Petra Gerschner, "History is a Work in Process," 2009.Courtesy of the artist and Frankfurter Kunstverein. © Petra Gerschner
Here's an idea for voicing one's feelings about American healthcare and reform: join or create a complaint choir.
Artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen started the first complaint choir in Birmingham, U.K. in 2005. The idea was to channel time and energy that people spend complaining into something powerful, artistic and perhaps constructive. Today, there are more than 20 complaint choirs worldwide, and a new one is being formed in Frankfurt, Germany this month.
The Frankfurter Kunstverein has put out a call for singers in conjunction with their group exhibition Gemeinsam in die Zukunft. The exhibition title, meaning “together into the future,” refers to a saying from the time of the German reunification and thus reflects, among other things, the starting point for the show: the 60th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany, the 20th year of German reunification, and the Bundestag elections, all happening this year. On a larger scale, Gemeinsam in die Zukunft addresses the relationship between society and community, governed and autonomous, the collective and the individual.
The call for choir participants states:
Who doesn't complain about politics, [or] troubles at school or at work? Why not collect the complaints and sing it to the world, friends or family? Everyone who likes to sing his anger off his chest can register at Frankfurter Kunstverein now. Experiences in choir singing or musical talent are not requested...[Those] who want to sing along or hand in a complaint, please contact Lilian Engelmann, curator Frankfurter Kunstverein, engelmann@fkv.de.
If you can't make it to Frankfurt, visit the website Complaint Choirs Worldwide to find a choir near you. (Note: New York joined the movement last year, but is not yet listed on some areas of the site.)
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