ANDREA ARTZ/LAIF/CAMERA PRESS. VIC SINGH/© PINK FLOYD MUSIC LTD/VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON. REUTERS/HEMIS/SEBASTIAN KAHNERT/DPA/ALAMY.
comes from an architectural and design background, and his works have included video performances and projection mapping pieces. Nabizade, in comparison, was born in Georgia and studied in Azerbaijan, focusing on sculpture and installation. Roth did not want the digital elements in their work to be used flippantly. Instead, it was a medium to create a reaction in people. One memorable work involves people walking and losing elements of their identity to those around them. “It’s a very symbolic method to explain what it means if you are confronted with a different culture. It’s not about education and explaining to somebody what they have to do, but showing examples,” Roth enthuses. That experiential element seems to embody the entire approach to the pavilion. Here, the senses become a powerful and central mode of communication. The pavilion is being put together by a small, dedicated team of about six people. This is an interesting contrast to Roth’s past experience as director of major museums, with hundreds of people under his influence. The museums Roth has worked at have not focused on contemporary art. Instead, he comes from a broader background. He worked as a curator at the German History Museum, before directing the largest science museum in Germany and overseeing various applied art and design museums in Dresden. He was director of thematic exhibitions at Expo 2000. “The Science Museum and the German Hygiene Museum were my babies. That’s why I started to work in museums,” he explains. “In the 1920s, there was this idea of a new community, a new audience, this Weimar Republic democracy, and then the Nazis came and turned it around to the exact opposite. So I was always interested in the museum. I’m not an artist. My background is sociology and anthropology.”Roth’s strategy? Do not do what people expect. When the V&A asked him to take over,he couldn’t refuse. “I was the first non-British citizen to run a national museum – and on top of it, German! That was incredible.” He opened up the space to an audience beyond the norm, commissioning exhibitions that fed into wider areas of popular culture, such as the ones devoted to David Bowie or Pink Floyd. The former broke V&A visitor records. “The social component combined with arts and culture was always my driving force,” Roth says, insisting his success was due to having a good team and taking risks. When the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, Roth became an accidental hero for Europe. He quit the V&A, partially blaming Brexit, and in doing so made international headlines. The broad, public reaction
“IT’S A VERY SYMBOLIC METHOD TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT MEANS IF YOU ARE CONFRONTED WITH A DIFFERENT CULTURE. IT’S NOT ABOUT EXPLAINING TO SOMEBODY WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO, BUT SHOWING EXAMPLES.” to his departure was a surprise. “I didn’t expect that at all. I really believe in – it sounds pretty naïve today – but I believe in Europe. I believe in non-nationalism. I believe in languages. I really remember the Cold War – difficult moments, atomic weapons being installed here in Europe and by the Russians. I met my first Russian when I was 25 or 26 – before that I’d never seen a Russian person. I don’t want us to go back to that. And I will do everything I can.” Hiring a German to run a very British national museum felt to Roth like a European impulse. Brexit was the opposite. “I said, OK, this is not me,” he says. “I can’t be in public working for the government and at the same time criticizing the government. It’s just honest to leave.” Roth is still being regularly interviewed about his Brexit views, but he notes this was not the only reason he left the V&A: he was ready for new things. He has continued to work on a number of boards in Dubai and Germany. He is on the Board of the Goethe-Institut. He was also on the Board of the British Council, though his tenure is ending soon. “Now I’ve got quite a lot of offers for curating shows. I haven’t thought about it, but I really enjoy it.” Do not expect Roth to become the next super curator name to drop. He is all about collaboration and bringing people together, rather than showcasing his own ideas. And he has been focusing on the future of the museum. Rather than permanent collections, temporary exhibitions and international blockbuster shows, Roth sees a future where the connectedness and a personal relationship to objects can lead to new forms of knowledge and discovery. Where a digital network can enable objects within museum collections to communicate between each other directly to create new ways to access objects and learn. “Years ago we would have said we don’t have enough capacity. It’s completely different now – we can do everything. You have a totally accessible collection,” he explains passionately.Roth sees a future of discovery and access – for academics, businesses and simple enthusiasts. Under it all is a reinvestment in the emotional, human aspect of seeing things around us.
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41 Baku.
