Industrieträume der DDR
The exhibition "Robotron – Arbeiterklasse und Intelligenz" has opened at the Hartware Medienkunstverein (HMKV) in Dortmund, following its initial run in Leipzig. Centered on the history of the GDR’s largest computer manufacturer, the show features 20 artistic positions including photography, film, and sculpture, alongside a significant five-meter oil sketch by Socialist Realist painter Werner Tübke. The presentation bridges East and West German industrial histories by juxtaposing state-commissioned propaganda with progressive, unofficial works by artists like Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt and A.R. Penck.
This exhibition is significant for its contextualization of technological utopia and industrial decline within the framework of media art. By bringing GDR-centric themes to the Ruhrgebiet—Germany’s Western industrial heartland—the curators highlight shared narratives of economic transformation and the social impact of automation. The inclusion of both official state art and avant-garde "Typewritings" offers a nuanced look at how artists navigated the intersection of political ideology and the digital revolution behind the Iron Curtain.