Category: Uncategorized
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Japanesery
Before 1854 trade with Japan was confined to a Dutch monopoly and Japanese goods imported into Europe were for the most part confined to porcelain and lacquer ware. But when the 200-year-old Japanese foreign policy of Seclusion ended and trade between Japan and the West opened up, a sort of collection craze of Japanese art…
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Enjoying a treasure trove of art on Christmas Day
I don´t know why I thought I could finally go see the Monet exhibition at the Albertina or the Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien on Christmas Day. Vienna is completely over-crowded with tourists over the Christmas and New Year´s holidays. I had purchased an Albertina gift membership for hubby and…
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Underneath it all – the long cultural history of the head scarf at Weltmuseum Wien
Headgear doesn’t define a woman´s position, but in Austria´s (and much of Western Europe´s) current political climate, the head scarf has become a symbol-laden topic of political debate. The garment has become a veiled metaphor for something else in political rhetoric. Not coincidentally, I think, the Weltmuseum Wien now has a special exhibition, not on…
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A masterful hand – Bruegel at the KHM Vienna
The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien is showing the largest ever comprehensive exhibition of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (sometimes spelled ’Brueghel’, and sometimes even ’Breugel’ and ’Breughel’). On display are a whopping three quarters of all of his conserved paintings, plus almost half of his drawings and prints. Last week I was so lucky…
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Bodies at the Belvedere Museum
Have you ever seen walking works of art? Or looked underneath the layers of a famous painting? Now you can, at the Lower Belvedere. Instagramers Austria was invited to see and photograph two fascinating exhibitions currently on in the halls of the Belvedere Museum: Donna Huanca – Piedra Quemada, a multi-media installation involving all your…
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Where Obelix, Captain Kirk, and Han Solo mingle: The Vienna ComicCon 2018
Obelix, Captain Kirk, Han Solo, Joda, Kalisi, medieval knights… What do these characters have in common? They all roamed around side by side and rather photogenically at the Vienna ComicCon 2018. This dress-up and gaming event took place at Messe Wien from 17 to 18 November. Thanks to Instagramers Austria I had the chance to…
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In focus: old photographic views on Venice by Carlo Naya
Point and shoot, and you´ve got your beautiful view of Venice captured. It was not always so simple. A special goodie for Venice and photography lovers is currently on display at the Graphic Collection of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna: This first cabinet exhibition dedicated exclusively to photography, with a small selection of…
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Bloody murder at Musiktheater Linz
The other day I got to see a contemporary staging of Macbeth at the gorgeous Musiktheater Linz, thanks to an instawalk with Igersaustria. We got a behind-the-scenes tour of this impressive modern theatre building and then saw a stunning dance and music interpretation of Shakespeare´s timeless classic about the deadly thirst for power at any…
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A natural history of war – tracing an evolution
On Friday I was able to join an InstaWalk again with Instagramers Austria and Instagramers Vienna, at one of my favorite places, the Vienna Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien). The museum has a new exhibition on: War. Tracing an evolution. War is a somewhat unusual topic for a Natural History Museum, I think. Is war…
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Celebrating life – and death – at Semperdepot
It hard not to be sad when thinking about the passing of loved ones, but the Mexicans make a pretty good job of it. The Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, is a celebration of life and death. On All Soul´s Day, when central Europeans somberly visit their dead at graveyards, putting candles and…
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