Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann

Nina Levett went to the Belvedere Museum to see an exhibition called “Gustav Klimt / Josef Hoffmann. Pioniere der Moderne.”

She was inspired to see this exhibition because of her contacts to the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. When she last talked to the curator he mentioned that in 2012 the city of Vienna would be promoting the work and life of Gustav Klimt.

The MAK is currently inviting many interesting people to discuss its identity and future. Nina Levett went to this discussion about twice a week. She heard a talk by the content manager of the Vienna Tourism agency who explained what the average Vienna visitor wants to see in Vienna. The main reason to come to Vienna is its art and culture.

Nina Levett feels that her work is deeply embedded in the culture of  Vienna. So she thought it was worthwhile to know what people see when they come to Vienna, what other artists have managed to do that has become to be so valuable to her city.

As to the value, the content manager of the Vienna Tourism agency mentioned that 4 million nights were booked last year by tourists in Vienna. She also said that the average amount of money spent per night amounts to 264 EUR. All this value is largely brought to my city by artists living in my city a century ago.

When Levett  heard this she felt that her work could one day be of great value for society. So she went to discover what made Klimt and Hoffmann’s work so special that people all over the world come to Vienna to see it.

Nina Levett booked the tour of the exhibition and together with about 15 other people and listened to the explanations about the works shown. She realised that Klimt and Hoffmann like artists today had to struggle to survive. But it was not only a struggle to feed themselves but also a struggle to “feed their art”. Had they not had the support of the cultural leaders of their time they would not have been commissioned with the works that have made them so famous and that have caused such great pleasure for people all over the world.

Klimt created some of his most famous artworks for exhibitions like the 1902 exhibition about Beethoven.

For further reading click here for a group interview with Nina Levett in the daily newspaper “Die Presse” about Gustav Klimt by Daniel Kalt.

This post is also available in: German