Olaf Nicolai

Olaf Nicolai (born in Halle a.d. Saale in 1962) works on various interdisciplinary projects that relate to experiences of space, time, and physicality. His artistic practice is characterized by performative elements, changing works, modified everyday objects, and pop culture icons as well as a wide range of references drawn from the fields of political and intellectual history, philosophy, architecture, and even science fiction, design, and music. He works with various materials and creates conceptual works with dense content and sensory experiences. His multimedia works question conventional perspectives and reflect the ways in which the link between meaning and experience is constantly being reformulated.

Offset Print, 68 x 100 cm

“Many People Who Are Aware...” is a quote from the subtitle of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1974 film Fontane Effi Briest, which continues, “... of Their Own Capabilities and Needs Just Acquiesce to the Prevailing System in Their Thoughts and Deeds, Thereby Confirming and Reinforcing It.” Through his works of social criticism, the film director was instrumental in shaping the New German Cinema movement of the postwar period. In his adaptation of this text, Olaf Nicolai replaces the word “just” with “therefore,” a small tweak that completely reverses the statement’s meaning. Two stacks of posters are presented, one for each version of the quote, allowing visitors to opt for one version by choosing one of the posters. It is not until the choice is made that it becomes clear that the poster is actually the same, printed with one version on each side. The work is part of a series of re-written texts in which the artist makes small changes to existing texts, thereby generating new readings.