The idea of the ‘Peter’ sculpture installation was that all of these sculptures would be clustered together as you see them here in a way that they’re getting into eachother’s space and they make looking at any one sculpture impossible without the interference of all the others. The sculptures are not made by Kippenberger himself, they’re made for him by his assistant Michael Krebber, an artist in his own right.
‘Peter’ was a word that Kippenberger liked to use a lot in a very general way, almost like we now would say ‘whatever’. But it also had a punning aspect in which St. Petersburg was where the Hermitage museum was, and where one could find displayed hundreds of works of art in closed configurations on the walls as opposed to the isolation that we think of in modern western museums.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson is a video and performance piece that explores the complexities of a 35-year relationship; the artist’s mom and dad speak about falling in love, overcoming personality struggles, and negotiating compromises to make their marriage work. Donning papier mâché heads and hands, the artist and his wife reenact this vulnerable dialogue on film.
Award-winning composer Aaron Grad has written an original score that features Nelson’s parents performing live along with the video. Lyrics and music inspired by their recorded conversation highlight the emotional impact of their spoken (and unspoken) words.
