Sagmeister and Walsh: beauty trail with a relaxing character

At first, it is almost serious: if two funny monkeys had seized all the portico in 2015, there is now a dramatically lit peabad, on which hangs a huge bellows installation: an object consisting of 270 garbage bags whites breathing like an oversized lung; symmetrical, simple, clear, balanced, well proportioned, created according to the criteria that our dopamine receptors are said to be beautiful – a first worship of Sagmeister and Walsh.

And that's what "beauty" is: the exhibition is, as Stefan Sagmeister gleefully says in the interview with ORF.at, a "revival of beauty experience". A more complete thesis, as the basic thesis of the exhibition shows, is that beauty, as it is called at the beginning, is not considered very popular during the 20th and 21st centuries. centuries.

Ornament and crime

The Adolf Loos dogma of inappropriate and useless ornamentation has led "designers and designers to become almost psychotic in uniformity". "It's not a pessimistic culture," says Sagmeister, "but it's like that. But it's better. "To show how things would be better, this exhibition project began, up to the toilets and embroidery of the fire extinguisher, again on the four floors of the Museum of Art." Applied Arts (MAK), an exception as in 2015.

Auslandsösterreicher spoiled by success

It is also Sagmeister, who works there: the Vorarlberger is the Austrian exporter in terms of design and – as a former student of the house – so to speak on the game at home here, which we rejoice accordingly. Sagmeister can not complain of a lack of recognition: this 56-year-old man, who has been living in New York since 1993 and has designed record covers for the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed and Talking Heads, has received six Grammy nominations and two awards.

For six years now, Sagmeister has been a common cause with 25-year-old Walsh. For some time, both have been exploring beauty together: Last Pavilion in the Austrian Pavilion until 25.11. Biennale of architecture underway in Venice – and now at MAK.

That's how good security is

Back on the portico, the first big object: this is deceiving in the sense that the world of beauty of the two star designers is not fundamentally minimalist. On the contrary – like the "Happy Show", "Beauty" is a joyful, rich entertainment, highly entertaining and multimedia-based adventure course, with cleverly presented facts, commercial-type movies and a series of interactive stations. "Beauty Archives" was developed from the collection of the house. The video on Virgin Atlantic safety instructions is a real eye-catcher: for Sagmeister and Walsh, an example, why "beautiful" is also "functional":

The infotainment as a treasure hunt

In short, a very sensual exhibition, which has treasure hunting qualities and – unlike many self-organized tours – is really fun. But this time, something sober disappears: instead of chewing gum or Sagmeister's Lieblingszuckerln, you receive with the bill five embossed pieces in your hand. With these, you can vote on the best perfume (including "fresh bread" and "a molecule"), the most beautiful form and the most beautiful color – and it is already clear who is on the losing side. What is considered beautiful or ugly is quite similar in the world: the latter, for example, the brown color and the rectangle. Why most buildings are then brown stones, Sagmeister and Walsh rightly ask themselves here.

The discoverers can also venture into the "sensory room" of Swarowski, a claustrophobic, who presents us with what is supposed to be the most beautiful: the colors of the sunset, the sounds of the flying frog of Malaysia and the citrus scent. And there is also a room where you can hear the favorite song of Sagmeister and Walsh: Yes, this time too, the show is subjectively colored and designed very selectively, which – like this little musical party berth – also has a crazy charm.

Colorful slums for Western consciousness

As a central message, Sagmeister and Walsh try to convey a message above all else: beauty and functionality are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary: "In purely functional areas, we feel not only worse, but also we behave less well," said Stefan Sagmeister in an interview. In this sense, Sagmeister and Walsh painted the lettering "Yes" on Brooklyn's worst underpbad – resulting in a wonderful transformation: what was once used as a urinal is now a hot spot for photography. wedding. In Tirana and Sao Paolo favela, colorful house painting has even reduced crime rates and increased housing satisfaction. Which is great in itself – one doubt then a little.

Is not the colored painting of the slums above all a cosmetic surface, which shows us that "those" still have a good life? In any case, this is only one example of why the Platonic equation "beautiful = good = true", so well placed in the stairwell, is not the ideal motto. Sagmeister and Walsh turn out to be packaging artists and packaging artists in some places – but what they do not really feel about this unconventional exhibition path.