{"id":51033,"date":"2022-09-16T05:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T04:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=51033"},"modified":"2025-01-10T19:03:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T18:03:05","slug":"pondicks-monkeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/pondicks-monkeys\/","title":{"rendered":"Rona Pondick&#8217;s Monkeys installation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pondicksmall.jpg\" alt=\"Palace dome\" class=\"wp-image-51030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pondicksmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pondicksmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Harpies, merpeople, fauns\u2026and monkeys. Rona Pondick&#8217;s entrancing sculpture sees our simian relatives merge with human parts in the historical surrounds of Upper Belvedere palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Latest iteration of the Carlone Contemporary series<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Sept 23, 2022 to Jan 8, 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3521\">Upper Belvedere overview<\/a> &amp; visitor tips<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/#modernart\">Contemporary art exhibitions<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monkeys, 1998-2001<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"397\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pondick1.jpg\" alt=\"Monkeys by Rona Pondick\" class=\"wp-image-51032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pondick1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pondick1-300x238.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Rona Pondick, Monkeys, 1998-2001; Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London \u00b7 Paris \u00b7 Salzburg \u00b7 Seoul; \u00a9 Rona Pondick)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world has always had a certain fascination with beings that are part human, part animal, or who might transform between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ancient times are full of them. Think of the Great Sphinx of Giza: silent guardian of the pyramids. Not to mention sundry Egyptian deities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such hybrids have found their way into great literary works of civilisation, too. The Minotaur in Ovid&#8217;s <em>Metamorphoses<\/em>, for example. Or Franz Kafka&#8217;s 1915 <em>Metamorphosis<\/em> has salesman Gregor Samsa turn into an insect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similar themes continue to fill stories today. Centaurs lived in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Monkeys<\/em> by the acclaimed US sculptor Rona Pondick slips into this artistic and literary tradition; the installation continues the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/carlone-contemporary\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"57612\">Carlone Contemporary series<\/a>, featuring a piece of contemporary art in the baroque Carlone Hall at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3521\">Upper Belvedere palace<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The hybrid or dual nature of the piece comes across at different levels; quite apart from the juxtaposition of old and new, the sculpted monkeys of the installation title morph seamlessly into casts of Pondick&#8217;s own head and limbs. (A motif apparently inspired in part by Kafka&#8217;s story.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Closer examination reveals the transition between human and monkey is not quite as seamless as supposed from a distance: the monkeys are representations in smooth stainless steel, while Pondick&#8217;s metal casts reflect her true textured form (albeit at a smaller scale).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Monkeys<\/em> also plays with our perceptions, much like the illusionist frescoes on the surrounding walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A cheeky monkey pose turns almost demonic at times, where the empty eye sockets give the monkeys a skull-like visage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The urge is to walk around and view the troop from different angles. The mix of poses swings from playfulness to suffering, all depending on your position and interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All-in-all, a quite captivating piece!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Belvedere lets loose the monkeys between September 23rd, 2022 and January 8th, 2023. A ticket for Upper Belvedere includes the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The seductive smoothness of parts of Pondick&#8217;s work reminds me of exhibits within the wonderful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/tony-cragg-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"47776\">Tony Cragg sculpture exhibition<\/a> at the Albertina. Well worth a visit, too (but ends on November 6th, 2022). Cragg&#8217;s works have also appeared in historical surrounds in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more three-dimensional animal art, try Vienna zoo. Really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Various bronze sculptures dot the grounds of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/vienna-zoo\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1674\">Tiergarten Sch\u00f6nbrunn<\/a>. (I could write something facetious about the koala bears, since their lack of movement most of the time carries a hint of sculptural serenity about it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The zoo sculptures stem from the well-known Austrian artist, Gottfried Kumpf. You can also see a bronze elephant by him in front of Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/natural-history-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"252\">Natural History Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the installation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the instructions on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/gettingthere3\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3402\">directions page<\/a> to reach Upper Belvedere. The Carlone Hall is the first room on your right after the ticket check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Prinz Eugen-Stra\u00dfe 27, 1030 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1ksawXWFMVD9bljA48Gi7_VvWSfI\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Harpies, merpeople, fauns\u2026and monkeys. Rona Pondick&#8217;s entrancing sculpture sees our simian relatives merge with human parts in the historical surrounds of Upper Belvedere palace. Monkeys, 1998-2001 (Rona Pondick, Monkeys, 1998-2001; Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London \u00b7 Paris \u00b7 Salzburg \u00b7 Seoul; \u00a9 Rona Pondick) The world has always had a certain fascination with beings that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-51033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belvedere-sites","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51033"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79171,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51033\/revisions\/79171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}