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EN
artists & participants
,
Anonymous,
Marion Auburtin,
Beni Bischof,
Barbara Breitenfellner,
Jake & Dinos Chapman,
Insane Clown Posse,
Deichkind,
Der Plan,
Birgit Dieker,
Guerrilla Girls,
Uwe Henneken,
Joker,
Killer Klowns From Outer Space,
Krusty,
Jani Leinonen,
Ronald Mcdonald,
Erwin Olaf,
Pennywise,
Abner Preis,
Claus Richter,
Roee Rosen,
Aura Rosenberg,
Cindy Sherman,
Super A,
The Cacophony Society,
The Residents,
Jeffrey Vallance
curators
press release
ʻDangerous clowns are standing by the side of the roadʼ, sang the Düsseldorf band “Der Plan” as early as 1979. The exhibition Evil Clowns explores the often disquieting figure of the clown, which has made an “uncanny” career in recent years. Today (evil) clowns appear in a wide range of contexts including (anti-)advertisement (Ronald McDonald and various spoofs), political activism (The Cacophony Society, The Yes Men), TV series (Krusty in The Simpsons), horror films and Hollywood productions (Killer Klowns from Outer Space; Pennywise in Stephen Kingʼs It; the Joker as Batmanʼs opponent), pop music (Der Plan, The Residents) and contemporary art (Cindy Sherman). The masqueraded jester makes us laugh– but with a laughter that quickly gets stuck in our throats: Thereʼs Nothing Funny About a Clown in the Moonlight (Lon Chaney). This was again demonstrated recently by the Northampton Clown. The international exhibition Evil Clowns _reloaded at Kunstpalais Erlangen, which before took place at Hartware MedienKunstverein Dortmund, explores this ambivalent character. ʼSend in the clowns!ʼ (Frank Sinatra)
Evil Clowns_reloaded includes videos, video installations, photographs, drawings, music videos, books, archival material, a.o.