Money, Good and Evil
An exhibition in Baden-Baden looks at the different sides to money.
When an art exhibition has Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble as its patron, it is not hard to imagine what it will be about: money. “Money, Good and Evil” is the title of an exhibition in Baden-Baden that is showcasing more than 120 works spanning the period from 1264 to the present day at the Staatliche Kunsthalle, the Casino, the Stadtmuseum and the city’s theatre.
The 2016 Grand State Exhibition is exploring how artists have portrayed the subject of money and the way we use it. It looks at the manifold emotional, psychological and moral implications of money and the way in which it can appear “good” in one century, “evil” in another, and at times almost invisible.
Dealing in money is frowned upon
For many centuries, dealing in money was frowned upon in Europe. This is why the sixteenth century genre painter Marinus van Reymerswaele, in his painting that is now on show at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, gave the money changers such grotesque, avaricious faces. They grasp the silver coins with their claw-like hands. The respectable Antwerp merchants were not deterred by this depiction and happily bought the pictures – eight versions of the money changer paintings exist to this day. The Kunsthalle is also exhibiting around 120 other artworks, including those by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol.
The history of Baden-Baden Casino, which was established in 1838 by Jacques Bénazet, is the starting point for the exhibition on show there: the artworks, which are exhibited in between the gambling tables, are about how people play for high stakes on today’s markets. Art, which takes an ironical look at the art market, is just as much a focus here as objects which reflect the casino that is the financial markets before and after the most recent financial crisis in 2008.
The huge popularity of Monopoly
The exhibition at the Stadtmuseum charts the ambivalent history of Monopoly, a game which originated in the crisis-ridden years of the early twentieth century. Although originally intended to be anti-monopolistic, the game became more and more popular over the years, first in America and then worldwide. The presentation of the games in the exhibition is accompanied by photographs of a social documentary nature from the dark reality of the Great Depression. As part of the Grand State Exhibition, the Theater Baden-Baden is staging Elfriede Jelinek’s play “Wirtschaftskomödie” (i.e. An Economic Comedy).
“Money, Good and Evil – A Visual History of the Economy” until 19 June 2016 in Baden-Baden
