Ruairí O'Brien - Lecture on the Light and Literature sculpture dedicated to Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5" - Erich Kaestner Museum Dresden - 13. February 2015 - 19.30

Lecture: 

The making of the Light and Literature Sculpture “Slaughterhouse 5” 

For the 70-year memorial services remembering the destruction of Dresden on the 13 February 1945.

Light and literature fuse in Ruairí O'Brien's memorial wall "Slaughterhouse Five" which marks the original site of Kurt Vonnegut's famous anti-war novel of the same name in Building 1 of the city of Dresden’s trade fair complex. The American author - as well as his protagonist Billy Pilgrim - survived as a prisoner of war the bombing of Dresden in the basement of the former slaughterhouse on the night of 13 February 1945. Ruairí O'Brien’s multimedia light and literature sculpture enables visitors to experience the destruction and metamorphosis of the city of Dresden in the overlapping of drawings depicting scenes out of Vonnegut’s book and written quotations. The artful superposition of drawings, paintings, photographs and city map excerpts, embedded in a complex grid of wood and backlit Plexiglas provides the viewer with an Illustrative collage of the history of the city, the passing of time and Vonnegut's novel.

O'Brien has also included in his work quotations from Vonnegut’s contemporaries Viktor Klemperer and Erich Kaestner who also wrote about the destruction of the city they lived in.  

Venue: Erich Kaestner Museum, House of Literature Dresden

Time: 19.30

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Vortrag:

Die Entstehung der Licht- und Literaturskulptur "Slaughterhouse-Five"

zum 70. Jahrestag der Zerstörung Dresdens

Ruairí O'Brien‘s Gedenkwand „Slaughterhouse Five“ markiert den Original-Schauplatz von Kurt Vonneguts gleichnamigem berühmtem Anti-Kriegs-Roman im Haus 1 der Messe Dresden. Im Kellergeschoss des damaligen Schlachthofs überlebte der amerikanische Autor - wie auch sein Protagonist Billy Pilgrim - als Kriegsgefangener den Bombenangriff auf Dresden. Anhand Ruairí O'Briens multimedialer Literatur- und Lichtskulptur kann der Betrachter die Metamorphose der Stadt Dresden erleben. Durch die kunstvolle Überlagerung von Zeichnungen, Malerei, Fotos und Stadtplanauszügen, eingebettet in ein komplexes Raster aus Holz und Plexiglas, werden verschiedene Zeitebenen der Stadtgeschichte und zugleich das Collagehafte des Romans sichtbar.

 Ort: Erich Kästner Museum, Literaturhaus Dresden

 Zeit: 19.30 Uhr

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14. February 2015

Guided tour:

A personal viewing of the Light and literature sculpture “Slaughterhouse 5”, with the artist and lighting designer Ruairí O’Brien, in the authentic cellar where Kurt Vonnegut spent the night of the 13 February 1945.

Venue: City Trade fair complex, Building 1.

Time: 11.00