The ear is a frequently used motif in the visual arts, whether in the work of Jan Vermeer (1632-1675), Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), Salvador Dali (1904-1989), Meret Oppenheim (1913-1985) or Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997). The latter did not want to "cut off an ear every day", an allusion that serves the clichéd image of the artist as a tortured genius - and thus also refers to the most famous painter of Post-Impressionism, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Julia Bornefeld's (*1963) sculpture "sentire" (2020) - Italian for "feeling" - is a successful intervention in public space that may be reminiscent of the human organ, but retains something alien due to its location. Looking at this bronze object is not about understanding, but about an emotional appeal. Bornefeld's "Ear" is the second installation of this sensory organ by an artist in public space in Innsbruck, alongside Isa Genzken's (*1948) photographic reproduction (2002) on the town hall.
Exterior façade of the Ferdinandeum
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