"Robert Kunec's work, which deals with the phenomenon of suicide bombing, is convicting and unique. It delivers an impressive image of the inner workings of which to take control of the subject in absolute terms."
Expert Views
Prof. Dr. Eugen Blume
Director at the Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof
"After 9/11, there was an almost inflationary attempt within the contemporary art world to evaluate the images of this singular event so aestheticized by the media. Robert Kunec´s work, which deals with the phenomenon of suicide bombing, is convicting and unique. It delivers an impressive image of the inner workings of which to take control of the subject in absolute terms. It asks: >>What role does the person behind the uniform play in a religiously motivated conflict? The image that Kunec has found oscillates between a building kit and a bomb. Both of these are of a mechanical nature and they illustrate the complex idea of subjectivity within inter-cultural context, with one of its most extreme examples..."
Dr. Noemi Smolik
Art Historian
"Terrorism. It affects everything. Though rarely contemporary art. The subject is too hot, too political, too dangerous perhaps. Despite this fact, one who does dare to seek out images of terror, a willingness to self sacrifice, fanaticism and religious delusion, is the young artist Robert Kunec. It's a path that has taken him to the boundaries of the acceptable and the utterable. His proposed installation for the exhibition accompanying a prize awarded to him by the Halleschen Sparkasse, "Dead Man 2.0 / Dance with Death" sparked intense controversy..."
Dr. Johannes Stahl
Lecturer at Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Archäologien Europas
"Political Plastic: this is a highly contaminated landfill of visual art. Religious tradition is an inspirational force when the subject of political morality is at issue, complete with fighting angels, martyrs, apostles and other prophets with various religious messages. This influence is tangible in Robert Kunec´s work. The fact that he knows the rules of this iconographic system and how he does what he does with them, are just the first indications thereof. Another equally important aspect of his work is his role as an artist. He is interested in the readability of his art as political and moral statement, as well as seeking a balance between questions pertaining to art and the integration of these into a more public discourse..."
"After 9/11, there was an almost inflationary attempt within the contemporary art world to evaluate the images of this singular event so aestheticized by the media. Robert Kunec´s work, which deals with the phenomenon of suicide bombing, is convicting and unique. It delivers an impressive image of the inner workings of which to take control of the subject in absolute terms. It asks: >>What role does the person behind the uniform play in a religiously motivated conflict? The image that Kunec has found oscillates between a building kit and a bomb. Both of these are of a mechanical nature and they illustrate the complex idea of subjectivity within inter-cultural context, with one of its most extreme examples..."