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Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
of
contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
which takes place every five years in
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural Show) which took place in Kassel at that time. It was an attempt to bring Germany up to speed with modern art, both banishing and repressing the cultural darkness of
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
. This first Documenta featured many artists who are generally considered to have had a significant influence on modern art (such as Picasso and Kandinsky). The more recent editions of the event feature artists based across the world, but much of the art is site-specific. Every Documenta is limited to 100 days of exhibition, which is why it is often referred to as the "museum of 100 days". Documenta is not a selling exhibition.


Etymology

''Documenta'', an invented word, reflects the intention of the exhibition (in particular of the first Documenta in 1955) to be a
documentation Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge managem ...
of
modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
which was not available for the German public during the Nazi era. Rumour spread from those close to Arnold Bode that it was relevant for the coinage of the term that the Latin word '' documentum'' could be separated into '' docere'' 'teach' and '' mens'' 'intellect', and therefore thought it to be a good word to describe the intention and the demand of Documenta. Each edition of Documenta has commissioned its own visual identity, most of which have conformed to the typographic style of solely using lowercase letters, which originated at the
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
.


History

Art professor and designer Arnold Bode from Kassel was the initiator of the first Documenta. Originally planned as a secondary event to accompany the Bundesgartenschau, this attracted more than 130,000 visitors in 1955. The exhibition centred less on "contemporary art"—that is, art made after 1945—instead, Bode wanted to show the public works which had been known as " Entartete Kunst" in Germany during the Nazi era: Fauvism,
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, Cubism, Blauer Reiter, Futurism and Pittura Metafisica. Therefore,
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
, in particular the abstract paintings of the 1920s and 1930s, was the focus of interest in this exhibition. Over time, the focus shifted to contemporary art. At first, the show was limited to works from Europe, but soon covered works by artists from the Americas, Africa and Asia. ''4. documenta'', the first ever to turn a profit, featured a selection of pop art, minimal art and kinetic art. Adopting the theme of ''Questioning Reality – Pictorial Worlds Today,'' the 1972 Documenta radically redefined what could be considered art by featuring minimal and conceptual art, marking a turning point in the public acceptance of those styles. Also, it devoted a large section to the work of Adolf Wolfli, the great Swiss outsider, then unknown. Joseph Beuys performed repeatedly under the auspices of his utopian Organization for Direct Democracy. Additionally, the 1987 Documenta show signaled another important shift with the elevation of design to the realm of art – showing an openness to postmodern design. Certain key political dates for wide-reaching social and cultural upheavals, such as 1945, 1968 or 1976/1977, became chronological markers of ''documenta X'' (1997), along which art's political, social, cultural and aesthetic exploratory functions were traced. ''Documenta11'' was organized around themes like migration, urbanization and the post-colonial experience, with documentary photography, film and video as well as works from far-flung locales holding the spotlight. In 2012, '' documenta (13)'' was described as "ardently feminist, global and multimedia in approach and including works by dead artists and selected bits of ancient art".


Criticism

Documenta typically gives its artists at least two years to conceive and produce their projects, so the works are often elaborate and intellectually complex. However, the participants are often not publicised before the very opening of the exhibition. At ''documenta (13)'', the official list of artists was not released until the day the show opened. Even though curators have often claimed to have gone outside the art market in their selection, participants have always included established artists. In the ''documenta (13)'', for example, art critic
Jerry Saltz Jerry Saltz (born February 19, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American art critic. Since 2006, he has been senior art critic and columnist for ''New York magazine, New York'' magazine. Formerly the senior art critic for ''The Village Voice'', ...
identified more than a third of the artists represented by Marian Goodman Gallery in the show. Documenta's decision to feature some of its shows outside of Germany, in peripheral contexts has sparked numerous critical discussions that reaches an apogee around documenta14, which partly took place in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Greece, in 2017. Various critics raised concerns about the ways in which the institution's endorsement of Athens as a place of resistance and novelty entailed a patronizing Orientalist stance, linked to new forms of tourism and the enjoyment of underdeveloped sites of "crisis". In 2022, Documenta caused three separate
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
controversies: one revolving around the banner ''People's Justice'' (2002) by the Indonesian collective Taring Padi that contained anti-Semitic imagery; another on the inclusion of the Palestinian collective Question of Funding in the exhibition; and, lastly, the inclusion of a 1988 Palestinian liberation movement brochure by Burhan Karkoutly titled ''Presence des Femmes''. Artist
Hito Steyerl Hito Steyerl (born 1 January 1966) is a German filmmaker, moving image visual artist, artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary.'Presence des Femmes''was in solidarity by the Algerian women with the Palestinian people, in denouncing the crimes committed by the Israeli State. We would like this document, like many other texts or artworks in the world, to be placed in its historical and political context." In November 2023, Documenta received the resignation letter of the remaining curators María Inés Rodríguez, Simon Njami, Gong Yan and Kathrin Rhomberg, following the resignation of Bracha L. Ettinger and
Ranjit Hoskote Ranjit Hoskote (born 1969) is an Indian poet, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator. He has been honoured by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, with the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award and the Sah ...
. The letter stated: "In the current circumstances we do not believe that there is a space in Germany for an open exchange of ideas and the development of complex and nuanced artistic approaches that documenta artists and curators deserve." Following the controversy, Documenta announced in November 2024 that Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, had been selected as the curator for the sixteenth edition.  


Directors

The first four ''documentas'', organized by Arnold Bode, established the exhibition's international credentials. Since the fifth Documenta (1972), a new artistic director has been named for each Documenta exhibition by a committee of experts. ''Documenta 8'' was put together in two years instead of the usual five. The original directors, Edy de Wilde and Harald Szeemann, were unable to get along and stepped down. They were replaced by Manfred Schneckenburger, Edward F. Fry, Wulf Herzogenrath, Armin Zweite and Vittorio Fagone. Coosje van Bruggen helped select artists for ''documenta 7'', the 1982 edition. ''documenta IXs team of curators consisted of Jan Hoet, Piero Luigi Tazzi, Denys Zacharopoulos and Bart de Baere. For ''documenta X'' Catherine David was chosen as the first woman and the first non-German speaker to hold the post. It is also the first and unique time that its website Documenta x was conceived by a curator (swiss curator Simon Lamunière) as a part of the exhibition. The first non-European director was Okwui Enwezor for ''Documenta11''. The salary for the artistic director of Documenta is around €100,000 a year. 2012's edition was organized around a central node, the trans-Atlantic melding of two distinct individuals who first encountered each other in the "money-soaked deserts of the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
". As an organizing principle it is simultaneously a commentary on the romantic potentials of globalization and also a critique of how digital platforms can complicate or interrogate the nature of such relationships. Curatorial agents refer to the concept as possessing a "fricative potential for productive awkwardness," wherein a twosome is formed for the purposes of future exploration.


Venues

Documenta is held in different venues in Kassel. Since 1955, the fixed venue has been the Fridericianum. The documenta-Halle was built in 1992 for ''documenta IX'' and now houses some of the exhibitions. Other venues used for Documenta have included the Karlsaue park, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, the Neue Galerie, the Ottoneum and the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof. Though Okwui Enezor notably tried to subvert the euro-centric approach Documenta had taken, he instigated a series of five platforms before the ''Documenta11'' in Vienna, Berlin, New Delhi, St Lucia and Lagos, in an attempt to take Documenta into a new post-colonial, borderless space, from which experimental cultures could emerge. ''documenta 12'' occupied five locations, including the Fridericianum, the Wilhelmshöhe castle park and the specially constructed "Aue-Pavillon", or meadow pavilion, designed by French firm Lacaton et Vassal. At ''documenta (13)'' in 2012 about a fifth of the works were unveiled in places like Kabul, Afghanistan and Banff, Canada. There are also a number of works that are usually presented outside, most notably in Friedrichsplatz, in front of the Fridericianum and the Karlsaue park. To handle the number of artworks at ''documenta IX'', five connected temporary "trailers" in glass and corrugated metal were built in the Karlsaue. For ''documenta (13)'', French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal constructed the temporary "Aue-Pavillon" in the park.


Permanent installations

A few of the works exhibited at various ''documentas'' remained as purchases in Kassel museums. They include '' 7000 Eichen'' by Joseph Beuys; ''Rahmenbau'' (1977) by Haus-Rucker-Co; ''Laserscape Kassel'' (1977) by Horst H. Baumann; ''Traumschiff Tante Olga'' (1977) by Anatol Herzfeld; ''Vertikaler Erdkilometer'' by Walter De Maria; ''Spitzhacke'' (1982) by Claes Oldenburg; ''Man walking to the sky'' (1992) by Jonathan Borofsky; and ''Fremde'' (1992) by Thomas Schütte (one part of the sculptures are installed on Rotes Palais at Friedrichsplatz, the other on the roof of the Concert Hall in
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
).


Documenta archive

The extensive volume of material that is regularly generated on the occasion of this exhibition prompted Arnold Bode to create an archive in 1961. The heart of the archive’s collection comes from the files and materials of the Documenta organization. A continually expanding video and image archive is also part of the collection as are the independently organized bequests of Arnold Bode and artist Harry Kramer.


Management


Visitors

In 1992, on the occasion of ''documenta IX'', for the first time in the history of Documenta, more than half a million people traveled to Kassel. The 2002 edition of Documenta attracted 650,000 visitors, more than triple Kassel's population. In 2007, ''documenta 12'' drew 754,000 paying visitors, with more than one-third of the visitors coming from abroad and guests from neighboring Netherlands, France, Belgium and Austria among the most numerous. In 2012, ''documenta (13)'' had 904,992 visitors.


Budget

In 2007, half of Documenta's budget of 19 million euros ($25.7 million) came from the city of Kassel, the state of
Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
and Germany's Kulturstiftung des Bundes. The rest came from sponsors, donors and ticket sales. Documenta 14’s budget was at 37 million euros ($40 million), spread between 2013 and 2018; by the end of 2017, its deficit was expected to reach 5.4 million euros. Overspending in Athens led to a liquidity shortfall of 7 million euros, forcing the shareholders of Documenta — the city of Kassel and the German state of Hesse — to step in with emergency loan guarantees worth 8 million euros.


References


Further reading

* * * Nancy Marmer, "Documenta 8: The Social Dimension?" '' Art in America'', vol. 75, September 1987, pp. 128–138, 197–199.


External links


Official web page of Documenta

Official archive of the ''documenta X''


interactive panorama at the Documenta Hall
"Transforming the Art World: The History of the Documenta Art Exhibition"
by Mélissa Leclézio, Culture Trip, 29 December 2016 {{Authority control Contemporary art exhibitions 1955 establishments in West Germany Recurring events established in 1955