Installations

Installation of printed glass panes that were shot at, video, 2012

Based on the reknowned picture "The Shooting of the Insurgents" by Francesco Goya the artists asked two Polish officers to shoot at five panes of glass with motifs by Adolf Menzel printed on them. These illustrations were first published in 1840 in Franz Kugler's biography of Frederick the Great, and made not only Menzel instantetly famous but also greatly contributed to the proliferation of the positive image of Frederick the Great in German society and history.

 

The shooting was documented on video.
The broken glass panes were installed on the site of the former palace courtyard. Smaller pieces of glass, which are also printed with fragments of Menzel's motifs, were distributed in the area.
With their project, the artists refer to the Friedrich receptions in Germany and Poland, which diverge greatly.
While in Germany prevails a culturalist perception of Frederick II (enlightened, art-loving, tolerant ruler, first servant of the state, etc.), whose military successes paved Prussia's rise to power, in Poland Frederick II  is preceived above all as the author the First Partition of Poland and aggressor, whose politics led to the complete demise of the Polish state.
The double-edgedness and longevity of positive, glorifying icons à la Menzel, but also of the negative, subconscious stereotypes, becomes evident in the pile of broken glass put on scene by URBAN ART. 

Feel free to pocket the shards of glass printed with myths of Frederick and take them it with you as a souvenir from the fortress - but careful not to cut yourself.