By Susan Aurinko
Vienna is my favorite city, I could go on forever. I see more here, do more here than anywhere else, but I will try to reduce it to the most important things, which is not easy. The day I arrived at my hotel, a beautiful, secluded place, hidden in the center of everything, I unpacked and went out with my camera. I stayed at the Hotel Austria, Vienna since my sister and I walked through the cobblestones of small streets ten years ago and I came across it. Now, after almost a dozen visits, it is as much like a home as a Hotel can get. The staff is warm and really happy to see me, the service is impeccable, and the rooms charming and very Viennese, right down to the Klimt prints on the walls. When I showed my work in Vienna, employees came to the exhibition! www.hotelaustria_wien.at Did I mention the great breakfast?
One of the many delicious varieties of hearty breads for breakfast!
As a member of the board of the American Friends of the Vienna Museum, (actually a conglomerate of 19 museums) I was lucky to be here on on the day of a board meeting that I held in the museum next to the Vienna The museum’s visionary director, Matti Bunzl, at his desk, overlooking the rest of the Board on Zoom. After the meeting, I had a quick dinner and returned to the museum to Concert by members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The main museum, the houses practically the entire history of the city and has just been completely, wonderfully renovated, is currently showing a wonderful joint exhibition with the Vienna Jewish Museum for the restitution of stolen art from the Second World War. The two curators, one of them venue, have created a brilliant but sad look at everything that was lost and will never be found. I I saw both exhibitions in the suggested order – Jewish Museum, then Vienna Museum, the next day.
Other museum visits included the Leopold, my favorite art museum, for an exhibition entitled Splendour and Misery (New Objectivity in Germany), the the period from the First World War to the rise of National Socialism and Degenerate Art. also spent a few hours in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and photographed hands in old masters Pictures for my Gesture series. (see below) The Vienna Museum also has a brilliant Exhibition about the Secession, but not only in Vienna – it follows the Secession movements in three key cities – Vienna, Munich and Berlin. The fluidity of these movements’ members, in and outside the cities and memberships of others, was fascinating, as was the breakup of certain key members from all three original groups and the creation of new secession movements. I also saw a great exhibition at the MAK, the ViennaDesign Museum, on the subject of sustainability – the entire EU is far ahead of the USA in every respect in this important topic. Further information about the exhibitions can be found here: www.jmw.at,www.wienmuseum.at, www.leopoldmuseum.org, www.khm.at, www.mak.at.
According to Johann Michael Millitz, 1754, ready to print, frame and decorate by hand.
My “After Dirck Santvoort”, 1639 in the members’ exhibition at the Arts Club.
And then there are the desserts! Lots of ice cream in wonderful flavors that we just can’t get here in the States – hazelnut, walnut, lavender, rose… and pastries… unimaginable! My favorite, pictured below, is the Cardinal Slice, which was made for a visit by a famous cardinal from the Vatican decades ago – that would have happened when lemon meringue pie is married to a light, sweet cake – absolute heaven! (in fact, you can see, I had already started eating before I thought of taking a photo!)
There is so much to do and see in Vienna that I always find it difficult to leave. last morning there, the pretty and very tidy breakfast room, filled with people speaks at least five languages and was host of an Estonian motorcycle gang/group full of leather clothes and more tattoos than I have ever seen in one place Time. As I went out to shoot for the last time, I passed them as they were huge motorcycles for a ride to their next stop, which confirms my point that there is never a boring moment in Vienna!
Modern meets antiquity at the MAK, Vienna
