Es gibt keine Maikäfer mehr

In 1974, singer-songwriter Reinhard Mey sang about the noticeable changes of the time in his hit Es gibt keine Maikäfer mehr (engl. There are no more cockchafers), the disappearance of living space driven by the belief in progress for urban expansion. Mey transfers the motif of the cockchafer to the urban modernisation projects of the time: where the houses of the familiar neighbourhood once stood, a multi-storey car park now stands as a representative of a time of economic prosperity, urbanisation and modernisation of German cities with seemingly endless resources and possibilities. Based on Mey's song, the exhibition ES GIBT KEINE MAIKÄFER MEHR at the Skulpturenmuseum Marl examines whether utopian modernisation and urbanisation projects in Germany have fallen out of time. It also raises the question of the role and significance of an art museum in dealing with inner-city or socio-political movements. (bron: website uitgever)