Marcel Broodthaers, 50 ans après: Section Digestive
(2018, 2019)

In 1968, the Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers (1924-1976) opened his legendary and fictitious "Musée d'Art Moderne, Département des Aigles", which took on a real form in various sections. With his sections such as the Section des Figures, Section Publicitaire, Section Financière or Section Cinéma, Broodthaers placed the museum system and the art business at the center of his institutional critique from 1968 to 1972. 50 years later, I am expanding Broodthaers' fictional museum to include another section that is relevant today, the "Section Digestive". This reflects the phenomenon of the catering area, which has become a natural part of every large museum today. On the one hand, the "Section Digestive" takes the form of the functional "Café-Bar ceci", which stands as an installation in the exhibition space and can be viewed from all sides. On the other hand, I activate it performatively by serving coffee and other drinks as a barista. The existing "drinks menu" refuses to do its job and offers no clear overview of the drinks and prices. It forces the visitors to enter into a conversation with me. My role oscillates back and forth between barista and mediator of Broodthaers' project and my "Section Digestive". I never know in advance on which level I will meet a visitor and in which direction the conversation - and thus also my role and the performance - will develop. The number and duration of the performances are agreed in advance with the exhibition organizers and communicated to the audience in the form of "opening hours of the bar".