Das Ende der Sorglosigkeit – Eine Jahresbericht
David Willen

For this work, David Willen has turned to a serial and repetitive process. Each morning for one year –except Sundays and holidays – he systematically photographs his first finished cup of coffee. The installation and lighting remain constant while the shot is taken with a 4×5 inches camera and onpolaroid film. Once the photo has developed, it is attached above the day’s headline as it appears in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper. The 303 pages that compose the series are carefully filedaway in chronological order. Not unlike the conceptual work of artist On Kawara and his series of paintings “Today Series”inaugurated on 4 January 1966 (monochrome canvasses consisting solely of the date on which the painting was done), David Willen situates his series in an artistic tradition that is less frequent inphotography than in the fine arts. But while the work of his Japanese counterpart relates primarily to his own life, the “Das Ende der Sorglosigkeit” series appears less personal and more universal.