Conceptual artist Hans Haacke is ranked first in the ranking of the art magazine "Monopol" this year. The list includes the most influential personalities in the art world. Even from the beginning of his career, Haacke had "political vigilance, direct contributions to the debate, incorruptibility and not least sharp institutional criticism, even at the risk of endangering one's career," the editors of the magazine justifies their choice. His sociocritical art is more relevant today than ever.
Every year at the end of the year, the Berlin Magazine, in exchange with art experts, selects the most important artists, gallerists, curators and collectors of the international art world. The 83-year-old Haacke has lived in New York since the sixties and is one of Germany's most prominent political artists. Haacke deals with the history and the population of his country of origin in his art.
DPA
Haacke work "The population"
One of his most famous works is the installation "The Population" in the atrium of the Reichstag in Berlin. There, 20 years ago, he had an oversized flowerbed filled with "The Population" at its center. The work refers to the lettering "The German People" on the Reichstag building.
In 2006, Haacke had posters posted in the windows of the Art Academy in Berlin, documenting the fate of 46 deaths by right-wing extremists in Germany since 1990. In 2017 he printed a banner saying "We (all) are the people". In October 2019, Haacke was awarded the Arnold Bode Prize in Kassel.
All in all, the political monopolies list was canceled this year by political artists. Second place will be given to American photographer Nan Goldin, who will be honored as a political activist in her fight against the opioid epidemic. Political art is back in focus, including at the Venice Biennale and the Documenta in Kassel.
Among the top 10 are the Frankfurt museum director Susanne Pfeffer, director of the British Tate museums Maria Balshaw, the artist Hito Steyerl and the artists Arthur Jafa and Tomás Saraceno.