I wanted a newspaper the picture in my head was of someone slapping a fat stack of paper on
the table in front of you in your face saying: Right now it's happened. (Siggi Hofer) The
versatility that distinguishes Siggi Hofer's exhibitions is also evident in a publication
accompanying his current show at the Secession: still life an artist's book in the form of a
newspaper (the Deutsch-Gotisch typeface is a nod to the daily Dolomiten which the artist grew
up reading) with literary writings by Hofer himself. They bring into focus the significance of
autobiographical reflection-searching meditations on memory childhood identity and
emancipation-in his art. Alternating between sober-minded analysis and humor the texts are
unsparingly candid while leaving room for doubt. One picture that reappears on the book's cover
is a kind of secret key to it: a drawing from a children's encyclopedia that has Hofer
spellbound even after decades. It is an apocalyptic scene an illustration of the aftermath of
an earthquake with burning buildings and cars being swallowed up by the earth. The picture
strikes a keynote that belies the show of playfulness: Disaster strikes somewhere else-but
strike it does.
