Magazine #25 of the Federal Cultural Foundation / Kulturstiftung des Bundes

№ 25 Autumn / Winter 2015

KOSTAS MURKUDIS

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21 About KM — John von Düffel The work that KM does is closely tied to the question — for whom? The simplest answer to that would be to say that he works for himself, for “Kostas Murkudis”, for his own label, which he created and has shaped and continuously changed ever since his first spectacular show in Paris in 1996. Yet this label is an illusion. It combines a broadly diverse and disparate array of works under one name — products, projects, artistic experiments, also affili­ ations and collaborations with other labels and fashion stores, galleries and museums, patrons and clients. KM has worked in highly diverse contexts — for the relaunch of the undergarment manufacturer Schiesser, as the creative director of the jeans label Closed, for the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frank­ furt am Main. The only continuity in the “Kostas Murkudis” label is Kostas Murkudis himself. The man is the label, though he invests little effort in being a label. He is not interested in heightening his recog-­ nisability, in maintaining stylistic lines and dogmas and assessing every new trial on the basis of its potential marketability. KM is loyal to no label except solely and exclusively to himself. And the overriding principle behind this is openness. In his case, it’s not a matter of being coquettish, it’s an artistic credo. Which doesn’t make life easier for him. Keeping an open mind involves work, some­ times even painful work. Openness also means constantly freeing oneself, tossing security and firm parameters overboard, refusing to settle on one thing or letting others force you to settle on one thing. It means staying anchored in the artistic process at all times and placing your trust in your intuition of the moment. And it means working and living with the great uncertainty of what may happen if in fact anything happens at all.

It’s hardly surprising that Kostas Murkudis’s artistic curiosity be­ comes restless with the standard format of fashion shows. His imagi­ nation and expressive drive cannot be content for long with models pacing up and down catwalks, changing their outfits in time with synthetic mood music. His shows are installations which surpass the conventional boundaries of the fashion world. They resemble a per­ formance, an experiment, an event.

His secret desire and passion for arthouse cinema is no coincidence.

For him, it is the dream of a format with the highest degree of freedom and openness, a film without a prewritten script in which he, the artist, author and director, creates the conditions under which the artistic act can happen.

KM’s interest in the spontaneous

interaction between the person and the material, the subject and object, corresponds to his search for that singular moment when something extra­ ordinary occurs. His dream of artistic cinema is that of the “one shot” — no retakes, his cameras fixed intently on the action, because it’s about the flow of events which are happening in the here and now. Ephemerality is a central motif and subject which can be found in all of KM’s works, much like his relationship with time as a dimension and form of movement.

The journey through time, the cross­ing of boundaries, the creative moment and the fleeting appearance as the true “work” — in all of this, we recognise how process-oriented Kostas Murkudis thinks about and regards his art, how he through his art is incessantly exploring. His works are basically one work which continues perpetually. Correspon­ dingly, he is quite averse to making final statements, to bringing the artistic process to a stand­ still and neutralising its effec­ tive force by permanently fixing parameters and details. For KM, whose medium and message is the tension created by contradictions and oppositions, the truth lies in the bal­ ance, in the interaction and dynamics between polarities.

What counts is the living moment which evades full definition. When a process is completed, a result provided and a collection finished, this end is always a farewell, a turning away and towards something else, even something completely opposite. It’s almost as if KM would refuse to be a label. In his case, repetition and variation as part of a rigid corporate identity are completely out of the question as he readjusts the focus of his search after every piece. In this way, nothing he has done can fore­ shadow what he will do. The result does not define how the process continues, it doesn’t proceed along the straight and true, but is characterised by jumps, inter­ ruptions and repulsions. From its past we can deduce nothing of what the future holds.

John von Düffel is an author, critic and dramaturge and has worked at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin since 2009. His most recent publication is “KL — Gespräch über die Unsterblichkeit” (KL — Conver­ sation on Immortality), published

by DuMont in 2015.

22 New Projects At its meeting in spring 2015, the interdisciplinary jury of the Federal Cultural Foundation recommended funding for 29 new projects with a total volume of 4.57 million euros. You can find detailed information about the individual projects on our website ↗ www.kulturstiftungbund.de or on the websites operated by the respective project coordinators.

The submission deadline for the next round of applications to General Project Funding is 31 January 2016.

The members of the jury (27th session) are: Dr. Brigitte Franzen, director of the Ludwig Forum for International Art in Aachen / Joachim Gerstmeier, director of the performing arts department at the Siemens Foundation / Dr. Angelika Nollert, director of the Neue Sammlung — The International Design Museum Munich, Pinakothek der Moderne / Dr. Andreas Rötzer, pub­ lisher and managing director of Matthes & Seitz Berlin publishing house / Albert Schmitt, managing director of the German Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra in Bremen / Gisela Staupe, deputy director of the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden / Karsten Wiegand, general theatre director of the Staatstheater Darmstadt

Image & Space RealTIME The art of languidity

Following an exhibition on the subject of “space” in 2013, the Kunstmuseum Bonn is now developing an exhibition titled “RealTIME” which examines another existential coordinate of life — time. The exhibition focuses on the contradictory nature of time and temporality, the differ­ ence between measured synchronicity and the subjective experience of time stretch­ ing, condensing, slowing and moving.

The Kunstmuseum Bonn will present The current issue of our magazine might a diverse array of artistic positions, partic­ appear somewhat unusual to our readers. ularly film and video works, supplemented We asked the artist and designer Kostas by photography, drawings, paintings and Murkudis to design it for us and largely installations. The selected pieces do not dispensed with written pieces. Our deci­ so much emphasise speed and acceler­ sion was inspired by the exhibition “At ation as they do languidity, repetition and Close Range. Kostas Murkudis and the standstill. These are pieces which invent MMK Collection” (showing until 14 Feb­ their own systems of time or freeze special ruary 2016), which the German Federal moments in time forever.

Cultural Foundation is funding at the MMK 2 Museum für Moderne Kunst in Artistic directors: Volker Adolphs, Frankfurt am Main.

Stephan Berg Artists: David Claerbout (BE), Hortensia Völckers, Alexander Farenholtz Peter Dreher, On Kawara (J), Executive Board of the Federal Cultural Alicia Kwade (PL), Mark Manders (NL), Foundation Kris Martin (BE), Bruce Nauman (US),

Bettina Pousttchi, Roman Signer (CH), Hiroshi Sugimoto (J) and others

travel narratives. Inspired by Forster’s ­legacy, the Kunsthalle Mainz has developed a new exhibition which highlights art and Kunstmuseum Bonn: 9 Jun.– 4 Sep. 2016 current discourse on topics like existence ↗ www.kunstmuseum-bonn.de and personal and foreign experience in a globalised world. For its exhibition “For­ ster 1754 –2015,” the curators have invited the artists Lothar Baumgarten, Camille Henrot and Friedemann von Stockhausen, all of whom are active in the international art scene, to explore Georg Forster’s An exhibition marking the 50th influence. The show will present existing anniversary of the establishment of pieces alongside entirely new, site-spe­ diplomatic relations between cific works. The exhibition is co-curated Germany and Israel by the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Massachusetts which specialises in the In commemoration of the 50th era of discovery and early globalisation. anniversary of the establishment of diplo­ In addition to two film screenings and matic relations between Germany and a theme-based event at the PEM, the Israel, the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein is project will hold events at other venues, devel­oping the exhibition “Conditions of including the Museum der Weltkulturen Political Choreography” together with the in Frankfurt am Main and the Weltmu­ Center for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv. seum in Vienna.

The exhibition will feature performative artistic works which investigate the com­ Artistic director: Stefanie Böttcher memorative culture shared by Germany Curators: Trevor Smith (US), and Israel since 1990. How effective are Thomas D. Trummer, Stefanie Böttcher our rituals of remembrance in times of Artists: Lothar Baumgarten, Camille seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle Henrot (FR), Friedemann von Stockhausen East and increasing anti-Islamic and antiSemitic sentiment in Germany? The Kunsthalle Mainz: artistic works examine the relationship 2 Oct. 2015 –24 Jan. 2016 between Europe and the Middle East and ↗ www.kunsthalle-mainz.de reflect on how history and rituals of remembrance are viewed and cultivated in democratic societies. The exhibition architecture will be custom-designed for each of the two venues, enabling the curators to modify the space according to unitape their needs and choreographies. The exhibition in Berlin will be accompanied In the 19th century, Chemnitz was one by a film series at the Kino Arsenal and a of the most important textile-producing conference on Israel at the HAU. cities in Germany. Its factories were some of the first to install Jacquard looms which Artistic director: Marius Babias are controlled with punched cards. The Curators: Sergio Edelsztein (IL), French silk weaver Joseph-Marie Jacquard Sophie Goltz, Chen Tamir (IL) had invented the first programmable Artists: Yochai Avrahami (IL), Yael Bartana machine in 1805. Inspired by the history (IL), Noam Enbar / Yonatan Levi (IL), of his hometown of Chemnitz, the interna-­ Christian Falsnaes (DK), Ohad Fishof (IL), tionally acclaimed artist Carsten Nicolai Michal Helfman (IL), Adam Linder (AUS), will develop a monumental room instal­ Antje Majewski, Ohad Meromi (IL), lation titled “unitape” for the Kunst­ Markus Miessen, Roman Ondák (SK), sammlungen Chemnitz. Based on the card Slavs and Tatars, Susanne M. Winterling system, Nicolai’s installation examines image coding and notation systems which Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv: interconnect visual and acoustic signals.

1 Oct.– 31 Dec. 2016; Neuer Berliner Not only does the work pay tribute to Kunstverein: 3 Jun.– 30 Jul. 2017; Chemnitz’s industrial past, but also HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin: reflects on the communication processes 2 – 4 Jun. 2017 of the Industrial Age. Nicolai analyses ↗ www.nbk.org socio-psychological aspects of interaction between humans and machines and alludes to works by the Chemnitz artist Carlfriedrich Claus (1930 – 1998), who had previously explored the same subject in his “Language Sheets”.

Lothar Baumgarten / Camille Henrot / An extensive catalogue documents the Friedemann von Stockhausen creation of the installation in reference to Nicolai’s existing works. It contains The future scientist, writer and revo­ photos, texts and statements by other lutionary Georg Forster was only 17 years writers who analyse and review Nicolai’s old when he joined James Cook’s second work from various perspectives. circumnavigation as an illustrator. In the spirit of the burgeoning Enlightenment, Artist: Carsten Nicolai it was his job to document the flora and Contributors: Blixa Bargeld, Max fauna of yet unknown regions of the world. Hollein, Ryoji Ikeda (J), Takashi His reports and essays quickly became a Ikegami (J), Olaf Nicolai, Ryuichi sensation among his contemporaries in Sakamoto (J), David Toop (GB), Europe. Forster set standards for his Peter Weibel (A), Siegfried Zielinski, unprejudiced encounter with foreigners Daniela Zyman (A) and is still regarded today as a pioneer of

Conditions of Political Choreography

Carsten Nicolai

Forster 1754 –2015

23 Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz: 6 Sep.– 1 Nov. 2015 ↗ www.kunstsammlungen-chemnitz.de

Taking Inventory of Power The Berlin Wall from a different angle

In Germany’s collective memory, the Berlin Wall stands immortalised in its final form, either as a sterile, white-washed concrete barrier or a colourful, graffitisprayed wall winding through the city.

The photographer Arwed Messmer and the writer Annett Gröschner have expan­ ded these images with new, previously unknown perspectives. In their exhibition and book project “The Other View” (“Aus anderer Sicht”), which was presen­ ted in 2011, they compiled snap­shots of the Wall taken by the builders in its early phases of construction. The images show provisional barriers along the border and the Allied-controlled western sectors in the background. The exhi­bition pre­ sented photos taken by East German border patrols in the 1960s —some 1,500 individual snapshots which extensively documented the course of the Wall.

Arwed Messmer arranged them to create more than 300 panoramic views, which Annett Gröschner labelled using a literary collage she created from the protocols contained in the border files.

In 2012, they came across a second collection of photos which supplement those previously documenting the divi­ sion of the city. These new photos depict the early building phases of the Berlin Wall between West Berlin and Potsdam, there­by completing the “encirclement of Berlin”. This project plans to produce an exhibition with a corresponding twovolume book. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of discussions on how the Berlin Wall is addressed and investigated in art, archives and science.

Artistic directors: Arwed Messmer, Annett Gröschner Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin: 26 May – 14 Aug. 2016 ↗ www.aus-anderer-sicht.de

Al Halqa — The Last Storytellers Exhibition at the Ethnological Museum Dahlem and Dar Bellarj in Marrakech

A lively tradition of public storytelling still exists in Maghreb, a tradition which vanished in Europe in the 19th century with its travelling performers and singers.

The “Jamaa el-Fnaa” Square in Marrakech serves as venue for performances of acro­ batics, dance, magic and storytelling every day. The onlookers stand in circles, or “halqas,” around the storytellers and performing artists. In 2011, the cultural space in and around the square was desig­ nated a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

The exhibition at the Ethnological Museum wishes to convey the vibrant tradition of this form of expression to European audiences, as well as safeguard it through documentation. This art of story­telling will come to life in the museum by means of film footage, photography, audio recordings, a “Story Box” and live performances by two storytellers from Marrakech and Berlin. The exhibition, presented in Berlin and later in Marra­ kech, is just one part of an extensive digital project initiated by the filmmaker Thomas Ladenburger. The so-called “Jamaa el-Fnaa Virtual Museum” will provide public access to all of the collec­ ted material via the Internet at no cost.

Artistic director: Thomas Ladenburger Performers: Abderahim El Maqori (MA), Idriss Al-Jay Ethnological Museum Dahlem, Berlin: 10 Sep.–25 Oct. 2015; Dar Bellarj Cultural Foundation, Marrakech: 3 Dec. 2015 – 31 May 2016 ↗ www.alhalqa.com

The Forces behind the Forms Geological history, material and processes in contemporary art

Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Museen Haus Lange und Haus Esters, Krefeld: 20 Mar.– 31 Jul. 2016; Kunstmuseum Thun: 26 Aug.–20 Nov. 2016 ↗ www.kunstmuseenkrefeld.de

New Sensorium Exiting Failures of Modernisation

How are globalisation and digitalisa­ tion changing the world? In what ways can art help us surmount the setbacks of modernisation? The exhibition “New Sensorium — Exiting Failures of Modern­isation,” curated by Yuko Hasegawa and organised by the Karlsruhe Centre of Art and Media Technology (ZKM) as part of its “GLOBALE DIGITALE” programme, features works by international and predominantly Asian artists. The pieces investigate the influence of various cultures on processes of digitalisation and global­ isation, and thus expand on Western discourse regarding these developments of modernity. The artistic spectrum in­cludes everything from performances and video and sound art to sculptures and draw­ings. An accompanying publica­ tion will present the participating artists and their works together with related essays and scientific texts.

Artistic director: Peter Weibel The planned exhibition at the Kunst­ Curator: Yuko Hasegawa (J) museum Krefeld addresses the widely Artists: Tarek Atoui (LB), dis­cussed question as to whether we are Rohni Devasher (IN), Lin Ke (CN) already living in the Anthropocene, i.e. an age in which our environment is forever ZKM | Centre of Art and Media Techshaped and influenced by the human race. nology, Karlsruhe: 5 Mar.– 7 Aug. 2016 Many of the artistic works implicitly focus ↗ www.zkm.de on ecological issues regarding the basic conditions of human life and our rela­ tionship to the environment. The main themes of the exhibition centre on geo­ logical history, material and processes of nature in contemporary art. The partici­ pating artists explore the themes of earth, material and form at various levels. For example, Julian Charrière visited rare-­ Music, sounds and noises in the earth mining sites in several countries digital world where he collected rock samples, from which he created a speculative geology of The accelerated processes of globalisa­ the present day. Nina Canell investigates tion and digitalisation are revolutionising alchemistic practices in her works and the production and reception of music at exposes her materials to physical forces. many levels. Music used to be almost exclu­ And the artist Ilana Halperin creates sively propagated through concerts and objects by means of geological processes recording mediums — but no longer. For and investigates our relationship to time quite some time, the Internet and social and our constantly changing environment. media have been shaping the lives and The Kunstmuseum Krefeld will supple­ activities of musicians and producers around ment the exhibition with an extensive the world. For example, artists from Accra, dis­c ussion programme comprised of Beirut and Jakarta are setting new standards seminars, lectures, and joint projects in our globalised pop and club culture. They with schools. These events will not only use almost every imaginable acoustic mate­ address topics of art and cultural history, rial and process these into samples, sound but also the latest findings from the fields collages and video clips. Based on this music, of geology and climate research. these rhythms and sounds, they create art­ works of everyday life which communicate Artistic director: Magdalena Holzhey cultural, political and social messages.

Artists: Nina Canell (SE), Julian The touring exhibition “Seismographic Charrière (CH), Olafur Eliasson (DK), Sounds — Visions of a New World” reveals Ilana Halperin (GB), Roger Hiorns (GB), how the Internet has given rise to unprece­ Katie Paterson (GB), Giuseppe Penone dented artistic diversity. It presents the (IT), Jens Risch, Hans Schabus (AT), lat­est popular and experimental music George Steinmann (CH) and others styles and trends, e.g. Reggaeton, Baile Funk, Musique Concrète and Bruitism. The pro­ Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck: ject is organised by the DISK Association 12 Dec. 2015 –28 Feb. 2016; of Berlin in close collaboration with the

Seismographic Sounds —Visions of a New World

Swiss-based Norient network which has produced all the tracks, clips, podcasts, interviews and texts through its interna­ tional network of musicians, experts and bloggers.

An accompanying programme at the CTM Festival in Berlin in 2016 will highlight the themes of the exhibition and examine them further in podium discussions, music films and clip sessions with international musicians, curators and journalists.

Artistic directors: Thomas Burkhalter (CH), Theresa Beyer (CH), Hannes Liechti Dramaturges: Julien McHardy (NL), Carlotta Werner, Nils Volkmann Musical directors: Jan Paul Herzer, Max Kullmann Curators: Oliver Baurhenn, Jan Rohlf Research associates: Nadav Appel (IL), Cande Sánchez Olmos (ES), Lucia Udvardyova (CZ), Wendy Hsu (US), Jesse Weaver Shipley (US) Musicians, filmmakers: FOKN Bois (GH), James Costello (IE), Xuman (SN) Director: King Luu (GH) Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin: 29 Jan.–28 Feb. 2016 ↗ www.diskberlin.de, ↗ www.norient.com ↗ www.ctm-festival.de

Nothing New under the Sun, but a New Sun Every Day An exhibition on modern faith and spirituality

Humankind created religions and other systems of spirituality in order to decipher the meaning of existence.

Armed with faith, people grapple with the realisation that life is an endless cycle of searching and discovering, and that there is “nothing new under the sun,” as is writ­ ten in the Old Testament. In Western sec­ular societies, capitalism has acquired a pseudo-religious character with its promise of perpetual renewal through progress and growth. However, capitalism celebrates the individual and the pursuit of individuality as the ultimate goal, while the search for meaning is permanently postponed. Yet the desire to find new ways to escape isolation and the feeling of meaninglessness has become all the more urgent.

The exhibition “Nothing New under the Sun, but a New Sun Every Day” makes reference to Biblical symbolism, modified by the sociologist Dietmar Kamper, and features works of contemporary art which address the eternal question of existen­tial meaning. In view of today’s competitive pressure and compulsion for attaining self-fulfilment, the exhibition wishes to present alternative possibilities for cul­ tivating relationships with other people.

The focus here is not religion, but rather the spiritual faith in the world that sur­ rounds us. The underlying principle is the necessity to take a new look at what exists, to undertake a “change in perspective” (Kamper). Usually it’s those unexpected, even fleeting moments and interactions which interfere with obligations and the satisfaction of our needs, and refer to

24 experiences which evade social control.

Selected works by such artists as Sophie Calle, Jem Cohen and Phil Collins, express the desire for such moments. The artists experiment with various artistic genres, styles and themes in order to minimally, but sustainably, change our image of the world.

Artistic director: Ellen Blumenstein Curator: Catherine Wood (GB) Artists: Niv Acosta (US), Jonathas de Andrade (BRA), Monika Baer, Julius von Bismarck, Sophie Calle (F), David Claerbout (BE), Jem Cohen (AFG), Phil Collins (GB), David Douard (F), Heike Gallmeier KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin: 14 Feb.– 1 May 2016 ↗ www.kw-berlin.de

Transparencies The ambivalence of a new form of visibility

The globalised world appears both transparent and opaque at the same time.

On one hand, modern life is characterised by the desire for more transparency, for example, in politics. Yet on the other, people constantly lament the loss of privacy as a result of the unrestricted avai­ lability of information. The Kunstverein Nürnberg and the Kunstverein Biele­feld are planning a joint exhibition which examines the phenomenon of trans­ parency, which they will present simul­ taneously at their respective venues.

Various media links integrated into the artworks will cross-reference both exhi­ bitions and allow visitors at one exhibition venue to perceive what’s happening at the other.

The artistic works address our fascina­ tion with the transparency of the world around us, supported by algorithms and data collection. However, they also touch on the misgivings people have towards a “Society of Transparency” (Byung-Chul Han) and reflect on the ambivalence of the term “transparency”. The exhibition will be supplemented by an academic conference, a joint website and catalogue.

Artistic directors: Thomas Thiel, Simone Neuenschwander (CH) Artists: Neil Beloufa (FR), Juliette Blightman (GB), Ryan Gander (GB), Calla Henkel & Max Pitegoff (US), David Horvitz (US), Metahaven (NL), Katja Novitskova (EE) and others Kunstverein Bielefeld: 7 Nov. 2015 – 17 Jan. 2016; Kunstverein Nürnberg: 21 Nov. 2015 –31 Jan. 2016 ↗ www.bielefelder-kunstverein.de

Group Group Group Show Contemporary collaborative practice — exhibition, performance, interventions

The Danish group SUPERFLEX is an example of an artists’ group which formed to avoid succumbing to the commercial­ ising structures in the art business and develop their own strategies for artistic autonomy. Others, particularly younger collectives, choose instead to play with or imitate structures of capitalism by presenting themselves and operating as busi­nesses, limited liability companies, corporations and political organisations (e.g. DIS, DAS INSTITUT, GCC, Bad­ lands unlimited, Green Tea Gallery). The activities of these collectives, partner­ ships and collaborations develop their own dynamics and subvert the traditional understanding of authorship. Their collec-­ tive work is often characterised by its physical presence, shared spaces, joint social structures and mutual discourse.

But can we view such collaboration as a reaction to the developments of the art market, digital networking and the pres­ sure to adapt to a globally oriented artistic production? This exhibition at the Schinkel Pavilion intends to explore this question and present collective collaboration as a contemporary artistic practice. The entire project is comprised of three subsequent exhibitions, additional performances, summits, workshops, installations, con­ certs and works displayed outdoors.

religious and cultural isolation. In his narrative works, he investigates the major issues of our times which are frequent­ly based on his own family history and personal experience. During the threeday event, Kermani will discuss the main themes of his literary oeuvre with guests from the fields of literature, philosophy and art history: the responsibilities and limitations of Europe, images of religion, the first-person narrator in literature, and the world in a state of emergency. Other participants in the discussion include Dževad Karahasan, Shahriar Mandanipur, Abdolkarim Soroush, Yitzhak Laor, Jurij Andruchowytsch, Mircea Cărtărescu and Ulrich Peltzer. The readings and discus­ sions at the conference will be accompanied by a supporting programme of concerts, lectures, an exhibition and excursion.

Marking 80 Years of Women in the Rabbinate The role of women’s leadership in faith communities

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the ordination of Regina Jonas (1902, Berlin – 1944, Auschwitz). Her rabbinate diploma represented a milestone in the struggle for equal treatment of Jewish women in this religious office, a process which was brought to an abrupt halt by the Shoah. After Sally Priesand was or­dained in the United States in 1972, many believed for a long time that she was the first female rabbi in the world. By the 1990s, however, word had spread that a graduate of the Berlin University of the Sciences had already achieved this status Artistic director: Brigitte Labs-Ehlert in 1935. The international and interdis­ Author: Navid Kermani (IR) ciplinary English-language conference Musician: Manos Tsangaris “The Role of Women’s Leadership in Faith Communities” aims to revive public memRobert-Koepke-Haus, Schwalenberg: ory of the successful history of emanci­ 23 –25 Oct. 2015 pation by Jewish women in Germany. By ↗ www.literaturbuero-owl.de comparing the reform processes in chur­ ches, the conference will emphasise the similarities between Judaism and Chris­ tianity in terms of how they view tradition and renewal. The goal of the conference is to create a basis for scientific historici­ sation and contextualisation of feminist front:text upheavals in Judaism, and help consol­ idate and establish Jewish theological The “forum:autoren” programme is an women’s studies in the form of a network experimental event format which is staged or research department. during the Munich Literature Festival.

In 2015, the writer Albert Ostermaier Artistic directors: Bradley Shavit Artson Artistic directors: Nina Pohl, will serve as the artistic director of the (US) Scott Cameron Weaver “forum:autoren” with events based on the Speakers: Bradley Shavit Artson (US), Artists / collectives / performance / motto “front:text”.

Rachel Elior (IL), Edyta Gawron (PL), dance: Shahryar Nashat (CH), Adam The project includes readings and Atina Grossman (US), Walter Homolka, Linder (AUS), Paul Chan / Badlands (US), dis­cussions with writers who either live Elisa Klapheck, Pamela S. Nadell (US), New Theater (US), Grand Openings (US), in regions in crisis or were forced to leave Gail Twersky Reimer (US), Shuly Rubin Harald Thys & Jos de Gruyter (BE) their countries because of civil war and Schwartz (US), Esther I. Seidel (GB), have written about their experiences. The Christina von Braun, Katharina von Schinkel Pavilion, HAU, Berlin: programme will also highlight the fate of Kellenbach (US), Anna Chipczynska (PL) 8 Oct. 2015 – 31 Mar. 2016 refugees currently living in Germany. Not ↗ www.schinkelpavillon.de only does the Literature Festival cooper­ Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Cracow: ate with numerous theatres, museums, 19 –21 Oct. 2015; Centrum Judaicum, clubs and cultural institutions, but also Berlin: 17 –20 Nov. 2015; University seeks long-term partnerships with refugee of Potsdam: 17 –20 Nov. 2015 centres in Munich. For example, the ↗ www.abraham-geiger-kolleg.de organisers plan to initiate a sponsorship programme in which writers and actors support refugees and asylum seekers, and stage joint concerts, poetry slams, rea­ dings, an exhibition and a football game.

The “front:text” programme aims to artistically and discursively address the greatest challenges of our times, and dis­ cuss the experiences and stories of civil war, displacement, escape and asylum at the heart of the city.

Munich Literature Festival 2015

Word & Knowledge A Step Closer

Writers’ conference on Navid Kermani. Readings, exhibition, concerts, discussions

Artistic directors: Albert Ostermaier Writers: Alaa al-Aswani (EG), Antonio Lobo Antunes (PT), Martin Caparros (AR/ This year’s international writers’ con­ ES), Jenny Erpenbeck, Navid Kermani, ference is dedicated to the novelist Navid Salman Rushdie (IN/GB), Zeruya Shalev Kermani, the winner of the 2015 Peace (IL), Shumona Sinha (IN/FR), Ilija Prize of the German Book Trade. As a Trojanow (BG/DE), Najem Wali (IQ/FR) religious studies scholar and orientalist, Kermani has been intensively involved in Muffatwerk, Kammerspiele, Staatsoper, political discussions on religious tolerance Residenztheater, Volkstheater, Literaand European identity and frequently turhaus, Instituto Cervantes, Munich: works as a correspondent in the Middle 19 –27 Nov. 2015 (front:text), 18 Nov.– East. He is known for his critical approach 6 Dec. 2015 (entire literature festival) to traditions and his campaign against ↗ www.literaturhaus-muenchen.de

25

Why Study Ukrainian Culture?

Considerations on a theory of unauratic cultures The School of Kyiv

Jurko Prochasko

Ukraine in Europe — Interweave and interactions from the avantgarde to contemporary art

Many encounters harbour the danger of eventually becoming a relationship. Every interaction already reveals one. And vice versa — every relationship presu­ mes a mutual interest, interaction, engagement.

which radiates virtually no aura. There are several unau­ ratic countries around — in Europe alone we could name Slovakia, Albania, Belarus, Moldavia, Bosnia-Herzego­ vina, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Hungary and Poland, on the other hand, belong to another category, for even though they possess no real signficance today, they were world powers at one time. They have historical significance.

If one were to seriously explore Ukrainian cultural history, one would discover relatively quickly that all of its main lines of development and central episodes were integral components of pan-European culture and history — all inextricably linked, in fact. It would be The fainter the aura surrounding a country, the more impossible to explain the “Ukrainian idea” without the space exists for negative stereotypes (for in most cases, pan-European context. It would be meaningless — a “aura” means nothing more than positive clichés). torso without a body. The question is though, what is this “pan-European culture”? Who defines it and how If uprisings, war or violence should break out in these do we locate Ukrainian culture within it? unauratic countries and last long enough for more distant countries to realise that it’s not only affecting Countries situated in Western Europe do not have the country of origin, but also countries and larger any real relationship to Ukraine, its culture and history, regions of auratic culture, people are forced to address or to be more exact, hardly any, and to be honest, actu­ the current situation on location. If the violence esca­ ally none at all. Very few have become familiar with the lates and the developments become chaotic, people then country and hardly any show interest in doing so in gradually take interest in the history of the country. If future. And why should they? People imagine Ukraine people regard the situation as threatening, that’s when as being a very young country (which only recently they also examine the country’s culture. For culture ap­peared on the map, so to speak), lacking any notable is commonly used to oppose war; people see it as the history. Despite its size, it is not important enough, not ideal counter­weight and remedy against war and violence. interesting enough, not mysterious or sexy enough to It’s debat­able whether this is truly the case, but we warrant getting to know better. In light of the most want to maintain the illusion. What is remarkable, recent events, however, some might consider it to be though, is that people only start asking about the culture dangerous, if anything. Is it even worthwhile to occupy of unauratic countries when something happens there oneself with countries like Ukraine? Can one draw any which not only poses a threat to the “there,” but also to cultural benefit from them? Or would it actually be counter-­ the auratic “here”. productive? Perhaps it would be depressing to learn more about the extent of the presumed tragedies which This circumstance reveals something about the rela­ have occurred there and are perhaps still taking place — tionship of violence, culture and perception. Violence is events which it would have been better to remain obliv­ an important foundation, perhaps even an indispensible ious to. requirement of “great cultures”. Frequently “small cultures” are only noticed when violence erupts. Which It appears more convenient to clothe oneself in won­ is no wonder as the great (auratic) cultures are based derful ignorance for it leaves all possibilities open — on violence. Flemish tapestries, paintings by Titian, a magnificent foreignness, exoticism even, which streng­ Velásquez and Rubens, treasuries and armories, antique, thens one’s conviction that it’s unrelated and has oriental and ethnological collections, the exceptional nothing to do with us. Do we truly wish to sacrifice those density and quality of churches, monasteries, castles and surfaces upon which we can so wonderfully project our palaces, of magnificent, lordly gardens and parks, oran­ preconceptions? geries, the quality of universities, academies and li­braries, first-class museums and galleries do not simply People usually take interest in a certain region because happen. They are almost always the result of imperial the country, or the city, emits a certain aura. The clearer rule, almost always in multi-ethnic empires. Or at least the contours of the aura are, the more brilliantly it in the scope of influence of a world power. radiates. Such is the aura of Vienna, for instance, or of Andalusia or Samarkand.

Ukraine, however, also has much to show for itself: icons, Byzantine-influenced Romanesque art, heroic This aura is based on sedimentary knowledge of epics, wooden churches, embroidered blouses, Gogol, history and also functions without knowing or learning Bulgakov, Malevich, Celan, Bruno Schulz, Joseph Roth. about the culture beforehand. The prerequisite is that Yet everything which originated from contemporary one considers its history significant. And this in turn Ukraine also owes to the rise of multi-ethnic empires, corresponds to the significance of a country. Signif­ in this case several at the same time. People don’t asso­ icance is measured either by today’s (geo-)political ciate this fact with Ukrainian culture because Ukraine importance or by the significance of its contribution to has never played a role as a political and historic entity. human civilisation.

On the other hand, Ukrainians themselves aren’t suf­ Ukraine is not among those countries of significance. ficiently familiar with their “own” culture to turn it into Its history is neither taught nor learned beyond its a narcisstic resource. All too often they are torn between na­tional borders. Accordingly, no one knows anything compensatory delusions of grandeur (~ Our culture is about the culture there. Ukraine is one of those countries the oldest and all the important artists are actually Continue page 26 ↘

Most of the news coming from Ukraine nowadays is focused on the latest political and military conflicts. What we hear very little about, however, is the art and cul­ ture from this country, which has suffered repeated catastrophes in its long his­tory and is now being shaken by renewed tension and crisis. Yet this multi-ethnic country has produced numerous inter­ nationally acclaimed artists — Kazimir Malevich, Mikhail Bulgakov, Paul Celan and Bruno Schulz, to name just a few — who grew up in what is now present-day Ukraine. The artistic avant-garde of the 20th century benefited greatly from the intellectual impulses from Ukraine. “The School of Kyiv” is an exhibition which will be staged at the 2nd International Kyiv Biennale of Contemporary Art and at various locations in Germany. It forms a link between local and international con­ temporary artistic positions with a review of the historic connections in the Euro­ pean art scenes of the early 20th century with artists associated with the Kievbased avant-garde artist Alexandra Exter (1882 – 1949). Together with an extensive accompanying programme, the project aims to portray a multifaceted panorama of politically motivated art beyond salient actionism which exemplifies the pro­ ductive penetration of various cultural regions.

Artistic directors: Hedwig Saxenhuber (A), Georg Schöllhammer (A) Curators: Franciska Zolyom (HU), Anja Casser Artists: Anatoliy Belov (UA), Anna Daučiková (SK), Alexandra Exter (UA), Ksenia Hnylytska (UA), Nikita Kadan (UA), Yuri Leiderman (UA), Taus Makhacheva (RU), John Miller (US), Laure Prouvost (FR), Hito Steyerl Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe: 2 Oct.–29 Nov. 2015; Visual Culture Research Center, Kiev: 9 Sep.– 1 Nov. 2015; Gallery of Contemporary Art (GfZK) and public space, Leipzig: 14 Nov. 2015 – 14 Feb. 2016 ↗ www.badischer-kunstverein.de

26 Ukrainians) and hopeless resignation (~ It’s all worthless, we have absolutely nothing to offer; if we wanted to compete with “real” cultures, it would be an utter disaster, it’s better to concede defeat and join up with a large and important culture).

Here we see another phenomenon revealed — our inclination to compare the cultural achievements of former multi-ethnic empires with the titulary, or impe­ rial nation, and to not even take note of the cultures of other peoples or reduce them to mere folklore, to that of rural culture. Austria today is pure culture, Ukraine is a cultural no-man’s land.

Revolts were necessary to draw attention to a Euro­ pean country like Ukraine. War had to be waged against this country as retribution for the attempted revolts so that people would finally start asking about its culture.

There it is, that intimate, psychological relationship between violence and culture which reveals our penchant for equating “great,” “true” and “high” cultures with the (post-)imperial. No matter how much historical educa­ tion and reappraisal has been conducted, regardless of how sharply and astutely conquests, wars and subju­ gation are condemned — the fascination with (post-) imperial cultures doesn’t appear to have suffered from it at all. It’s as if they belonged to a special area of pure and immaculate spirit, isolated from all aspects of violence. One can be proud of (post-)imperial culture without having a bad conscience. What’s more, it’s the violence which makes this culture sexy.

On the one hand, people postulate that violence and culture are opposites. On the other, imperial thinking slips in through the back door again. In the distinction between the centre and the periphery, it celebrates a happy revival and proves incredibly resilient. The ten­ dency to localise culture as either central or peripheral, and then perpetuate these loci, is incredibly tenacious.

In contrast to appearances and despite their ubiquity, the terms (cultural) “metropolis” and “province” are indeed among the least reflected concepts.

These peripheral, unauratic countries are situated beyond the fringe of public perception. This reveals a traditional weakness of the West, as it does of the rest of world which strives to emulate its canon: the diffi­culty or impossibility to imagine a truly attractive culture as anything other than (post-)imperial.

This lack of imagination conceals a number of diffi­ culties which one would rather not address. A genuine discussion is demanding and one cannot be sure whether it would be worth the effort. In this way, one fends off such complexity with two strategies: either one declares Ukrainian history to be too chaotic and consequently impossible to understand. One surrenders in the face of the complex necessity of developing a narrative for the Ukrainian culture. Or one classifies it as a subchapter of a “real” history (e.g. Russian history, Habsburg history).

There’s something quite apparent about both strate­ gies: the cardinal difficulty of the West — despite all assertions otherwise and despite efforts to improve itself and the suppressed derivatives of hegemonial men­t ality — to recognise the use and necessity of other models of history aside from its own (post-)impe­ rial model.

Yet this could represent a way of diminishing cultural ignorance or arrogance to some extent. Because addres­ sing it would entail trying to understand the predomi­ nantly underlying, but incessantly all-powerful mecha­ nisms, with which various cultures in Europe — and their various histories — are categorised hierarchically, evaluated and perceived (or not).

A precise examination of a country’s cultural history makes it enormously difficult to preserve projections and prejudices, the belief that one knows everything better anyway. It undermines the tendency to also

define “provincialities,” “fringes” and “peripheries” in geographical terms and insist on maintaining an over­ view of this arranged order. Instead one is forced to take the corresponding community seriously without succumbing to the false pathos of the natural equality of all cultures.

If we were to truly take Europe seriously, we would hardly envision it as anything other than a cultural continuum, not in the sense of a peaceful lack of contra­ diction, but rather as a structure which one cannot adequately grasp without the larger context — not the magnificent size of large cultures, nor the presumed misery of the unauratic ones. We have to ask ourselves the decisive question as to whether we only want the excellent aspects in the great concert of European culture — only the highlights. If so, we stand to lose coher­ence and cohesion. Without these other aspects, there will always be gaps, and the less attention they receive, the larger they will become. Why are we willing to let these gaps form, why do we tolerate them? The unauratic cultural histories reveal, among other things, that which is suppressed, disparaged and shameful in European culture, let alone criminal.

For culture is not only there to celebrate magnificence, brilliance and glory, but also to allow us to reflect on the deepest nadirs of our existence. In unauratic cultures, these are not as well concealed by decoration. There’s always material for tragedy, for decoration less so.

It might do the “great cultures” good to look at themselves in the mirror of the unauratic, at their developments, institutions and relations. It would be even better, though, if both would see each other as a mutually linked, yet recurrently disjointed continuum.

Jurko Prochasko, born in 1970, is one of the most distinguished Ukrainian intellectuals of his time. He is a trained psychoanalyst, writer, essayist and translator. In 2008 he received the “Friedrich-Gundolf-Preis für die Vermittlung deutscher Kultur im Ausland” (Prize for the Imparting of German Culture Abroad) by the German Academy for Language and Literature. Prochasko lived in German-speaking countries for many years and now resides in Lviv (Lemberg).

27

The Political Power of Comics

readers in the 1950s and 60s. “El Eter­ nauta” and his other comics played an integral role in the development of the so-called “Argentine model,” which greatly Héctor Germán Oesterheld’s influenced the European comic scene in “El Eternauta” later years. “El Eternauta” is a scienceHéctor Germán Oesterheld’s “El Eter­ fiction story which seemingly foretells the nauta” from 1956 was one of the most rise of Argentina’s future military dicta­ famous comic series in Argentina. As a torship, and to a certain extent, anticipates writer and publisher, Oesterheld contri­ the trauma which the country contin­buted to making the genre appealing to ues to struggle with to this day. H.G. a wide segment of the country’s adult Oesterheld himself went underground in

the 1970s to fight against the military regime, but was eventually abducted and murdered. The planned exhibition by the Literaturhaus Stuttgart focuses on “El Eternauta” — a work which many regard as world literature. The show includes background information on the history of the Oesterheld family and the fate of Ger­ mans who disappeared during the Argen­ tine military dictatorship. The project is conceived as a touring exhibition and will be presented in several languages.

Project director: Erwin Krottenthaler Artistic director: Anna Kemper Artistic advisor / exhibition concept development: Johann Ulrich Literaturhaus Stuttgart: 11 Jan.– 31 Mar. 2016 ↗ www.literaturhaus-stuttgart.de

28 Munich Welcome Theatre A conversion project based on refugee issues

Kicking off Matthias Lilienthal’s term as general theatre director of the Munich Kammerspiele in autumn 2015, the theatre will actively support a residential project for refugees in downtown Munich. The organisers’ vision is to have the entire theatre address themes of escape, arrival and welcoming culture; employees and audience members will be encouraged to support the refugees in building net­ works, meeting basic needs, e.g. finding accommodation and work, and helping them participate in social, cultural and political life. By means of artistic, political and concrete humanitarian involvement, the theatre wishes to contribute to a broader reflection on the fate of refugees, as well as European asylum and immigra­ tion policies. In this way, the Kammer­ spiele hopes to become Germany’s first “Welcome Theatre”.

The theatre will stage a large congress as the season opener in October 2015.

The event intends to establish contact be­tween local interest groups, refugee organisations and supraregional author­ ities, and present their activities in a public forum. Scholars and political experts like Ousmane Diarra, Carolin Emcke, Napuli Paul Langa or Heribert Prantl will outline new directions in European refugee politics and offer per­ spectives on how global migration policies could be shaped in the future. The con­ gress will be accompanied by an exten­sive artistic programme with concerts, performances and theatre productions.

The project has also invited musicians, performers and theatre artists like Gintersdorfer/Klaßen, Nicolas Stemann, Adnan Softić or Taigué Ahmed as well as organisation like CUCULA, the Silent University, the Refugee Radio Network, Bellevue di Monaco or Culture Kitchen to present their latest works.

Artistic directors: Björn Bicker, Malte Jelden Artistic production directors: Judith Kurz, Moritz Schleissing Participants: Gintersdorfer/Klaßen (DE/CI), Kiron University, Napuli Paul Langa, Elspeth Guild (NL), CUCULA, Culture Kitchen, Refugee Radio Network, François Gemenne (FR), Giusi Nicolini (IT), Didier Bigo (FR), i,Slam, Grada Kilomba, Bellevue di Monaco, HAJUSOM, Heribert Prantl, Ousmane Diarra (ML), Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force (SN), Adnan Softić, Taigué Ahmed (TD), Carolin Emcke, Bernd Mesovic, Naika Foroutan, Mark Terkessidis, Rimini Protokoll (Daniel Wetzel), Hate Poetry and others Münchner Kammerspiele, Bellevue di Monaco Müllerstraße, München: 16 Oct. 2015 – 30 Jun. 2016 ↗ www.muenchner-kammerspiele.de

Blurring the Boundaries An interview with Björn Bicker on the “Constant and Peaceful Staging of Encounter through Art”

Conversion means opening and reutilising municipal theatre as a resource. One of the tasks of theatre is to reflect on itself and adapt its own concepts to the circumstances of society. Either by opposing society and its norms, or becoming part of a development. Or being a role model. Or stirring debate. Or doing things that no one else dares. When you open a theatre as an institu­ tion, integrate it into a network, you are changing its usage in the sense of conversion. And it is a political statement! Naturally the subtitle “A Conversion Project” Mr. Bicker, you want to convert the Kammerspiele into is a bit of a provocation. Both internally and externally. a “Munich Welcome Theatre”. Why is the Kammer­ Politically speaking with regard to immigration policy it spiele so committed to helping refugees? means we can’t keep on going as we’ve done so far. We have to rethink our institutions and organisations and Because as a publicly subsidised cultural institute, utilise them in a different way. theatre is a part of this society. The borders, which have been erected all around Europe, continue within as well. To what extent will theatre audiences notice these ideas Theatres are not free of boundaries either, particularly and projects? when it comes to who enters and who doesn’t. These boundaries are frequently invisible, but by no means less During the Open Border Congress, they’ll be able to effective. At some point we have to start opening our­ experience all sorts of new approaches, ideas and bestselves up. Of course, that’s a dangerous process be­cause practice examples. After that, things won’t be so visible it forces us to change as well. The art that we produce because that’s when the development process starts. As might become a different kind — the language, the soon as the projects are implemented, they’ll become content, the forms. The practised professionalism. The visible again. As a performance, as a debate, as a cam­ political stance. Everything will be up for debate eve­ntually. paign. Perhaps at the theatre, perhaps at the Bellevue di In this sense, such a theatre could be viewed as quite Monaco. We won’t know who will be on stage until the paradigmatic. For other parts of society. As a place for end. In the best case, what’s more important is who change. As an open space. participates than who watches. This is really an open process. And we as artists are grateful to those respon­ What are your plans? sible at the theatre for not pressuring us to deliver results at a specific time.

There are three stages in our project. First, we’re organising the Open Border Congress at the Münchner The Grandhotel Cosmopolis, a social organisation from Kammerspiele from 16 to 18 October. We’re inviting the cathedral district in Augsburg, will also be attend­ artists, action groups, campaigns, researchers, refugee ing the Open Border Congress. This group provides organisations and activists to the Kammerspiele to accommodation to both visitors and refugees, and runs connect with the theatre in an exemplary way — in per­ a citizen-operated restaurant, studio and café-bar. In formances and debates. We want to show what theatre view of such grassroots action groups, what can the can look like when it radically explores topics of escape, Kammerspiele do that the people from Grandhotel are arrival and border policies. Participation is an important not capable of doing as well? aspect in this: Where do we see success? What conditions are necessary to ensure cooperation on as equal a footing It’s sensational what Grandhotel has achieved. as possible? Following the congress, Malte Jelden and I They’ve produced something beautiful which is hardly will look at the daily operations of the theatre and work comparable to anything that happens in theatre. They’ve to develop projects with as many theatre departments created a new space and defined themselves. Theatre as possible which tie into the topics of escape and ar­rival already exists. It is a public venue, of which people have in the long term. For instance, how might we integrate certain expectations. When we launch such a project in refugees into the working processes of the theatre? What theatre, it’s more about redefining and reinterpreting can the acting school do, the ensemble, the workshops, ourselves. We are situated at the cultural centre of civil the theatre association? We want to accompany this phase society which almost only exists in this particular form with workshops, events, perhaps excursions as well. The in theatre. This is very much about generating publicity. third step will be to initiate joint projects with the Belle­ What I’d like to learn from the operators of Grandhotel vue di Monaco, a civic residential and cultural project is how they achieved such openness in the development, for refugees in the middle of the city. In the end, the the concept of what art could be, namely that constant Münchner Kammerspiele should function as a kind of and peaceful staging of encounter, how they blur the partner theatre for the Bellevue. boundaries between social work, political activism and artistic expression. If we can learn something of this The subtitle of your project is “A conversion project from them, I’d be delighted. The Grandhotel Cosmo­ based on refugee issues”. The term ‘conversion’ (also polis might well be the theatre of the future. reutilisation or change of use) is used in urban planning to describe the reintegration of wastelands into the Interview by Tobias Asmuth economic cycle or changing the use of buildings. Why is this now a task of theatre?

The Münchner Kammerspiele has entered the de­bate on the situation of refugees in Germany with a project of its own making. The goal — to make the theatre itself a model project for an open society. In a process of consultation, development and design, the artists Björn Bicker and Malte Jelden aim to create a link between the escape and arrival of refugees and the institution of theatre at the thematic, personnel and structural levels.

29 Music & Sound Bobe Mayses?

European legends and Yiddish crossovers at the Other Music Academy (OMA) as part of the Yiddish Summer Weimar Festival in 2016

For the past 15 years, the Yiddish Sum­ mer Weimar Festival has brought Yiddish culture to this historic site of German Classicism. Every year, artists, scholars and participants from two dozen coun­ tries meet at festival events and work­ shops over a period of several weeks.

Some of the featured ensembles, like “The Other Europeans” and “Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird” were actually established thanks to contacts forged at the Weimar festival. The 2016 festival programme will include a conference, a figure theatre performance and a dance piece. “Gilgul” plays on the tradition of modern stage dances based on a Yiddish vo­cab­ulary of movement — a tradition which hasn’t been cultivated since the Holocaust. The interdisciplinary theatre installation “Bobe Mayses” highlights the life and works of the poet Elia Levita Bachur. The conference will invite inter­ nationally renowned musicologists and artists to present and analyse the avail­able sources of Yiddish performance practice.

Along with various venues around town, the Other Music Academy will serve as a central location at which the festival artists will live, rehearse and perform. In 2009, the town of Weimar allowed the “Other Music” Association to move into a former school building where it could conduct interdisciplinary research and offer activities to the public all year round.

Artistic director: Alan Bern Artists: Alan Bern, Gregory Corbino (US), Abigail Miller (US), Andrea Pancur, Jenny Romaine (US), Andreas Schmitges, Ilya Shneyveys (LV), Lorin Sklamberg (US), Steven Lee Weintraub (US), Michael Wex (CDN)

installations, audio-visual performances and architectural, light and sound inter­ ventions. One of the highlights of the festival was the live performance “Outside the Dream Syndicate” by the American avant-garde pioneer, musician and writer Tony Conrad and the German Kraut­ rock-band Faust. Originally developed in 1972, the work is considered a milestone in the evolution of minimal and drone music. The American artist David Borden and the Mother Mallard Ensemble, which reunited for the Atonal festival, presented “The Continuing Story of Counterpoint,” a twelve-part cycle for synthesiser, acoustic instruments and vocals. The Dutch artist and software developer Tarik Barri had developed a virtual world which he projected on a large-format screen and manipulated in real-time during the per­ formance. Atonal also featured the world premieres of several works by renowned artists, such as Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) and Shackleton. The video artist Marcel Weber transformed the entire power plant complex into a sculpture of light. The festival was accompanied by workshops, lectures and a colloquium on tech art. An extensive multimedia docu­ mentation is planned.

Artistic director: Laurens von Oswald Artists: Tony Conrad with Faust (US), David Borden + The Mother Mallard Ensemble (US), Kangding Ray + Barry Burns (Mogwai) (FR/UK), Alessandro Cortini (IT), Ugandan Methods (US), Mike Parker (US), Chra (AT), Marcel Weber, Tarik Barri, Shackleton Kraftwerk, Berlin: 19 –23 Aug. 2015 ↗ www.berlin-atonal.com

Places — Mekomot Traditional Jewish chants and contemporary music in former synagogues

There are many synagogues in Germany and Eastern Europe which survived the years of National Socialism but are now vacant or used for other purposes. A new concert tour aims to revitalise these aban­ doned places, or “mekomot,” as they’re called in Hebrew. Five young Jewish com­ posers, who live in Germany, have written Other Music Academy, Weimar: new pieces for these places which will be 6 Jul.– 13 Aug. 2016 performed by an ensemble of interna­ ↗ www.othermusicacademy.eu tional musicians. The programme features contemporary music interwoven with traditional Jewish chants, recited by the cantor Assaf Levitin.

More than 20 concerts are planned in Erfurt, Dresden, Berlin, Essen and other Experimental music, technology locations in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and art festival and Ukraine. Workshops will be offered The Kraftwerk Berlin became an at selected venues prior to the concerts epicentre of music, art and technology so that audiences have the opportunity to once again in August 2015. Over 50 inter­ become acquainted with New Music and national musicians and artists met with related topics of history and religion. The light designers, multimedia experts and New Music Forum at Deutschlandfunk in technologists during the Berlin Atonal Cologne plans to host one of the concerts, festival, where they explored and reinven­ during which video and audio recordings ted acoustic and visual spaces. Against the will be made for a planned CD release. unique backdrop of the former thermal power station, guests enjoyed experimen­ Concept/artistic director: Sarah tal music of all kinds — from electronic Nemtsov avant-garde and New Music to Electronica Dramaturge: Asmus Trautsch and cutting-edge rock — accompanied by Composers: Amit Gilutz (IL),

Berlin Atonal 2015

Bnaya Halperin-Kaddari (IL), Eres Holz, Sarah Nemtsov, Amir Shpilman (IL) Vocals: Assaf Levitin (IL) Ensemble: Roy Amotz (IL), Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir (IS), Matthias Engler, Seth Josel (US), Antje Thierbach and others Organiser: Bettina Lehmann Concerts: 22 venues from Berkach to Zamosc: 15 Oct. 2015 – 30 May 2016

Shall We Attack the Future or Dig up the Past?

Special projects marking the 70th anniversary of the Darmstadt International Summer Courses

The history of the Darmstadt Interna­ tional Summer Courses goes back seven decades — 70 years of music history. And today the “Darmstadt School” is still associated with such great names as Boulez, Nono and Stockhausen. Electronic music, progress, the avant-garde and musical theatre were subjects of intense debate at these summer courses and have signifi­ cantly influenced aesthetic discourse since the beginning of the 1950s. Established in 1946, the International Summer Courses have always focused on visions of music production and performance of the future. Every two years, composers, musi­ cians, performers, sound artists and aca­ demics from around the world convene in Darmstadt to discuss the latest devel­ opments in the field. At the same time, the public perception of the Summer Courses is strongly coloured by its own history and the tradition of New Music.

The anniversary edition of the 2016 festival wishes to highlight both the history and future of the summer courses with a diverse array of events. The invited artists, musicians and researchers will explore the history of the Darmstadt International Summer Courses and the history of New Music in concerts, lectures, films, videos and photo installations. For example, the composer Annesley Black has created an artistic re-enactment of early electronic music production, the composer François Sarhan and the guitar quartet ZWERM will present a fictional memory of the courses, and seven inter­ national artists will collaborate with the archive in connection with the project “historage”. The festival organisers are also planning two participative think tanks. The “Darmstadt Forum” think tank will investigate historic discourse and Darmstadt-related topics, selected and developed by the participants. The think tank “Kritik” will explore issues related to the self-image of New Music.

Artistic director: Thomas Schäfer Artists: Arditti Quartet (GB), Annesley Black (CA), Distractfold Ensemble (GB), Ensemble Modern, Patrick Frank (CH), Ashley Fure (US), Lars Petter Hagen (NO), Ulrich Mosch (CH), François Sarhan (F), ZWERM (BE) Darmstadt: 29 Jul.– 14 Aug. 2016 ↗ www.internationales-musikinstitut.de

RadioRevolts 2 International radio art festival.

Installations, performances, concerts

Radio is undergoing a radical upheaval due to digitalisation. The radio art festival RadioRevolts 2 wishes to present radio as an art form in its own right and make the future of this medium visible and audible to the public.

During the month-long festival, audi­ ences will be able to hear and experience artistic works, installations, perfor­mances, concerts and interventions. They will take place throughout the entire city of Halle, e.g. at the Ulrichskirche concert hall, the Botanical Garden and a former university building. The events include an evening performance featuring the prize-winning Resonance Radio Orchestra, a stage play

by Alessandro Bosetti and a botanical sound garden by Hartmut Geerken. The festival organisers are also planning to stage performances and installations by radio-art pioneers like Tetsuo Kogawa, Gregory Whitehead, Felix Kubin and Joyce Hinterding. During the festival, the Stadt­museum Halle will present its largest exhibition so far on the subject of radio art. At the marketplace, audiences will be able to listen to commissioned compositions and improvisations for glockenspiel.

Artistic director: Knut Aufermann Curators: Anna Friz (CDN), Sarah Washington (GB), Ralf Wendt, Elisabeth Zimmermann (A) Artists: Steve Bates (CDN), Dinah Bird (GB), Alessandro Bosetti (I), Hartmut Geerken, Joyce Hinterding (AUS), Tetsuo Kogawa (J), Felix Kubin, Marold Langer-Philippsen, Resonance Radio Orchestra (GB), Gregory Whitehead (US) and others Halle (Saale): 1 – 30 Oct. 2016 ↗ www.radiorevolten.net

30 Theatre & Movement

developing performances and live events for the arts project “Matchbox” which feature their “outside” perspective on Ger­ man traditions, values and lifestyles. The “Nibelungenlied” represents the common thread on the journey through the region, which prides itself as being the original setting of parts of the saga and markets itself as such to tourists. The heroic Ger­ man saga serves as the guiding principle behind this artistic quest, as it touches on Hollywood-like, but serious issues such as A William Kentridge project on courage, risk-taking, responsibility and “The Virtues of Bastardy” at the 2016 loyalty, and the question of how to live Foreign Affairs festival one’s life when one’s destiny is “larger than Understanding and knowledge have life”. played a central role in Western philo­ The artists will document the different sophy ever since the Enlightenment. stages of their four-week bike tour on film The certainties they bring also have the and in an Internet blog, and, together drawback of emboldening some to assert with the residents of the Matchbox com­ their claim to power, which in turn can munities, ultimately produce a new ver­ ulti­mately lead to despotism. The South sion of the heroic epic. Performances and Afri­can artist William Kentridge high-­ stories will serve as the basis for an epic lights the darker side of the Enlighten­ment cinematic work which will go on tour at in his project “Uncertainty vs. Enlighten­ film and theatre festivals. In the following ment” by considering colonial history and year, the artists will present the film with Apartheid. Kentridge thematically and a mobile cinema in all of the communities for­mally explores the idea of uncertainty which helped make it. and tentativeness as a counter-model to the certainties put forth by the Enlighten­ Artistic directors: Thomas Kraus, ment. Focusing on the place where Florian Malzacher spatial and temporal art intersect, he Artists: Nature Theater of Oklahoma examines the value of genre hybrids, or as (US) he calls it, the “Virtues of Bastardy”. The Foreign Affairs festival spotlights William Performance venues: Worms, Lorsch, Kentridge in 2016 with a presentation of Einhausen, Bensheim, Hemsbach, his thematically-related artistic and per­ Weinheim, Mörlenbach, Rimbach, formative works for the first time. Five Lindenfels: 30 Aug.–27 Sep. 2015 stage productions, developed over the + summer 2016 for screenings of the past few years, will be presented during finished film the exhibition run of “Uncertainty vs. ↗ www.m-r-n.com Enlightenment” at the Martin-GropiusBau. These feature a wide array of media and comprise various hybrid forms, such as the multimedia puppet theatre play “Ubu and the Truth Commission,” a cham­ The Good Person of Downtown ber opera, a cine-concert and performance lectures.

Over the past 20 years the theatre RambaZamba has produced works for the Artistic director: Matthias von Hartz stage which offer individuals with disabil­ Artists: William Kentridge (ZA), ities the chance to develop their artistic Handspring Puppet Company (ZA), potential in a variety of ways. The theatre Dada Masilo (ZA), Ann Masina (ZA), has received numerous awards for its Philip Miller (ZA), Joanna Dudley productions and is recognised as one (UK/AUS), Markus Hinterhäuser (A), of the most influential and best-known Matthias Goerne integrative theatres in Germany.

Their newest piece “Shen Teee!!!” is Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Martin-­ based on Bertolt Brecht’s parable “The Gropius-Bau, Berlin: 5 Jul.–28 Aug. 2016 Good Person of Szechuan”. In this pro­↗ www.berlinerfestspiele.de/foreignaffairs ject, the ensemble of RambaZamba has teamed up with prominent theatre artists, such as actresses Angela Winkler and Eva Mattes, and the Hamburg theatre music composer Ernst Bechert. The play artis­ Nature Theater of Oklahoma tically explores the heated debate about inclusion and the right of all people who The New York performance artists deviate from the norm to take charge of Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska founded the their own lives. Consequently, the tale of Nature Theater of Oklahoma in 2006, the “Good Person of Szechuan” as told with which they have performed at numer­ by RambaZamba assumes a topical and ous major theatre festivals around the controversial twist: the main character of world. The theatre company applies a very Brecht’s parable, Shen Tee, suffers from in­n ovative approach which combines Down syndrome. On account of her con­ opera, dance, theatre and film in its pro­ dition, the gods cannot bring themselves ductions. to judge her as being “good”. In addition For their latest production “Nibelungen to Brecht’s inquiry as to whether it’s Cycle,” the artists have ventured out to possible to be a “good person” when fet­ small communities in the rural country­ tered by poverty and oppression, this side of the Rhine-Neckar region in piece assesses our criteria of evaluation search of theatrical inspiration. In some when applied to individuals with intellec­ 20 villages and towns, they are now tual impairments. Guest performances

Uncertainty vs. ­Enlightenment

Shen Teee!!!

Nibelungen Cycle

are scheduled to take place in Lyon and at the Sichtwechsel Festival in Linz fol­ lowing its premiere in Berlin.

Artistic director: Gisela Höhne-de Vrij Composer: Ernst Bechert Drums and percussion: Stefan Dohanetz Dramaturge: Hans Nadolny Set designer: Angelika Dubufe Make-up and costume designer: Beatrix Brandler Actors: Angela Winkler, Nele Winkler, Eva Mattes, Moritz Höhne, Meriam Abbas (IQ), Juliana Götze and others from the ensemble RambaZamba Theater RambaZamba, Berlin: 14 –29 Feb. 2016; Landestheater Linz Kammerspiele: 12 – 16 Jun. 2016; Lyon City Theatre: 19 –25 Jun. 2016 ↗ www.theater-rambazamba.org

The Greatest Show on Earth An international performance circus for the 21st century

The strategies and techniques of performance art, as they were developed in the 1970s, aimed to flout the mechanisms of the market. In the meantime, the con­ cept of performing has become an inte­ gral part of the money-making machine itself. The project “The Greatest Show on Earth” attempts to rescue performance art by integrating it into the “circus” for­ mat. As Walter Benjamin once said, real­ity, and not pretence, takes centre stage at the circus. The circus promotes com­plete self-economisation, it displays the dispa­ rate and loud, presents freaks and stran­ gers while offering them a place of refuge.

This project invites 15 internationally renowned artists and collectives from var­ious countries to develop performan­ ces for a circus programme and put their own artistic practices to the test in this un­usual form. Dancers, choreographers and performance artists will experiment with dressage, eroticism, magic, acro­ batics, buffoonery and ballet. A specially de­signed set will be constructed for the performances and design students will be responsible for developing a poster cam­ paign, publicising the “Greatest Show on Earth” throughout the city.

Artistic directors: Anna Wagner & Eike Wittrock Artists: Meg Stuart (US), Philippe Quesne (F), Antonia Baehr & Valerie Castan (F), Jeremy Wade (US), contact Gonzo (J), Florentina Holzinger & Vincent Riebeek (A/NL), Eisa Jocson (RP), Maika Knoblich & Hendrik Quast and others Internationales Sommerfestival, Kampnagel, Hamburg: 10 –21 Aug. 2016; Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt am Main: 3 – 13 Sep. 2016 ↗ www.mousonturm.de, ↗ www.kampnagel.de/ internationales-­sommerfestival

In our name Loosely based on Aeschylus and Elfriede Jelinek

“We fled, condemned by no court of the people, yet condemned by all both there and here.” In her play “Die Schutz­ befohlenen” (The Wards), Elfriede Jelinek addresses the current refugee tragedy by giving the asylum seekers a voice of their own. In her aggressive and disconsolate text, she assumes the perspective of those who look to Europe to provide them a safe haven. In reference to Aeschylus’s tra­gedy “The Suppliants”, Jelinek portrays a “com­ munity” of refugees, those who have no lobby and share no common language.

When it comes to the fate of refugees, both Germany and Europe on the whole have done much to generate public atten­ tion, political reflection and occasional action. What is lacking, however, is a wide-­ spread social movement. Mainstream society is torn between showing solidari­ ty, pleading hardship and defending itself.

Inspired by Jelinek’s powerful text, the director Sebastian Nübling examines escape as a phenomenon of repression, and with his project “In our name”, cre­ates a political sphere beyond official politics. The Gorki Theater will serve as the meeting place for the “community”, a parliament that shall investigate the con­structed dichotomy of citizens vs. noncitizens. The main performance venue will be the auditorium, and the main characters will be visitors and actors who have refugee experience. They will read passages aloud from Jelinek’s text in their native languages which will serve as a foil for their personal stories of how they escaped and how they arrived. The project will be accompanied by discus­ sions and performative interventions.

After the performances in Berlin, the project plans to stage guest performan­ ces in Vienna, Zurich and Prague.

Director: Sebastian Nübling Musical director: Lars Wittershagen Set designer: Magda Willi Costume designer: Ursula Leuenberger Dramaturge: Ludwig Haugk Choir: Maryam Abu Khaled, Ayham Majid Agha, Tamer Arslan, Elmira Bahrami, Vernesa Berbo, Karim Daoud, Anastasia Gubareva, Cynthia Micas, Mateja Meded, Hasan H. Taşgin, Mehmet Yılmaz as well as Orit Nahmias, Tim Porath, Dimitrij Schaad, Cigdem Teke, Thomas Wodianka Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin: 13 –28 Nov. 2015 ↗ www.gorki.de

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From the Inside to the Outside: The Films of Peter Weiss Florian Wüst Peter Weiss, who was born outside of Berlin of a Jewish father and eventually emigrated to Sweden follow­ ing the rise of National Socialism, is best known for his plays and writings. However, he started out as a painter inspired by surrealism and worked as a filmmaker during the 1950s. Before achieving his literary breakthrough with his first novelette in German, The Shadow of the Coachman’s Body, published by Suhrkamp in 1960, he produced a total of 18 films. Weiss’s cinematic oeuvre comprises experimental and documentary shorts, as well as two feature-length films and four film projects which remained fragments.

inmates’ faces further intensified the depiction of sub­ jugation and deprivation of human dignity through punishment. At the beginning and at the end, in a meta­ phorical scene, one young man stands out in his hopeless attempt to escape. The only direct commentary at the end of According to Law quotes Henry Miller: “Justice without love is revenge.”

In 1959, Peter Weiss made his first feature-length film titled Hägringen based on the novelette Document I. Hägringen is a synthesis of the two key elements of Weiss’s film­ making: the subjective-surrealist and the documentary approach to reality. The film shows the encounter of a young man with a large city, namely Stockholm. His walk through the city turns into a tour de force through various urban milieus. He fails to get in touch with those he meets or to keep up with the dynamics of modern life that is set to the clock of automation. Finally, his journey ends where it started: He runs off towards the horizon.

All these works were made in a decisive period in Weiss’s life which was marked by economic crisis and an exhausting search for expression and recognition: the long period of transition from the visual arts to his main occupation as author and playwright. Alongside this shift in practice, Weiss turned his previously introspective view towards a critical analysis of the social realities of a world divided into East and West, North and South.

In his last film Behind the Same Facades from 1961, He expressed his support of socialism and condemned Peter Weiss explores life at the new housing projects on the imperialist foundations of capitalism. the outskirts of Copenhagen. Through interviews with locals of all ages, mixed with images of the massive resi­ In 1952, Peter Weiss joined the Svensk Experiment­ dential complexes and the interiors of the apartments, filmstudio. He studied the early avant-garde cinema of the documentary investigates the ambivalent relation­ Luis Buñuel, Man Ray and Dziga Vertov, and was equally ship between the daily experiences and desires of the influenced by the paintings of Max Ernst. His strong residents and the functionalism of the architecture. interest in surrealism inspired his first five short films which he considered to be sketches as their numbered Asked by Harun Farocki why he stopped making films, titles suggest.

Weiss claimed that the financial losses connected to most of them forced him to quit. His increasingly complex Study II (Hallucinations) from 1952 consists of twelve ideas and the wealth of historical material that formed staged scenes that were modelled after a set of drawings. the basis of his writings and plays as well as The Aesthetics Accompanied by metallic sounds, various body parts and of Resistance would have required very different con­ objects form surrealistic collages against a black back­ ditions of film production. This makes Weiss’s films a ground which, whilst suggesting conflicting emotions, self-contained body of work in the shadow of his literary should elude straightforward interpretation. In a conver­ reputation, yet they remain highly significant to the sation with Harun Farocki in 1981, he retrospectively development and transformation of a painter, filmmaker admitted that the images still evoked a strong psycho­ and writer whose personal fate, political concerns and logical effect. This, he said, had certainly to do with the artistic approaches so impressively mirror the dark and traumatic as well as dreamlike experience of rupture and bright sides of the 20th century. alienation as an emigrant. Two years later, in Study IV (Relief), Weiss combined abstraction and real imagery. A Florian Wüst is the curator of the film programme for the project male figure moves slowly through different spaces, partly “The Aesthetics of Contradictions. Peter Weiss 100”. dragging his alter ego on his back. Like Weiss’s other early shorts produced in an existentialist vein, Study IV parallels his autobiographical writings during the 1950s that resulted in a short story, later published under the title “Farewell to the Parents” (1961).

With his first documentary film from 1956, Faces in Shadow, Weiss started to look at the outside reality. The film shows tramps and homeless men who hang out in the old city centre of Stockholm. Devoid of any voiceover, the film presents nuanced, almost poetic depic­ tions of those who fall through the grid of the social welfare state. Commissioned by the Social Democratic Youth Association of Sweden, his film What shall we do now? (1958) addresses the teenage abuse of drugs and alcohol. Mixing documentary footage and staged scenes, Weiss follows boys and girls from different social classes on their Saturday evening without examining the causes of their general feelings of emptiness and disillu­sionment.

According to Law from 1957 may count as his most dense and striking documentary. The film portrays the daily life and routine of inmates in a youth prison in Uppsala.

Watchmen mechanically lock and unlock the doors. The agreement with the prison authorities to not film the

Aesthetics of Contradictions.

Peter Weiss 100 Festival, stage performances, reading, exhibition

Peter Weiss would have turned 100 years old in 2016. The German-Swedish writer is best known for his three-volume novel “The Aesthetics of Resistance” (1975-1981). The trilogy is set in the years 1937 to 1945 and contains extensive passages which explore the relationship between art and politics. On the basis of works of fine art and literature, Weiss develops models for taking up the prole­ tarian struggle against oppression. The novel addresses the contradictions and errors of leftist politicians and examines the historic failure of the worker’s move­ ment. The festival “Aesthetics of Contra­ dictions” uses the novel as a starting point for presenting today’s constellations of politics, history and aesthetics in relation to the recent surge of right-wing pop­ ulism and the appearance of new leftwing movements. This project explores a view of aesthetics which attempts to tie artistic categories to social and political insights. In addition to several days of readings and international stage produc­ tions, the festival programme will feature some of Peter Weiss’ lesser known films.

Artists, researchers and activists will meet to discuss the legacy and topicality of Peter Weiss’ philosophy and oeuvre.

Artistic director: Aenne Quiñones Stage directors: Guillermo Calderon (CL), Nicoleta Esinencu (MD), Oliver Frljic (HR), Rabih Mroué/ Lina Saneh (LB), La Re-sentida (CL) Artists: Halil Altindere (TR), Phil Collins (GB) and others HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin: 1 – 31 Oct. 2016 ↗ www.hebbel-am-ufer.de

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Committees of the German Federal Cultural Foundation Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees is responsible for making final decisions concerning the general focus of the Foundation’s activities, its funding priorities and organisational structure. The 14-member board reflects the political levels which were integral to the Foundation’s establishment. Trustees are appointed for a five-year term.

Chairwoman of the Board Prof. Monika Grütters Minister of State in the Federal Chancellery and Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs Representing the Federal Foreign Office Prof. Dr. Maria Böhmer Minister of State Representing the Federal Ministry of Finance Steffen Kampeter Parliamentary State Secretary Representing the German Bundestag Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert President of the German Bundestag Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Thierse Vice President of the German Bundestag Dr. h.c. Hans-Joachim Otto Former Parliamentary State Secretary Representing the German Länder Boris Rhein Hessian State Minister for Higher Education, Research and the Arts Stephan Dorgerloh State Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt Representing the German Municipalities Klaus Hebborn Councillor, Association of German Cities Uwe Lübking Councillor, Association of German Towns and Municipalities Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Foundation of German States Dr. Dietmar Woidke Minister-President of Brandenburg Representing the fields of art and culture Prof. Dr. Bénédicte Savoy Professor of Art History Durs Grünbein Author Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Wolf Lepenies Sociologist

Advisory Committee The Advisory Committee makes recommendations on the thematic focus of the Foundation’s activities. The committee is comprised of leading figures in the arts, culture, business, academics and politics.

Prof. Dr. h.c. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann President of the Goethe-Institut, Chairman of the Advisory Committee Dr. Dorothea Rüland Secretary General of the DAAD, Vice Chairwoman of the Advisory Committee Prof. Dr. Clemens Börsig Vorsitzender des Vorstands der Deutsche Bank Stiftung Jens Cording Commissioner of the Gesellschaft für Neue Musik Prof. Martin Maria Krüger President of the German Music Council

Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen Secretary General of the Cultural Foundation of German States Dr. Volker Rodekamp Director of the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig Prof. Dr. Oliver Scheytt President of the Cultural Policy Society

Imprint

Johano Strasser German P.E.N. Center

Publisher Kulturstiftung des Bundes

Frank Werneke Deputy Chairman of the ver.di labour union

Franckeplatz 2 06110 Halle an der Saale Tel +49 (0)345 2997 0 Fax +49 (0)345 2997 333 info@kulturstiftung-bund.de ↗ www.kulturstiftung-bund.de

Prof. Klaus Zehelein Former President of the German Theatre Association Olaf Zimmermann Managing Director of the German Cultural Council

Juries and curatorial panels

Executive Board Hortensia Völckers, Alexander Farenholtz (responsible for the content)

Editor-in-chief Friederike Tappe-Hornbostel

The Federal Cultural Foundation draws on the scientific and artistic expertise of about 50 jury and curatorial panel members who advise the Foundation on thematic and project-specific matters. For more information about these committees, please visit the corresponding projects posted on our website ↗ www.kulturstiftung-bund.de.

Editorial advisor Tobias Asmuth

The Foundation

Design Neue Gestaltung, Berlin

Executive Board Hortensia Völckers Artistic Director

Photographs pp. 1 –28 iPhone photos by Kostas Murkudis, pp. 10, 11 video still by HAW-LIN, pp. 14, 15, 33, 35 photos by Katja Rahlwes, pp. 44 – 46 video still by Ter Et Bantine (Coll. AW 2015 – 16, 3rd March 2015)

Alexander Farenholtz Administrative Director

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Secretarial offices Beatrix Kluge / Beate Ollesch (Berlin office) / Christine Werner

Printed by BUD, Potsdam Copy date 31 Aug. 2015 Print run 26,000 (German)

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Gavina — For Kostas from Niklas Maak When someone hands you a business card which only has their name on it and the word “Subversive,” you had better be ready for anything.

Dino Gavina, who was born in 1922 and passed away in 2007, had such a card, though the word “Subversive” sounded more elegant in his native language: “Dino Gavina. Sovversivo”.

No address, no telephone number.

That was all one needed to know.

For at least in Italy, in the world of design, art, architecture and fashion, Gavina was as well-known as Gertrude Stein among writers and artists of the Lost Generation.

And basically, Gavina’s role wasn’t very much different. In his shops and his apartment, artists and designers were discovered, vague utopias were condensed into real objects, Gavina’s rooms became one of the important meeting places of the Italian art and design scene in the post-war decades. One wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that modern Italy was made in his rooms.

But first things first. Gavina origi­ nally started out as a set designer in Bologna, but soon took over his father’s upholstery business. In 1955 he presented the first product series which no one would have expected from an upholsterer nor set designer: a simple trestle table designed by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. More models followed which soon became classics of Italian design and, due to their elegant pragmatism — or rather very pragmatic, architectural elegance — influenced Italian design hence­ forth. By simply adjusting a slide bolt, it was possible to raise the height of one of the trestles.

It was so successful that it can still be purchased today under the name of the great inventor Leonardo.

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Gavina had a knack for attracting interesting designers, who for their part admired his subversive talent: the Castiglioni brothers, Vico Magistretti, Mario Bellini, Marco Zanuso and Luigi Caccia Dominioni. There was also Carlo Scarpa, who might be regarded as a typical designer of that time: one who would neither be categorised as an “architect” nor as a “furni­ ture designer”. To him, a table was as demanding a task as designing a museum or a tomb, and if the term “life scheme” makes any sense at all, then in regard to this move­ ment by designers who attempted to give all things in life a new form — ­ from chairs to houses. This new thing was supposed to instil life with a new intensity, a sense for how it feels to live today and not last year.

There was only one other movement of this kind in the 20th century which stirred up a similar fundamental,

life-reformatory controversy — the Bauhaus. Accordingly, Gavina found its products important — especially those which could not be produced at the time or were discontinued too quickly. There is a famous anecdote by Marcel Breuer who described Gavina showing up at his New York office: “One day, in the early 1960s, an Italian visited me,” he remembered later, “a short, lanky, energetic man with a keenly perceptive eye. He spoke neither English nor German, but I gathered that he wanted to have my furniture designs from the 1920s. We immedi­ ately came to an agreement.” The armchair, known today as “Wassily”, was comprised of a chrome-plated, steel-pipe frame which could be dismantled. Breuer had designed the chair in the mid-1920s and in so doing, introduced the steel pipe to furniture building, which prior to 1925 had been used at best for car and airplane seats. The armchair finally made it big, however, when Gavina reintroduced it in 1962.

What Warhol’s factory was in New York in these years, so were Gavina’s factories and exhibition venues in Italy — places in which the tone, materiality, atmosphere and aesthetic sentiment of an era was shaped. When Gavina transferred production from Bologna to Foligno in 1960, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni designed the factory. The president of the “Gavina” company was Carlo Scarpa, who also designed Gavina’s shop in Bologna, which, to the astonishment of its customers, contained no furniture, but rather ready-mades by Marcel Duchamp who travelled there especially for the occasion. And Gavina’s “factory” not only served as a place of employment to his furniture buil­ ders, but also artists like Lucio Fontana. On the other hand, the design works produced there began looking more and more like artworks in their own right. For Gavina’s light factory “Flos”, the Castigli­ oni brothers designed a lamp, inspired by surrealistic assemblage.

The light “Toio” was comprised of an automobile headlamp, a trans­ former and parts of a fishing rod.

Lautréamont’s “chance meeting on the dissecting table of a sewing machine and an umbrella” was nothing in comparison. The question of whether they were art or design was obsolete: the lamps by Gavina were serials.

The strategic combination of auto­ nomous art and furniture production was forward-thinking and antici­ pated future concepts such as those of the Prada stores by Rem Kool­ haas — and also, to a certain degree, the experimental collec­ tions by Kostas Murkudis. However, it also resulted in Gavina going bankrupt in 1968 and selling his operations to Knoll International, which also meant that the legendary, futuristic pieces, like those by

Cini Boeri which could have passed as home-design pieces for the first moon settlement, as well as Breuer’s furniture designs, all went to Knoll. Gavina withdrew grudgingly, edited a few books — only to found a new company together with Maria Simon Simoncini, the Simon Studio, also known as Simon International, a short time later. Yet again, one couldn’t be certain whether this was to be a furniture company or rather a conceptual art project (it turned out that both were the case). For the series “Ultraratio­ nal”, they produced among other things the gigantic white marble table “Delphi”, an object which merged the statuary weight of antique design and materials of the classical temple with the dematerialised, floating aesthetics of classical modernism. Here we find a mannerist elegance which merged three aesthetic schools in one object simultaneously: anti­ quity, mannerism and modernism.

The “Metamobili” series was devel­ oped as the counterpart to these exquisite luxury products, furni­ ture for the masses which could be purchased as a kit and assembled at home. It was a kind of IKEA before IKEA became big, a Fiat Panda among furniture pieces — everything could be unscrewed and disassembled. And even with regard to the wooden furniture in the “Metamobili” series, one recognises the echoes of Arte Povera, the unique aes­ thetics of simple, poor materials and the art of deriving beauty from the provisional, the improvised.

Hardly any other has so masterfully short-circuited everyday life and haute couture as Gavina did.

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