Muzeum Sztuki's 'The Earth Is Flat Again' Examines Science, Conspiracy, and Alternative Knowledge
Between September 24, 2021, and February 27, 2022, Łódź, Poland's Muzeum Sztuki hosted an exhibition titled 'The Earth Is Flat Again,' curated by Jakub Gawkowski. This showcase included twenty-one pieces from more than twenty global artists, such as Carolyn Lazard, Mark Lombardi, and Michael Stevenson, addressing challenges to established scientific beliefs. It utilized the flat Earth concept as a metaphor to examine how to critique science without falling into denialism. This exhibition was part of a larger museum initiative that featured 'Atlas of Modernity. Exercises' (launched on October 1, 2021) and 'The Avant-garde Museum' (running from October 15, 2021, to May 1, 2022), set against Poland's political backdrop under the Law and Justice party and Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'The Earth Is Flat Again' ran from September 24, 2021 to February 27, 2022 at Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, Poland.
- Curated by Jakub Gawkowski, it featured over twenty artists and twenty-one artworks exploring science, conspiracy, and alternative knowledge.
- Artists included Carolyn Lazard, Mark Lombardi, Michael Stevenson, Suzanne Treister, Szymon Kobylarz, Zuza Piekoszewska, Lu Yang, Cian Dayrit, Tabita Rezaire, Diana Lelonek, Luiza Prado de O. Martins, and Jakub Woynarowski.
- The exhibition used the flat Earth as a metaphor for questioning scientific paradigms, universality, and progress in the context of global pandemic and environmental crisis.
- It connected to the museum's permanent exhibition 'Atlas of Modernity. Exercises' (inaugurated October 1, 2021) and 'The Avant-garde Museum' (October 15, 2021-May 1, 2022).
- The museum's history dates to the 1920s 'a.r.' group, involving artists Władysław Strzemiński and Katarzyna Kobro.
- Political context includes Poland's Law and Justice party under Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński affecting cultural institutions like Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art and Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw.
- Curator Jakub Gawkowski previously organized 'The Most Beautiful Catastrophe' (2019) at Kronika Center for Contemporary Art in Bytom.
Entities
Artists
- Carolyn Lazard
- Mark Lombardi
- Michael Stevenson
- Suzanne Treister
- Szymon Kobylarz
- Zuza Piekoszewska
- Lu Yang
- Cian Dayrit
- Tabita Rezaire
- Diana Lelonek
- Luiza Prado de O. Martins
- Jakub Woynarowski
- Władysław Strzemiński
- Katarzyna Kobro
- Hulk Hogan
- James Irwin
Institutions
- Muzeum Sztuki
- Kronika Center for Contemporary Art
- Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art
- Zachęta National Gallery of Art
- Duke University Press
- Verso Books
- Fernand Braudel Center
- ARTMargins Online
- The Art Newspaper
- Law and Justice party
- Macy Conferences
Locations
- Łódź
- Poland
- Warsaw
- Bytom
- New York
- United States
- Brazil
- Durham
- London
- Maracanã
- Pedras
- Gedes