Kader Attia: Le Sacre du Printemps – On the Eve of War
The exhibition “Kader Attia: Le Sacre du Printemps – On the Eve of War” was created in collaboration with the Algerian-French artist Kader Attia (b. 1970). Taking Igor Stravinsky’s famous ballet “Le Sacre du Printemps,” (1913), as its starting point, the exhibition takes a critical look at the connections between the historical avant-garde movements—such as Cubism, Futurism, and Expressionism—and the historical legacy of World War I.
- Exhibition Site Blockhaus
- Dates 05/11/2026—21/03/2027
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Opening Hours
Wednesday to Friday
15—19
Saturday to Sunday
11—18
- Admission Fees normal 5 €, reduced 3 €, pupils (under 20 years) 2 €, children up to school age free
Strawinskys Werk
Stravinsky’s work tells a story of a fictional Slavic ritual in which a girl is sacrificed to awaken the life forces of spring. In the highly acclaimed book „The Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age“ by Canadian historian Modris Eksteins, the theme of sacrifice in Stravinsky’s ballet becomes a metaphor for the sacrifice of young soldiers in the upcoming World War I. Eksteins’ thesis serves as the starting point for the exhibition, which demonstrates how the pagan ritual and the ecstatic dance symbolize both death and destruction in World War I, together with the hope for renewal and rebirth. In the exhibition, the connection between the girl’s death and young soldiers, who lost their lives on the front lines, is expanded with the reflection on the artistic avant-gardes.
The exhibition held at the Blockhaus—which housed the Royal Saxon War Ministry from 1851 to 1918—features approximately 150 books, prints, photographs, and magazines from the museum’s own collection, including works by Hans Arp, Umberto Boccioni, and Wassily Kandinsky. They engage in a dialogue with contemporary collages and sculptures by Kader Attia, which explore both the effects of war and the question of what societies do to heal the wounds it leaves behind.
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