Joseph Marr

Open Heart

„Building the Heart. Breaking the Heart“ – Joseph Marr

The Australian artist Joseph Marr (b. Sydney, 1979; lives and works in Berlin) harnesses a range of media including painting, sculpture, video, and photography to make conceptual art that delves into questions of consciousness. His most recent project, Open Heart, a temporary sculpture for a public setting in Berlin, consisted of 1760 pounds of sugar. The 11-foot-tall anatomically accurate representation of a heart rested in a climate-controlled steel-and-glass box. But the power for the air conditioning required to preserve the sculpture was supplied solely by passersby who volunteered to get on stationary bicycles and start pedaling—the heart, that is to say, lived thanks to the public’s support.

Open Heart documents the process from the conceptual and molding stage to the sculpture’s installation and gradual disintegration. With contributions by Debbie Ruder and Boris Pofalla and a conversation with Joseph Marr by the artist Michael Sailstorfer.