Kai Fischer is perhaps most famous as the scenographer for Vanishing Point's productions: his use of a glass "fourth wall" gave Interiors, Saturday Night and Wonderland their claustrophobic intimacy, despite being designed and built on a massive scale.
A regular artist with The National Theatre of Scotland, Fischer has become a rare thing: a set designer who is perhaps as well known as a director or actor. And while Entartet contains performances by Pauline Goldsmith, it is primarily an installation inspired by one of the most popular, and controversial art events of the twentieth century: the 1937 Exhibition of Degenerate Art.
The Degenerate Art exhibition was another rare thing - a spot of Nazi propaganda that blew up in their faces. It was made up of pieces seized from public galleries, mostly modern art, and was supposed to demonstrate how artists were destroying the moral fabric of the nation. Inevitably, it became a massive success - the Nazis then decided to ban the various artists from exhibiting at all. Having failed to prove their case, they used whatever bullying tactics they had as a government.
Fischer and sound artist Matt Padden took the text of the exhibition's guide book to create an audio guide to this new installation. A reminder from history about the sometimes awkward relationship between the state and art, Entartet offers lesson in the ways that art can still challenge and scare - and how censorship can be more than just a matter of aesthetics.
Tickets for the performance element of Entartet are free, and can be booked by calling Traverse Box Office (0131 228 1404). Also available on the door up to one hour before the performance. EntartetOld Ambulance Depot, 77 Brunswick Street Edinburgh, EH7 5HSWednesday 7 and Thursday November 2012:
Installation 11am - 4.30pm / installation & performance 5.30pm - 8.30pm
Friday 9 and Saturday 10 November 2012 –
Installation 11am - 2pm / installation & performance 3pm - 6.30pm
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