Komödie des Daseins

Whether satire or parody, employing ridicule and grotesqueries has always been effective in venting against rigid patterns and hierarchical value systems throughout history. This volume discusses what there is in museums to laugh about, alluding in the process to Friedrich Nietzsche, who described life as a comedy that could only be encountered with laughter and dancing. This is the first comprehensive view of the concrete history of humor in the fine arts-a topic that has undergone little exploration until now-and it presents the broad terrain of humor and comedy in Western art from antiquity onward.

In dealing with the subject, the Kunsthaus Zug also presents an experimental setup featuring antique vases, leaflets, magazines, paintings, sculptures, and videos: what may irritate one person can trigger resounding laughter in another.

Exhibition: Kunsthaus Zug, September 23, 2018 - January 6, 2019