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Art and the quest to arrive - a guided tour about the balance between fall and rise

A wide variety of people came together to take part in Pia Beckmann's guided tour and the subsequent discussion. As part of “MAD my way”, she gave insights into her view of art.

Visitors encountered works of art that not only address arrival, but also the complex emotional landscapes associated with it. The exhibition led through three areas: “Between the poles”, “Sensibilities” and “And today?”. It challenged viewers to engage intensively with their own lives and the questions of identity, hope and pain.

In the first section of the exhibition, visitors are confronted with Lange's painting “A” - a symbol of beginnings and security. But life is rarely so harmonious. The paintings by Robert Höfling and the sculptures by Mutsuo Hirano depict the constant alternation between fall and rise, between the experience of pain and the longing for redemption, as is also evident in Winfried Muthesius' “Cross”. These works show man as a being in constant confrontation with his own inner and outer conflicts.

The second part of the tour raised fundamental questions about our own identity: Who are we and what prevents us from living our true selves? Eckart Hahn's modern interpretation of the “Adoration of the Magi” is shown on a provocative yellow wall. It encourages viewers to reflect on consumption, brands and appearances. In this context, the question arises: What do we really worship? What keeps us caught up in ourselves?

In the third and final section of the exhibition, the works of Diana Buts and Johannes Grützke look at the dramatic changes in today's world. Buts' works illustrate the brutal effects of war on real people, while Grützke's version of the “Flagellation of Christ” is a disturbing depiction of violence and perversion. Both works encourage a critical examination of today's world and pose the question of when and how we can take a stand against injustice and violence.

The unusual tour offered no simple answers, but instead challenged visitors to confront the complex and often contradictory aspects of life. Almost automatically, visitors began to reflect on their own arrival - both in terms of their own identity and with regard to society and the world in which we live. A lively exchange of ideas, diverse conversations, hearty laughter and the courage to ask questions could be experienced at the subsequent get-together.

This shows that striving to arrive is not just an individual journey, but also a collective process that we can shape more easily with mutual interest in each other.