS), to works evoking doll houses (Eva GONGGRIJP, Eszter SZABÓ). Multiple works evoke a grotesque dreamworld (László KARÁCSONYI, Géza SZÖLLŐSI, Pista HORROR, Janie GEISER). We may come across miniature worlds (Curtis SANTIAGO), as well as monumental immersive installations (Tracey SNELLING). We step out of the limited space defined by the model's box, to become a part of the world of the diorama (Alexandra CROUWERS, Daniel ERNST).

Using the tools of #contemporaryart, these diverse artistic attitudes explore the different forms of appearance of the diorama-feeling and its receptive mechanism.