“Modern design classics, collectors’ objects, luxury goods, and industrial mass taste – that’s the spectrum that interests me. The Tobias cantilever chair of transparent plastic and chrome-plated tubular steel, can be purchased for 89.99 euros at IKEA. At xxxlutz, there are cantilever chairs from 29.90 to 289 Euro, in imitation leather, fabric, or Viennese wicker for ‘dining in style’!” (Jun Yang, 2023)

The overwhelming number of Bauhaus furniture designs are produced by three companies today: Knoll International, Tecta, and Thonet. Bauhaus furniture is sought after. In addition to the originals, there are faithfully reproduced objects and licensed reissues. There is also a large market for unauthorized copies. The work of the artist Jun Yang starts with the latter: He furnishes the Bauhaus Building with famous Bauhaus furniture of very different origin. Their construction, use of materials, and quality of production reflect a wide spectrum of interpretation. With his work Yang is initiating a discourse how to approach the legacy of the Bauhaus, its continued existence, but also transfers from industrially produced furniture to the design icon, the copy, and the fetish as well as from the legally punishable pirate copy to the work of art. Last but not least, Yang raises questions about rights of use and exploitation, about who has and who doesn’t have which rights.

The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation invites you to the opening of Jun Yang’s exhibition “More than real” this Friday evening.

Programme

Conference

Sat, 28 Sept 2024, 11 am – 4 pm
Bauhaus Building, Auditorium