Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me

When you enter the Kunsthaus Bregenz, it catapults you into a massive sound structure. Seven musicians play the song Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop The Atomic Bomb on Me by jazz musician Charles Mingus from 1961. In view of the war in Ukraine, the song functions both as a lament and an invocation, accompanied by a sculpture of organ pipes that take the form of a Russian rocket launcher from World War II. They were nicknamed »Stalin's organ« at the time. The exhibition VALIE EXPORT. Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me begins powerfully, proving that the artist has lost none of her creative vigor. It will be on view at Kunsthaus Bregenz from March 4 to April 10, 2023.

VALIE EXPORT, civil name Waltraud Stockinger, was born in Linz in 1940 and is one of the most famous performance artists of the 20th century. She is also active as a media artist and filmmaker. In 1980, the two-time documenta participant represented Austria at the Venice Biennale together with Maria Lassnig. Regarding the song that defines the title of this exhibition, she says, »The song was written then for the fear of the atomic bomb during the Cold War, and now it jumps right into the present fear.«