Performative Screenings #72
Veronika Eberhart
Scenarios for City Dwellers
The show will be closed with a 30-minutes sound/voice set by Veronika Eberhart on January 15, 7 pm
The exhibition SCENARIOS FOR CITY DWELLERS by Vienna-based artist Veronika Eberhart brings together her recent research and works around the exile years 1938 to 1948 of Austrian composer Hanns Eisler (1898-1962) and his wife Lou(ise) (1906 - 1998) in Los Angeles. Shortly after their arrival in California, they became the target of intense FBI investigations, which resulted in an elaborate series of wiretapping, tailing, and burglaries that would last six years. In 1947, Hanns Eisler had to appear before “The House Un-American Activities Committee” (HUAC). The first “secret hearings” took place at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The building, also known as the early home of the Academy Awards, served as a filming location for many movies and television shows. Eberhart’s research collects and expands on transcripts of hearings for films shot at the hotel and Lou Eisler’s archived letters.
Her new series of research-based works exploring the composer’s troubled abode consists of the film GARTEN SPRENGEN (2022), photographs, a sculpture, and a survey of recordings by the composer. Mixing archival footage, feature films, and newly shot footage – in collaboration with musician and author Ian F. Svenonius (performer) and Chloe Reye (camera) – Eberhart’s recurring interest lies in rethinking historical scenes in order to alter public narratives.
Her fine investigation of social history is driven by a search for buried layers, reflecting on the relationships between music and its social impact while stirring up different timelines.