Never Ending Stories

The first comprehensive publication on the endless loop, spanning the ancient world to the present day| In-depth investigation of the phenomenon of circles inside closed systems

The loop is omnipresent—whether in music and video art, or hotel lobbies and living rooms, where flickering flames or aquariums with ceaselessly darting fish run continually on monitors. At the same time, the self-contained circuit, the endless loop, has been a theme in the fields of cultural history, alchemy, religion, and philosophy since classical antiquity, at the latest. With Never Ending Stories, the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg presents the first extensive examination of the loop phenomenon in art, film, architecture, music, literature, and cultural history, taking a comprehensive interdisciplinary look at the subject as regards time and place as well as form and content.?The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive scholarly catalogue edited by Ralf Beil, which will shed light on this multifaceted theme, examining it from the aspects of science, literature, and creativity. Featuring thirteen essays, numerous original sources, and more than three hundred illustrations, this catalogue is a foundational work that revolves persistently around its theme, constantly opening up new and surprising perspectives and insights.With works by:Adel Abdessemed, Abramovic/Ulay, Francis Alÿs, Robert Barta, Thomas Bayrle, Max Beckmann, Joseph Beuys, Michel Blazy, Etienne-Louis Boullée, Marcel Broodthaers, Julio Cortázar, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Thomas A. Edison, Omer Fast, Léon Ferrari, Sandra Filic, Robert Filiou, Fischli/Weiss, Robert Fludd, Douglas Gordon, Rodney Graham, Max Grau, Anton Henning, Seikô Hirata, James Joyce, William Kentridge, Athanasius Kircher, Ragnar Kjartansson, Kraftwerk, Yayoi Kusama, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Müller, Juan Muñoz, Eadweard Muybridge, Bruce Nauman, Markus Raetz, Bridget Riley, Peter Roehr, Raymond Roussel, Gregor Schneider, Richard Serra, Schunsô Shôju, Nedko Solakov, Daniel Spoerri, Gertrude Stein, Roland Topor, Salla Tykkä, Günther Uecker, Andy Warhol et al.