Every documenta has its own theoretical inception. This time, dOCUMENTA (13) director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev chose a series of one hundred publications dedicated to the idea of the note. Its editor is Chus Martínez, who in daily life is curator of the MACBA in Barcelona.
The documenta is the clear winner of the Grand Tour this summer. Although much fault can be found with this exhibition, the documenta has reconfirmed its reputation as an independently operating artistic institute that, unhindered by the art market or art tourism, makes an argued statement about the state of affairs in international art.
Ai Wei Wei is bringing 1001 Chinese to Kassel, Artur Zmijewski is asking a deaf couple to sing Bach, the Brazilian Ricardo Basbaum has sent a serving tray around the world, and the molecular cook Ferran Adrià will be treating the public to space age delicacies. More than that, artistic director Roger M. Buergel and curator Ruth Noack will not reveal about the participants in the forthcoming Documenta. To their eyes the exhibition is no mere list of hits, but a medium for ideas.
The next Documenta has three leitmotifs. The second is devoted to the question, ‘What is bare life?’ METROPOLIS M asked two critics to give their initial reactions.
Among the work on show at Manifesta 5 was a piece by the German artist Amelie von Wulffen. It drew inspiration from photographs from her family’s past. Nathalie Zonnenberg interviewed Von Wulffen in Berlin about the background and context of this work.
