25 October 2020

MAK series 'Nachdenkereien / Reflections' read by Burgtheater actors is an audio tour starting from selected iconic design pieces through the history of applied arts and society to nowadays

The German/English spoken audio series 'Nachdenkerein / Reflections ' with currently nineteen texts written by MAK Museum of Applied Arts art curators and mediators, read by members of the Vienna Burgtheater was made public via media release on 23 October. The concept of the series is to follow the history of selected pieces, the design idea, the societal circumstances of its production, consumption,... and to continue the tour to our days by comparing esthetics, lifestyle of different times with thoughts about the role of marketing or changing values of consumers with reference to topics like the earth's resources or waste. The combination of design history and social-political themes is according to the media release inspired by German author, satirist Erich Kästner's children's book 'Pünktchen und Anton' (1931) where sixteen 'Nachdenkereien' are placed between the chapters of the story about poverty and social classes. Kästner's Nachdenkereien are about general topics concerning existential issues such as the reflection upon lying, about swine dogs, the seriousness of life or thoughts about coincidence.

The MAK Nachdenkereien are spoken by actors of the country's top ensemble of the Burgtheater Till Firit, Dorothee Hartinger, Mavie Hörbiger, Dörte Lyssewski, Falk Rockstroh and Markus Scheumann. From end of October, the entertaining philosophical texts respectively audio files about design and society can be accessed via QR code directly at the exhibited pieces at the museum or via the MAK website in German mak.at/nachdenkereien and English mak.at/reflections.

Image right: Till Firit and Dörte Lyssewski. Photo: © Sabine Hauswirth / MAK, 2020.

Images below from left: MAK Columned Main Hall; © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen; MAK Permanent Collection Vienna 1900: Design / Arts and Crafts 1890–1938; © MAK/Georg Mayer.