In what is also known as 'the Inflatable Era', inflatable architecture was manufactured as a prerequisite for a new, nomadic way of life. Space travel served as the inspiration for these capsules. However, are these high-tech hide-outs post-human or not?
This text by Bart Lootsma was originally published in the accompanying catalog of the exhibition. You can find the full catalog here. In 1972 the Club of Rome publishes the report The Limits to Growth, making it clear that the earth’s natural resources are finite. The 1973 oil crisis makes the gravity of this situation even more apparent. In 1975, OPEC, the Vienna-based organization of oilproducing countries, was the target of one of the first major terrorist attacks in Austria.
The oil crisis and environmental issues have led to an international reconsideration of the technological fascinations of the avant-gardes of the 1960s. The Haus-Rucker-Co collective, in particular, reflects in sometimes very large installations on the consequences of environmental pollution.
Related Deep Dive articles
“A little world in which the big one holds its tryouts”, is how guest curator and professor Bart Lootsma describes the development of Austrian avant-garde movements in the 20th century. In this lecture series, Lootsma places the so-called ‘Radical Austria’ of the 1960s in the context of...
The need for radical change manifested itself in post-war Austria in a series of megalomanic urban designs. These projects share an obsession with technology and infrastructure and a drive to create completely new ways of living together.
Visiting the exhibition, you will receive the accompanying catalog. It documents both the technical information of all exhibited works, as well as substantive texts to contextualize important makers and themes. You can find the...