Mumok Vienna Exhibition 'Natural Histories' Confronts Political Catastrophes

The Mumok museum in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier opens a thematic exhibition titled 'Natural Histories. Traces of the Political', curated by Rainer Fuchs. The English title echoes Pliny the Elder's 'Naturalis Historia', aiming to recover the Plinian sense of natural history while examining its sociological effects in the present. The exhibition is spread across multiple venues, including the space in front of the Natural History Museum, where Mark Dion presents 'The Tar Museum', a critical installation of macabre visions. The show follows a historical arc from the neo-avant-gardes of the 1960s to contemporary art, featuring 30 artists from different generations, including Joseph Beuys, Hans Haacke, Alfredo Jaar, and Mario Merz. A work by Candida Höfer depicting a giraffe in a confined space with painted savanna serves as a symbol of Africa devastated by colonialism. The exhibition runs from September 23, 2017 to January 14, 2018.