Drama Queens

Since the turn of the century, the Danish-Norwegian artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset have made a mark for themselves with works of art that are highly critical of modern society and institutions. In the video Drama Queens, which was their entry to the decennial Skulptur Projekte Münster in 2007, they take aim at the world of art by means of humour, irony, and sarcasm.

The video shows a puppet theatre with six iconic sculptures serving as actors on a stage. Personifying their respective creators (Jeff Koons, Barbara Hepworth, Alberto Giacometti, Ulrich Rückriem, Hans Arp, and Sol LeWitt), the sculptures move around on stage and talk with one another. A discussion begins, at first thoughtful and analytical, but then ever more vicious. Different temperaments and personalities emerge as Hepworth’s sculpture Elegy III interacts with Rückriem’s massive Untitled and Koons’ hyperactive Rabbit. Instead of coming across as high art, the sculptures become ever more petty, self-righteous, arrogant, and moody. Drama Queens explores the function and significance of the spaces and institutions that art exists within. Sculptures from different periods interact with one another in a way unlike the silent interaction we as viewers are accustomed to in a museum. Drama Queens deals with certain aspects relating to the essence of art, using specific, iconic sculptures from the modern era to take a self-critical look at the history it is a part of itself.