light and black
series of 176 drawings + graphic novel
[about art work and the museum]
light and black, Galerie Modulart, 176 drawings, ink on paper, 119x129 cm each frame, 2014-2018
light and black 1/4, ink on paper, 119x129 cm, 2014-2018
detail, ink on paper, 15x12 cm each, 2014-2018
light and black 2/4, ink on paper, 119x129 cm, 2014-2018
“On the one hand, Kone sees his work as having a documentary function […] and on the other hand, he aims to put the hierarchies and value attributions in the museum up for discussion. A museum’s guard, for whom the rounds in the museum simply mean work, hardly distinguishes between more and less significant works of art and the things and props that make up the museum. Though, the artist's pencil automatically elevates everything to the level of art, whether it's the floor or a Picasso painting.”
Michael Huber, Kurier, January 22, 2019, p.25
(translated from German)
light and black 3/4, ink on paper, 119x129 cm, 2014-2018
detail, six drawings, ink on paper, 15x12 cm each, 2014-2018
staple of 176 original drawings, ink on paper, 15x12x12 cm
the book with this series: concept by Walter Pamminger, texts by Bastian Schneider
light and black
The series light and black consists of 176 small ink drawings on paper, 15 x 12 cm each. They are framed in four “paragraphs” à 44 pieces each. In this series, drawing is used as a medium of visual reporting, in the sense of a drawing that brings something back. It illustrates a lonely route at night through the Albertina museum and graphic art collection in Vienna, where Moussa Kone worked as a student as a museum's guard, mostly during events at night.
The idea for light and black was developed by the artist when the Albertina museum bought a large series of drawings (they called me a drawer, 2013) for their graphic art collection. Light and black now brings together the view of the artist and the view of an employee on this art institution. The drawings talk about the different spheres of labor and values connected with the art world, cultural work and the art business.
The series was produced between 2014 and 2018 in revisits of the scene and shows views and details from the public exhibition halls and those areas behind the scenes of a museum, which are usually not accessible for the visitors: basements, offices, storage spaces, server rooms, catering kitchens, emergency escape routes, hidden doors, etc.
The complete series was published as a graphic novel by Sonderzahl. The art book is a collaboration with Walter Pamminger, who is responsible for the entire book concept, and author Bastian Schneider, who wrote texts for the drawings (see the books section for more information).
The title of this series, light and black, quotes one line of Bastian Schneider’s text for the art book. In German it is entitled Eine Naht aus Licht und Schwarz (A Seam of Light and Black).