FRANKFURT
The last leg of my trip was a stopover
in Frankfurt, before taking a night train to Basel, and catching my morning Swissair
flight back to Toronto. ARTFOCUS had sent magazines to a Press Booth at the Frankfurt
Art Fair in May, and I had met the curators of the Museum fur Moderne Kunste in Frankfurt
at an exchange exhibit with the Whitney Museum in New York last October. The small
modern art museum was built as a dramatic pie-shaped wedge filling a city block,
somewhat like the architecture of the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Canada. The curators
had used the unusual aspects of the design to best advantage, setting up exhibits
of painting and sculpture that "came to a point" on several floors, and
using the multi-leveled halls as exhibition area for a wallpaper-like collection
of highly erotic photos. (Throughout the trip I found a big difference in Canadian
and European standards of acceptable subject matter for public display.)
I arrived in time for the press opening of a one-man show of the (more sedate) photos
of Canada's international art-star, Vancouverite, Jeff Wall. Frankfurt's trendy commercial
gallery section was somewhat like the Yorkville area in Toronto. Rows of galleries
were set up on the streets surrounding the museum, along with the usual European
contingent of cobblestoned courtyards, outdoor cafes and a grand cathedral nearby
filled with handsome historical artifacts.
The public appreciation of advanced contemporary art, was evidenced in the well-stocked
galleries. While large scale promotion has been dormant in Canada for several years,
in Frankfurt and other large European cities, it is the norm for contemporary art
dealers to produce a handsome colour catalogue for each of their artists and to participate
in several major international art fairs each year to enlarge their reputations.
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Art highlights at Basel
BASEL ART FAIR
The summer of '97 in Europe promised to be
the biggest turn-of-the century happening on the art scene, with four keynote international
art events opening in mid-June: As a Canadian art publisher determined to be "au
courrant," I began my "Kultur" tour on June 10th when Swissair deposited
me neatly at the ART'28'97 in Basel, Switzerland, my first visit to this grandaddy
of all artfairs since the '80's.
On my return visit, the cobblestoned city of Basel itself seemed less quintescent
European and more commercial and international, in comparison, for instance, to Maastritch
in Holland, which also shared a history of structures going back Roman times and
a strategic location as the gateway to three countries. Versions of Jonathan Borofsky's
huge robotic Hammering Man, first seen at Documenta 7 in l992, graced the streets
of Basel as well as Seattle and Frankfurt. At the closing night party, I was re-acquainted
with Rodin's wonderful weathered bronze, The Burghers of Calais in the open courtyard
of Basel's Kunst Museum, (recently re-encountered in the new Central Park wing of
the Metropolitan Museum in New York.) The Messe Basel, where ART'28'97 took place,
although still a unique circular show building, no longer seemed overwhelmingly huge,
after viewing equally large art exhibits in halls in Maastritch, Madrid and Chicago.
But no comparisons can detract from the sheer superb quality of the art shown at
ART'28'97 (June 11-18). There were 263 galleries from 21 countries represented on
the two circular, curving floors of the hall, rigorously weeded out by a selection
committee of dealers from the 600 galleries who applied.
To their credit, the exhibiting dealers, sans the dictation of an overruling curator,
presented art in each space with intellectual vigour and drama, that seemed truly
to predict the fast approaching 21st century. New forms of figuration emerged as
the dominant trend : larger than life, photographically derived, paintings and wall
constructions, veering from appropriations of the historical past to daringly erotic
versions of the present and predictions of the future were seen. Large scale anthropomorphic
sculptures, filled the centres of many booths, while the new electronic based practices
were in ascendancy with several huge robots as well as surprisingly real holographic
figures in motion displayed, as well as videos and well-developed internet sites.
Several Canadian art-stars were prominently displayed at the fair: Vancouverite Rodney
Graham, Canada's entry in the Venice Biennale, was represented by several super large
black and white photos of upside-down tree trunks; Torontonian Tony Scherman's large
encaustic painting of a bull, Europa, seemed to mirror the drama of the European
communities, meeting at the same time to address the problems of negotiating a common
currency; Vancouverite Jeff Wall's oversized figurative photo setups were a forerunner
of his participation in Documenta X and a one-man show at the Museum fur Moderne
Kunst in Frankfurt opening June 27th. Only two Canadian dealers participated: Jane
Corkin (Toronto) in the photo section, and Robert Landau (Montreal) with international
modern classics like Hundertwasser, Gottlieb and Dubuffet.
Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry (now living in Los Angeles) was feted at the fair
for his futuristic design of the soon-to be opened Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain.
The $100 million project to be opened in October '97, used the newest computer technology
to bring to realization the innovative, abstract concept. The twisting, curving and
jutting forms of the composition are rendered in titanium, a metal rarely used in
construction, but one perfect for the marine environment of Bilbao.
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LISTE' 97
Artworks by many of the biggest stars at ART'28'
97 were a forerunner to fuller exhibits at the 47th Venice Biennale in Italy (June
15- November 9) and Documenta X (June 21- September 28) & Skulptur Projekte 97
(June 22- September 28) in Germany which I moved on to. But before leaving Basel
I took time out to visit LISTE'97, The Young Art Fair in Basel (June 12-17).This
ìalternateî show of work by 36 galleries was held for the 2nd year in a
row, simultaneously with the Basel Art Fair, in the raw space of the former Warteck
Brewery by the Rhine river. An in-your-face show of younger international talent,
LISTEí97 had many of the experimental new media elements of ART28í97, but
on a smaller, less dramatic scale. Although A.A .Bronson of Art Metropole (a fellow
Canadian periodicals exhibitor) said, "I like it better."
Interventions: Basel/ Kassel/ Venice
INTERVENTIONS
Artfairs always attract extraneous showbiz
types that add unexpected spice to the serious business of understanding contemporary
art practices. Most photogenic ìinterventionsî at Euroart events this summer
were the Berlin duo, Eva & Adele, who bill themselves as "hermaphrodite
twins in art....coming from the future." Surrepticiously they popped up in surprising
places at every art event...crossing a canal in Venice, on a park bench beside a
winding river in Munster and in the thick of the crowd at Basel. Says Kim Levin in
the Village Voice: " Both have naked shaved craniums and perfectly painted faces....they
waft through the artworld like extraterrestials, clutching their dainty purses...one
seems to be male, and the other female, but theyr'e not saying..." In Venice,
peoples heads turned to follow two baby lambs on a leash, and in Kassel, two large
lumbering camels paraded by with a political message, plus an ambulance with ersatz
patients in a hospital bed sported "first aid for bad art" in front of
the Fredericanium on opening day of Documenta X . An extemporaneous show of photos
recording the last years of German art-star Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), was held in
the theatre lobby next to the Documenta Halle. But I'm getting ahead of my story....
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VENICE BIENNALE
I reached the Venice Biennale at the close of the Press Days, and found all the literature
gone in the rustic Canadian pavilion featuring Vancouver artist Rodney Graham. This
left me to my own powers of observation. The artist had provided a Robinson Crusoe
- type 35 mm colour film clip, starring himself as a l8th century shipwrecked sailor
on a Caribbean Island, to represent his artistic statement. Although the darkened
room was a restful haven in the summer heat, and the York University press release
made a valiant attempt at rationalization, the film in no way made any statement
about Canada or the better-known, large scale landscape-based photographic work of
the artist.
It was interesting to contrast Canada's and Iceland's rather compact pavilions, both
using the media of film and video. Steina Vasulka, the Icelandic artist, ingeniously
employed mirrors and cameras in different directions to get the sound and feeling
of huge waves breaking over a rocky shore in one room, and the crackling of flames
engulfing a forest in the other.
The Austrian pavilion was also a lesson in less is more. Their exhibit consisted
of two rooms each containing a mountain of books (50,000 to be exact, of 800 pages
each), to be given away to the public, describing the activities of The Vienna Group
(die wiener gruppe), an avant garde art movement in Vienna from l954-1960. The hypothesis
was that books and art as information should be free. Following this vein, the total
project could be downloaded from an internet site printed on the back cover.
Other highlights were the British pavilion (next to Canada) which provided a series
of fiberglass installations by Britain's badgirl of minimalist sculpture, Rachel
Whiteread; the US pavilion which showcased the expressionist, ethnically-pointed
paintings of Robert Colescott, the first black artist selected to represent America
in a Biennale; and the Korean pavilion nearby, featuring the handsome design-oriented
installations of Hyung-Woo Lee and Ik-Joong Kang.
But the star of the show was definitely the Italian pavilion where Biennale Curator
Germano Celant held court. Citing the theme for the 47th Biennale as Future, Present,
Past, this exhibit attempted to fulfill Celano's overall aim "to investigate
contemporary art of the last 30 years: the 60's/70's, dominated by the encounter
between Europe and America; the 70's/80's, characterized by the osmosis between male
and female; the 80's/90's defined by the discovery of Multiculturalism." Sixty-five
artists from three generations were selected to present work. For me, the most outstanding
pieces featured in the pavilion were a huge encrusted wall painting of a pyramid
by Anselm Kiefer (Germany), who also had a one-man retrospective outside the Castello
Gardens in the Museo Correr above St. Mark's Square; an igloo-like installation by
Mario Merz (also representing his country in the German pavillion); a curving anthropomorphic
sculpture by Tony Cragg (England); and a row of simple red & white striped fences
leading to the pavilion by Daniel Buren (France). There was a moment of pride at
the opening ceremonies when Canadian-born painter Agnes Martin (in her 80's) was
awarded one of the two Golden Lions for lifetime achievement.
Taking the "vaporetto" (waterbus) back and forth from the maze-like, twisting
streets of the ancient city of Venice, to the summery pavilions in the wooded parkland
of the Castello Gardens, was one of the fun parts of a visit to the Biennale. Returning
one day I renewed acquaintance on the boat with Milton Esterow, publisher of Art
News (USA), then set out by foot to cross the Academia Bridge and revisit the wonderful
collection of early 20th century art in the The Peggy Guggenheim Foundation on the
opposite side of the Grande Canal, which curves thru the centre of Venice.
Next to the Foundation, I attended The Mask and the Face, an art opening in the San
Gregorio Art Gallery featuring the Cubistic /Surrealist paintings of dynamic &
beautiful young rising Latvian-born art-star, Lolita Tomofeeva. I enjoyed a mingling
of old and new friends, patrons and art professionals, (many recently met at the
Basel Artfair), and then took a waterbus with themback to the artist's favourite
cafe in the city for a typical Venetian late-nite celebration of salads, pasta and
wine.
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L. Venice,/ R. Documenta X
DOCUMENTA X
The next stage of my Euroart agenda was to
head north again for the opening of Documenta X in the little city of Kassel, Germany.
(By this time I was weighed down by an extra suitcase of beautiful art catalogues
from Basel and Venice, which I cagily checked at the Swiss train station in Basel,
to be retrieved on my return.) My luggage lightened, I journeyed up to north Germany
on their modern wonder, the high speed, high tech ICE train....which featured reclining
chairs that go back like airplane seats, a huttle, to the older Kulturbanhof station.
The smaller inner city station had a little TV at each passenger space, automatic glass doors
between cars, and ongoing food service, (no need to pack the ubiquitous railway lunch)...and
arrived first at the new Kassel-Wilhelmshohe
ICE station, and then, by seen relaunched
as a cultural centre, since its eclipse by the ICE station in l991, and was appropriately,
the first building in the "parcours" (or axis) of the inside/outside art
event in Kassel.
Over 2,500 members of the art press from around the world had descended on the city
for the official Press Days of Documenta X by the time I arrived. (Controversy about
the event was the central subject of TV & print media across Europe for the entire
period of my visit!) Renowned as the once-in-five-year percursor of all thats new
and important in modern art, the artworld awaited the 10th Documenta unveiling with
bated breath. Whatever directions it pointed to would lead the way to the 21st century
in art.
Most of the controversy swirled around Parisian-born Catherine David, Artistic Director
of the event: she was arrogant (she refused to name the artists of Documenta X in
advance); she was the first woman director and the youngest (born in l954) ; it was
said that she overlooked painting and sculpture and preferred photography, film,
video and the internet. There was a tendency at first to reject her choices out of
hand. For example the rooms full of intimate scrapbook pages of photos documenting
the creative life of leading German painter, Gerhard Richter, the first exhibit one
saw in the Fredericanium at the centre of the event, seemed an inconsequential choice,
compared to the drama of his large, well-known paintings seen in the other art events
of the summer. But I was happy to see two Canadians artists from Vancouver represented
in the building: a roomful of large black and white photos by Jeff Wall, placing
average people in simple household activities, and Der Sandmann, a l995 video by
Stan Douglas.
David's concept for Documenta X unfolded as an intervention of contemporary art and
culture along a central axis joining the natural structures of the city of Kassel
and its cultural edifices. She says, ìWhen I first saw the Hauptbahnhof- in
the meantime called Kulturbahnhof- I was taken with the unique atmosphere of it.
It reflects our mobile, nomadic culture in a special way when two places that signify
"passage" of movement and transition, form the beginning and the end of
the exhibition parcours of the Documenta X: a station and a river, the Fulda."
Starting at the old railway station (marked by the Walking Man on a Pole of Jonathan
Borofsky, a relic of Documenta IX in l992, covered in in the first issue of ARTFOCUS), the show continues
through a series of near deserted underground subway stations (built in the 60's),
down the pyramid-like stairways of the Treppenstrase, (the first traffic-free pedestrian
zone in post-war Germany), until it reaches the stately Museum Fredericianum (l779).
The next steps lead to the Ottenium, one of the first theatres built in Germany (1605),
the Documenta-Halle ( 1992) which is the site of the lecture program of 100 Days-100
Guests, down to the Orangerie (early 18th century) at the bottom of the ravine/ parkland
winding through the city , and ultimately to the banks of the river Fulda.
All of the historical buildings used for the Documenta exhibits were destroyed during
World War Two in the 40's, and have been meticulously rebuilt by the city since the
50's. (Kassel and Munster, the next city I visited, were both devastated by bombing
during the war: Kassel because it housed munitions plants and Munster for its cathedrals,
a retaliation by the British for the bombing of the cathedrals of Coventry.) The
original concept of Documenta, begun in l955, was an attempt to catch up with the
disruption of the war and rehabilitate the modern art that Hitler had banned.
Catherine David's l997 presentation of Documenta X stressed a turn-of-the century
sense of flux. Instead of a catalogue, there was a short guidebook for the press,
describing the project of each artist, and a larger book, authored by David, taking
a historical look at contemporary art in relation to society, from the post-war period
of 1945 to the present; the onsite lectures, by leading cultural philosophers known
worldwide, were recorded on video and transmitted live onto the Documenta X website
daily; six filmmakers were commissioned to create original works to be aired as competed
in the theatre of the railway station; theatre makers were invited to Kassel to create
original dramas to be produced as a theatre marathon at the end of the 100-day exhibition;
Hybrid Workspace, was set up as a temporary laboratory in the Orangerie, as a changing
experiment using radio, TV and flashing discoteque - like music and images, to be
recorded daily on the internet; this project culminated with a piggery in the nearby
park, where visitors were encouraged to lie down on mattresses near the pigs ....
and intimately view the ambiance of animal life.
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Documenta X, Kassel
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L. Innenseite, Kassel / R. Skuptur Projekte, Munster
INNENSEITE
The first night in Kassel I attended the "vernissage"
(opening party) of Innenseite (June 22-September 28), an alternate show of 97 world-wide
based installation artists, planned to coincide with Documenta X, organized independently
by University of Kassel professor, Hamdi el Attar. (I was briefed about the event
back in Canada, several months previous to my arrival by E-Mail and Internet.) The
numerous rooms of an empty police station in the centre of the city were requisitioned
for the diverse art installations and a series of supportive lectures were held at
the University as well as at the station. Innenseite's theme of Encountering the
Other was exemplified by two of the speakers at the University of Kassel: Angel Orensanz
(USA), a global installation artist and sculptor, who presented the history of his
unique independently funded cultural foundation in a formerly abandoned synagogue
in New York; and George Gittoes (Australia), an artist who, while attached to the
medical unit of the Australian peacekeepers, was witness to the planned massacre
of refugees in Rwanda in l995. A simple newsprint journal sufficed as a catalogue
but an excellent website promises to keep Innenseite in the public consciousness.
MUNSTER
The weekend events finished with a sidetrip
by train further West in Germany, to the quaint University city of Munster in the
province of Westphalia, a few miles from the border of Holland, hosting the once-in-ten-year
international sculpture exhibit, Skulptur Projekte'97(June 22-September 28).
For this 3rd edition of Skulptur Projekte, 69 international artists had been invited
by Frankfurt- based Curator, Kasper Konig, to present site-specific works in mainly
outdoor locations around the town. Three Canadians were selected: Kim Adams (Edmonton),
Janet Cardiff (Lethbridge) and Stan Douglas (Vancouver). The total event included
such art-star greats as Carl Andre (USA), Georg Baselitz, (Germany), French-born
Daniel Buren (his array of striped red and white flags, strung across the streets
as you enter the town, set off the outlines of soaring church steeples), Hans Haacke(Germany),
Rebecca Horn (Germany), Jeff Koons(USA), Sol Lewitt (USA), Claes Oldenburg (USA),
and Korean-born, Nam June Paik (his fleet of 32 silver-painted American classic cars
from the 20's to the 50's, set in four groups in front of a castle, was definitely
the most dramatic piece in the show) and once again, Rachel Whiteread (England).
Associated sculpture projects in the city by Eduardo Chillida (Spain) and Richard
Serra ( USA) added further drama to this end -of -the century sculpture event. A
full catalogue, CD Rom and limited editions of artists works were available to commemorate
this event.
The cobblestoned town of Muenster is filled with the spires of churches and cathedrals,
with a gentle river winding through a central park. The peacefulness belies some
of the town's violent past, which several of the artist's works interrelated to.
One is reminded that Voltaire's adventures of Candide with his famous phrase, "All
is for the Best, in the Best of all possible Worlds," began in Westphalia. On
the spires of St. Lamberti, the cages of three Anabaptists hang; (we were told that
during the Inquisition, people were put in the cages and dunked in the river and
drowned if they didn't confess, then left in the cages to be eaten by the birds.)
Like Holland, the area is so flat that the preferred method of transportation is
the bicycle, but my fellow-travellers and I resisted and set out on foot, in a gently
drizzling rain, to find the sculptures, cited on a maze-like map provided in the
program, like a giant Easter egg hunt. It was a relief to take refuge in the University
from time to time and view the works in an ongoing slide presentation, from the comfort
of a dry bench.
KASSEL SURPRISE
I returned briefly to Kassel, before setting
off for my final project, a tour of the gallery scene in Frankfurt, and immediately
headed for the former DOCUMENTA X Press Room in the City Hall to check out the 100
Days daily program. The Press Room had changed! The computers, faxes, copiers etc.
were gone. Inside I saw only two well-dressed middle- class women and a man with
a TV camera. Seeing my camera, they beckoned me to enter. Then, to my surprise, one
woman pulled a huge live cobra from a bag on the floor, and wound it around her neck,
where it was spitting at my face with a forked tongue! They were there to promote
the Circus Romano in Kassel. Shocked, I ran out of the room, and down the four flights
of stairs to the street at breakneck speed !
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Frankfurt Art Scene
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