Judith Pöverlein Christian Jankowski: Spiel mir das Lied der Kunst

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This dissertation discloses the first scientific monograph concerning Christian Jankowski’s multi-layered oeuvre. Describing the German born (Göttingen, 1968) artist’s work from his early projects in the 1990s through to his direction of the Manifesta 11 as artist curator in 2016, this PhD thesis focuses on the key themes of magic, religion, and spirituality. With the work being synonymous to that of prominent artists including Martin Kippenberger, Harun Farocki, and Christoph Schlingensief, this document sets out the impact that these themes have on the threshold of the digital age.

Christian Jankowski’s work is shaped by the omnipresence of the mass medium of television. Conceptually, it covers various performances, action art, videos, and installations. Notably the movies and photography used emerge from the dichotomy between game and severity together with humour and criticism. It should be noted that Slapstick (as a style of humor) for instance is just a side effect of the Jankowski’s view. Indeed, topics such as media discourse, infiltration of media reality and daily life, the usage of role play, and the phenomenon of art without the artist are always in the foreground.

Jankowski deliberately blurs the boundaries on the interface between television and the art world until it becomes unrecognisable. He achieves this by using formats and techniques of mass media to devise new topics. This involves Jankowski sliding into various roles as the protagonist in front of the camera and enlisting non-professionals to assist with the delivery of his artistic concepts, which create satire and the figure of him as an artist. Furthermore, the art produced is also enriched with his use of non-professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds. The scenarios that help to illustrate this include:

• Delivering a casting show to find the ideal actor for Jesus.
• Consulting with fortune tellers on the artistic efforts of the young Jankowski.
• Employing professional sellers to appraise artworks on television.
• Encouraging artists suffering the creative crisis to undergo therapeutic surgery or health cures.