Andreas Heusser

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Andreas Heusser
Andreas Heusser.jpg
Andreas Heusser in the mobile exhibition space of the No Show Museum, 2015
Born1976
Education Philosophy, German literature
Alma mater University of Zurich
Occupation(s)artist, art curator
Years active2013 - present
Website www.andreasheusser.com

Andreas Heusser (born 1976) is a Swiss conceptual artist and curator based in Zurich and Johannesburg.

Contents

Education

After completing an intermediate diploma in psychology in 2001, Andreas Heusser studied philosophy and German literature at the University of Zurich where he graduated with a master's degree in both subjects in 2003. Between 2011 and 2013, he attended the Bern University of Arts and attained a master's degree in contemporary arts practice (fine arts). [1]

Career


In 2013, Heusser developed the No Show Museum, a museum dedicated to the various manifestations of nothingness throughout the history of art. [2] The museum has a mobile presentation space in a converted postal car. [3] In 2015, the No Show Museum started a world tour. The first stage lasted from July to October 2015 through Europe, staging around 30 exhibitions in 20 different countries, before the museum arrived in Italy and participated at the 56th Venice Art Biennale. [4] In the summer of 2016, the mobile museum was shipped from Europe to America, where an 80-day exhibition tour led from New York to Canada, then to the West Coast of the U.S., and finally to Baja California Sur, Mexico. [5] The third stage of the world tour took place from 2017 to 2018 and led from Mexico through the countries of Central America to Colombia. [6] The fourth stage took place in 2018 through Western Europe with exhibitions in France, Spain, and Portugal, including a show at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon. [7]

During the 2020 pandemic, Heusser began to explore the topics of fake news and conspiracy theories. His original artistic plan was to create a kind of ethnological museum where all the conspiracy myths would be presented from the perspective of their supporters as well as the critical view of science. However, due to the sheer volume of data and stories, this project turned out to be not feasible. Instead, Heusser used his research to create the board game "Comploty", which he claims is the first game based on real-life conspiracy theories. It provides background information and anecdotes about more than 100 current conspiracy theories. [8] The players slip into the role of powerful elites who are working behind the scenes towards world domination. In addition to texts, graphics and illustrations, the implementation of the project also includes 3D design, videos, animations, web content, social media content, AI elements and diffusion strategies. The project breaks with the usual conditions of reception by presenting the artwork in the unusual form of a board game. [9]

Political art projects

As an artist, Heusser first became known for a series of satirical long-term projects that attempt to bridge the gap between art and activism, among them:

All three were fictional organizations which imitated and parodied real institutions. The projects mainly took place outside of art institutions, and involved counterfeiting websites, propaganda videos, press releases, social media posts, and other forms of dissemination. [13] Tactics like provocation, public interventions, and hoaxes were used to create controversy and generate media coverage in dominant media outlets. [14] Despite the satiric content, the fake organizations and fictitious characters were often mistaken as legitimate. [15]

Curatorial works

Awards and grants

See also

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References

  1. cf. List of students, 2010/
  2. "No Show Museum", www.noshowmuseum.com
  3. "Das Nichts ist unser aller Horizont". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2015-05-27.
  4. Steiner, Juri; Zweifel, Stefan (2015-11-22). "Pro Helvetia's platform to present the Swiss contributions to the Venice Biennials". biennials.ch. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  5. Brainard Carey (July 11, 2016). "Andreas Heusser". Interviews from Yale Radio (Podcast).
  6. Dargel, Beatrix (Jan 2018). "Nichts zu sehen!" (PDF). Kultur & Technik. Deutsches Museum (Hsg.).
  7. "Nothing matters – Icons of the void | MAAT". Maat.pt. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  8. "Comploty – Brettspiel aus Verschwörungstheorien". SRF 1 (in German). 2023-12-20.
  9. "Was wäre, wenn alle Verschwörungstheorien wahr wären". Tele Top (in German). 2023-12-22.
  10. Waffen für Kids? Jetzt reichts!, Blick am Abend, 18 November 2009
  11. cf. "Sammeltag für Ausländer, Bundesplatz Bern". olafschweiz (2010-11-26), "Beissende Ironie: Wie Satiriker auf populistische Kampagnen reagieren". SF 1 (2010-12-01)
  12. "ARD Tagesthemen vom 15 June 2011 über CHASOS" ARD (2011-08-15)
  13. "Provokation verbreitet sich im Internet". www.kampagnenpraxis.de.
  14. "ARD-Tagesthemen über OLAF", ARD (2011-08-15).
  15. cf.:
  16. "Aktuell - Openair Literatur Festival Zürich". literaturopenair.ch (in German). 2016-03-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2019-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. "Die besten Momente mit John Cleese". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  18. "Das Institut" (in German). 2016-03-07. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  19. "Puppen, Coci – Das Skandal-Interview mit dem Kaufleuten-Kulturchef". Kulturkanal11 (2011-04-24)
  20. "Freiraum". wort und wirkung (in German). 2016-03-17. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  21. "City of Zurich Art Grants". CH-ZH: stadt-zuerich.ch. Retrieved 2019-07-12.