The Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) presents The Life Story of Cornelius Johnson’s Olympic Oak and Other Matters of Survival, a multimedia installation by Vienna-based German artist Christian Kosmas Mayer. The exhibition will be on view October 21, 2022-January 10, 2023. The opening reception with the artist will take place on Thursday, October 20, 7-9 PM.

A potted oak seedling given to Cornelius Cooper Johnson at the medal ceremony for his gold medal in the high jump at the Nazi-supported 1936 Berlin Olympics was the artistic inspiration for Christian Kosmas Mayer’s installation at the ACFNY.

Mayer, whose work is based on in-depth historical and contemporary research, became interested in the fate of the trees after reading a book about the 1936 Olympics. The oak seedlings—“Olympic oaks”—were considered symbols of superiority and strength by the Nazis. Like the other gold medalists, African American athlete Cornelius Johnson was given one in addition to his medal. A few minutes before he received the award, Adolf Hitler left the stadium in order to avoid shaking the Black athlete’s hand. After his return to the USA, Johnson was insulted a second time by another head of state, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not invite him and the other African American athletes to a White House reception for Olympic champions. Upon returning to his hometown of Los Angeles, Johnson planted his “Olympic oak” in the garden of his family home.

MUMOK 2017

ACFNY