We’ve long argued that there are more ways than ever to see the world, and in recent years, art has become one of them. Every summer is a season for cultural exploration with events like the Venice Biennales for Art or Architecture, documenta, Art Basel, the Berlin Biennale, or, in another ten years, Manifesta, and guides like Where About Now are making it easier than ever to take part in less conventional art tourism. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Do It Yourself (in the Alps)
Maybe you don’t want to go to the art, maybe you want to be the art… Typically, when one thinks Austria their mind conjures images of cozy alpine villages, soaring mountains, and, of course, apple strudel. Yet Austria also has a long and rich creative history—think Erwin Wurm, Valie Export, Kiki Kögelnik, Richard Neutra, and Hans Hollein, just to name a few. More recently, four young creatives—dancer Christina Zauner, musician Tom O’Marsh, film director Markus Gasser, and photographer Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek—explored Austria on their own terms, capturing moments of discovery and beauty. Read more about the Art of Discovery project from Österreich Werbung here.
Traditional Beauty
German Expressionism, one of the most recognizable art movements to come out of Germany, began in Upper Bavaria, between Munich, Murnau and Kochel. That this picturesque region could spawn an entire movement comes as no surprise: lakes merge into fields of tall grass, skirting traditional Alpine villages. All the while the mountains loom tall in the background. Here, museums at the Bernried by Starnberger See, Kochelsee, and Staffelsee, have collections dedicated to the Expressionist movement and the artists who transformed both the time and the landscape into a new language of visual expression. More information about the region from Bayern Tourismus, as well as the “Museum Landscape Expressionism,” can be found here.
One on One
This is one of those times that “off the beaten path” becomes the destination. Every summer Bad Gastein hosts sommer.frische.kunst in the pristine mountains of the Gastein region. This summer, the event runs from July 6–August 31, 2018 playing host to exhibitions, studio visits, and workshops with resident artists including Clemens Hollerer, Simon Modersohn, Frederike von Cranach, Anna Maja Spiess, Naneci Yurdagül, and Magdacewicz. The region is breathtaking, so be sure to plan enough time for Alpine hikes between studio visits. More information about sommer.frische.kunst here.
Become a (Temporary) Resident
Perhaps you’d rather not travel to the art, but would rather actually live inside it. With platforms like BoutiqueHomes, a hand-picked selection of architectural gems from the forests of Brazil to the fjords of Norway, it’s possible for art and architecture lovers to pick the home based on architect. For example, this 1970s Brutalist home in Rio’s Santa Teresa neighborhood overlooks the rainforest and was designed by renowned Brazilian architect Wladimir Alves de Souza. And who wouldn’t want to spend a few days in a Le Corbusier-designed studio in the UNESCO-registered “Radiant City” in Marseille or one of the two harmonious homes by luminary Frank Lloyd Wright found on site.
Images:
Caspar David Friedrich
Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer, um 1817
Öl auf Leinwand, 94,8 x 74,8 cm
Hamburger Kunsthalle
© SHK / Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk / Photo: Elke Walford
Courtesy of Österreich Werbung
The Art of Discovery
Courtesy of Franz Marc, Eselsfries, 1911
Franz Marc Museum, Kochel a. See
Permanent Loan from Private Collection
Courtesy of the Franz Marc Museum
Erich Heckel, Parksee, 1914
Franz Marc Museum, Kochel a. See
Permanent Loan from Private Collection
Courtesy of the Franz Marc Museum
Courtesy of Gasteinertal Tourismus
Location: Stubnerkogel
Courtesy of BoutiqueHomes
Location: Saddle Peak Topanga, LA, California
Designed by Sant Architects
