A symbolic interruption of everyday life, Yael Bartana’s Two Minutes of Standstill was a political act, social sculpture, and collective performance. This catalogue reveals the ideas behind the work and the process that led to its realization. The book includes several essays that discuss possible interpretations and consequences of the artwork, questioning the role of history and commemoration in Germany today.

Imagined as a residency that would result in no material production, the Site Residency was conceptually grounded in theories and practices of withdrawal and in the critical questioning of creation, materiality, and objectified artistic output, paying tribute to the artistic strategies from the 1960s and ’70s. This publication presents various visual and textual materials of the residency’s three participating artists.

This collection of essays does not aim to illustrate a prefabricated theory of art, but rather follows the impulses given by artworks themselves. Philosopher and art critic Boris Groys writes about significant artists and artworks of the last century that have pushed his thinking and writing in a new direction.