Margot Pilz (b. 1936, Haarlem) a pioneer of conceptual and digital art in Austria. She was one of the first Austrian artists to combine computers and photography. Pilz's photographs have been described as "one-second sculptures" or "flash-sculptures". She often chooses feminist approaches, addressing taboos, stereotyping, and environmental concerns. Her work is closely related to the feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In her work, she explored and reflected on the institution of marriage, working conditions of women, and the social role of women.

For the project, Pilz sends a photograph from her home, but as well adds two of her works which can be put in the context of the current situation. The photo-sequences from The White Cell Project (1983-1985) were created within a small cardboard room, 165 centimetres wide. It is originally symbolic of the constraint of societal norms. Still, today it can also be applied to quarantine restrictions (kissing without touching, or coming together but being apart, connected only on the screen).

Vienna, 16/05/2020

Artists Respond project was started by the Institute for the Research of the Avant-Garde and the Marinko Sudac Collection. Addressing the current global pandemic, the project aims to virtually present the thoughts and attitudes of neo-avant-garde artists, their energy and the message they have for the present moment. This is the moment in which the world as we know it is on hold and the moment in which we need optimism and solidarity more than ever. We wish for the public to welcome the creative energy of these artists - artists who are ready to point out the state of things, to respond with art and creativity, as they have done in all difficult times in the past.