"Holiness removed from art": Expert praise for documenta

Created: 06/17/2022Updated: 06/17/2022 08:04

A documenta sign in front of the Fridericianum in Kassel.

© Boris Roessler/dpa

An art collective responsible for the most important exhibition in the world.

Can this go well?

Before the official start of the documenta, tension is high.

Now there is much praise from qualified mouths.

Kassel/Berlin - For the first time, the documenta in Kassel will be curated by an art collective.

This is one of the reasons why there is so much excitement when looking at the most important presentation of contemporary art.

Even before the official opening this Saturday, there is now a lot of praise from relevant experienced parties.

The Berlin museum directors Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath expect a change in dealing with art as a result of the documenta.

"This documenta will change the way we see art, what we believe, what an exhibition represents," Bardaouil told the German Press Agency in Kassel.

Together with Fellrath he directs the Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum for Contemporary Art, in Berlin.

Both are also curators of the Lyon Biennale in September and were also jointly responsible for the successful French pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale.

"The documenta was always a generator of new thinking about art, the kind of exhibitions," said Bardaouil, "there were various editions that created new approaches, for example to dealing with globalization."

Alongside the Venice Biennale, the documenta is the most important presentation of contemporary art.

It is curated by the Indonesian art group Ruangrupa.

14 collectives, organizations and institutions as well as 54 artists will present their works at 32 locations until September 25th.

Fellrath sees very positive energy in the exhibition.

“This warm welcome embraces visitors.

Sometimes it's not clear where the art ends and where you are as a viewer," he told dpa.

"This is how art becomes part of life and that is the spirit of how it was created." That is very gripping.

"It's not about something hanging in the museum, it actually means something to people."

Bardaouil spoke of a lot of generosity.

“The voice of the curators is very present in many large exhibitions.

Many voices are very generously allowed here, each anchored in their communities and societies.” The exhibition demands that the art object not be relied on as something that can simply be consumed.

"Ruangrupa has removed the sacredness of the objects.

This allows the stories behind it to actually take place.”

Of course, it takes more time to grasp a story than just looking at an object.

"The challenge is to delve into things and into the layers that are connected to them." It's not about fictional assumptions, but about real people and environments in which the artists are integrated.

"Art becomes more than art, it becomes a medium."

The director of Berlin's Gropius Bau, Stephanie Rosenthal, was also "very enthusiastic" about the first tour.

You can see "that an exhibition can be created at such a high level in such a collective," she told the dpa in Kassel.

also read

"Don't know what you have against me" - Desperate DHL customer turns to messenger with notice

Berlin rampage: still eight victims in the hospital

Rosenthal, 2019 jury chairperson at the Venice Art Biennale, was "very convinced, because you can tell that there is a common mindset".

The documenta has become a very uniform exhibition, which is surprising at first.

"You really get the feeling that there was a collaboration here and that there is a common interest."

"I think it's a fantastic work, very well installed and also a good mix between artists you've never heard of and big names that aren't used as marketing numbers." As an example, Rosenthal gave the exhibition venue Ottoneum, where after the "Cheescoins" work by the collective Inland Hito Steyerl's "Animal Spirits" can be found.

Steyerl is one of the most important international artists.

"Such big names, they could also be at the top," said Rosenthal, who will be moving to the United Arab Emirates as director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project on September 1st.

dpa