Manuel Graf

The installations of Düsseldorf-based artist Manuel Graf (born 1978) unite architecture, film, music and art history in a tightly woven fabric of references. His works often resemble animated still lifes that are usually void of human beings but which still address questions of central importance to hu-manity. His "Woher kommt die Kunst? Oder: Über die Blüte des Menschen" (2007) looks at the idea of time and the question of how new ideas come into the world – strangely nostalgic ponderings in an age of the constant transfer of ideas, when the original is retreating further and further into the background.

Yet his work often only gives a hint of an answer to these questions, presenting just various theories and utopian approaches. The starting points for his observations come from architectural models that he uses as allegories or visualizations. The clay objects he moulds for his installations are rooted in a folkloric tradition that stands in contradiction to the technologically complex animated images and music that frame them. Instead of providing an explanation, he gives viewers plenty of space for interpretation and reflection.