Directors: documenta has removed sacredness from art

Created: 06/17/2022, 07:12

A documenta sign in front of the Fridericianum in Kassel.

© Boris Roessler/dpa

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

"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.

Kassel/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 on dealing with globalization." After the war, the documenta was an attempt , to bring back voices and perspectives to the general public and the art community that have been completely marginalized by a system of oppression.

“In this sense, this documenta will have a very strong resonance.

It's a change," said Bardaouil.

“That we, as institutions, also bring about a change in the way we think about communities and connections.

There is a lot to learn there.”

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

This year, for the first time, it will be curated by a collective, 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."

Fellrath sees it as a way of direct experience.

"It's directly about the art and the circumstances behind it.

Precisely because it is so personal, it is universal.

It doesn't matter where the people come from.

It's just about going on the journey and looking at the work.

Without manual.

Then it becomes powerful.” This documenta brings community and visitors back to the center.

“Many museums have completely lost this relationship.

The documenta is a good indicator of this.”

For Bardaouil, the documenta does not create preformed knowledge and simply passes it on to the people.

“It's more of a combination of different skills.

This can sometimes be different and fraught with conflict, but therein lies the power of our institutions.

We must allow different perspectives to live together in a tolerant and accepting way.

If we can't do it anymore, we can close it and go home." dpa