Pointen und andere Höhepunkte. Rundgang durch die Kunsttage mit Len Schaller

What do you call a sailor who never washes?

Punchlines have a bad reputation. They are often said to be shallow, reductive, if not even tasteless. This seemingly places them in stark contrast to art, which is supposed to be multi-layered, profound, and nuanced. But what happens when art plays with punchlines?

Punchlines, like many other highlights, are turning points. After a slow build-up comes the resolution. The mystery becomes clear, the contradiction is resolved. In jokes, just as with roller coasters or the 'point of no return,' there is a moment of release, of liberation.

For the Kunsttage Basel 2024, we are exploring what happens when humour is taken seriously. Can humour in art create new perspectives? Or is it more about facing the crises of the present with calculated distance? Together, we search for punchlines and other highlights. We support the Hotel Regina collective in the Galerie Durchgang as they sort screws and discover the humour-infused works of Cassidy Toner and Kaspar Ludwig at BOLO PUBLISHING in YOLO & BOLO. Lust*Art, in their celebration of difference and monstrosity, invites us to sensual rather than pointed highlights. Finally, at For in Melting Point, we learn how to keep a cool head and why we might sometimes choose not to. And for those who haven't guessed it by then, we'll also reveal what you call unwashed sailors.

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Len Schaller is a curator. Len has been involved in various exhibitions, including as co-curator of 'Heute Nacht geträumt. Eine Ausstellung von Ruth Buchanan' at the Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart and as curator of 'Cat’s Cradle' at the Kunsthalle Basel. In 2023, as part of a research grant from Atelier Mondial, Len explored possibilities of queer, anti-fascist resistance in the life and work of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. Currently, Len is an assistant curator at the Kunstmuseum Basel.

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This German-speaking tour is conducted on foot and starts at Lust*Art, at Gartenstrasse 145, 4052 Basel. Participation is free, and registration is binding. 

Anmeldung Freitag / Anmeldung Samstag / Anmeldung Sonntag

Created as part of the queer-feminist "Luststreifen Film Festival Basel", Lust*Art creates a safer space in which lust, dreams, different forms of love, fluidity, intersectionality, sex and body positivity come to life. Group exhibition curated by Alessandra Leta, Pietro Vitali and Gin Burri.