Stuttgart, Germany. Putting heroes and heroines under the microscope.
The special exhibition, “Not my Hero,” at Stuttgart’s Stadtpalais until September 1, brings seven significant figures from Stuttgart’s history to life. These figures, including Rudolf Steiner, Clara Zetkin, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, are portrayed in a modern context as social media influencers, with their Instagram profiles being a key feature of the interactive exhibition. The exhibition explores the extent to which these historical figures were idealized and heroized in a similar way to today’s social media celebrities. A kind of archive offers visitors the opportunity to research the lives of these heroes and heroines using original documents, photos, and transcripts. The polarity between exaggerated adoration and public ostracism for flaws and inconsistencies in their lives, which is widespread in social media, becomes visible. The exhibition contrasts this with a more nuanced picture: not everything is always black or white, good or evil.
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Translation Charles Cross
Image NOTMYHERO exhibition in StadtPalais Stuttgart, photo: Luna Kloess
