esbelto

Months ago, a classmate of mine informed me about a Vienna-based artist collaborative that creates both built and performance installations. Their Weltwunder piece in 2000 is a particular favorite of mine—visitors had to dive under water to reach the installation 3 meters below the ground. There, below the known surface, a world of wonder emerged.

Another project, in the form of a short film (shot in the USA and Mexico), is titled Naked Cleaning, 2000. This film, set to a soundtrack of music and a female voice-over, shows four of the male artists cleaning a house while wearing nothing but high-heeled shoes. The artists playfully sexualize (or attempt to sexualize) the act of executing the daily chores—arguably challenging the socially-pressured masculine ideal while at the same time questioning the (unrealistic?) male fantasy of the 1950’s hausfrau. As for a visual, picture an advertisement for Comet all-purpose cleaner modeled by that 1950’s housewife (with facial hair and external genitalia).