The documenta exhibitions
The documenta is regarded as the most important exhibition of contemporary art, drawing attention from all over the world. It was initiated in 1955 by the artist and art educator Arnold Bode in Kassel. After the period of Nazi dictatorship, it was intended to reconcile German public life with international modernity and also confront it with its own failed Enlightenment. Nobody would have thought at that time that the exhibition, often called the One Hundred Day Museum, would become an unparalleled success. Nevertheless, the thirteenth documenta will take place in summer 2012. For further information on the process of her preparation please click here.
The singular character of the exhibition has been preserved. Every five years, a new director is chosen and the exhibition is reinvented, a concept which to date has been affirmed by the public's interest. The number of visitors has continually risen. More than 750 thousand visitors came to documenta12.
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d12 2007
www.documenta.de (status quo including all links: 31.12.2007)
The exhibition devised by artistic director Roger M. Buergel and curator Ruth Noack featuring work by 109 artists from 43 countries was visited by 754,301 paying guests. There were also 4,390 professionals and 15,537 journalists from 52 countries.
This corresponds to an increase in numbers without parallel in recent documenta history, with 16 % paying visitors (100,000 people) more than at Documenta11. ...
www.documenta.de (status quo including all links: 31.12.2007)
The exhibition devised by artistic director Roger M. Buergel and curator Ruth Noack featuring work by 109 artists from 43 countries was visited by 754,301 paying guests. There were also 4,390 professionals and 15,537 journalists from 52 countries.
This corresponds to an increase in numbers without parallel in recent documenta history, with 16 % paying visitors (100,000 people) more than at Documenta11. ...
d11 2002
www.documenta 11 (status quo including all links: September 2002)
With his team of six co-curators from six different countries, artistic director Okwui Enwezor, the first not to have come from Europe, demonstrated an open-minded and truly international approach to the world for Documenta11. As envisaged in the original concept ...
www.documenta 11 (status quo including all links: September 2002)
With his team of six co-curators from six different countries, artistic director Okwui Enwezor, the first not to have come from Europe, demonstrated an open-minded and truly international approach to the world for Documenta11. As envisaged in the original concept ...
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dX 1997
www.documenta 10 (status quo including all links: September 1997)
In 1997, Catherine David was the first women to be appointed artistic director of a documenta – the last before our transition to the new millennium. This led David to use as a central motif the idea of “looking back into the future”. She presented ...
www.documenta 10 (status quo including all links: September 1997)
In 1997, Catherine David was the first women to be appointed artistic director of a documenta – the last before our transition to the new millennium. This led David to use as a central motif the idea of “looking back into the future”. She presented ...
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d9 1992
Jan Hoet, artistic director of documenta 9 in 1992, described the exhibition as “a documenta of locations” and one based “solely on the artist and his work”. In not pursuing a theoretical concept with documenta 9, or offering a general thematic context, Hoet effectively broke with a documenta principle that ...
Jan Hoet, artistic director of documenta 9 in 1992, described the exhibition as “a documenta of locations” and one based “solely on the artist and his work”. In not pursuing a theoretical concept with documenta 9, or offering a general thematic context, Hoet effectively broke with a documenta principle that ...
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d8 1987
The eighth documenta in 1987 was also the second to be organized by Manfred Schneckenburger as artistic director. It concentrated on examining art's social relevance in the field of conflict between independence and intervention, and sought to explore the points of contact between design, art and architecture. However, ...
The eighth documenta in 1987 was also the second to be organized by Manfred Schneckenburger as artistic director. It concentrated on examining art's social relevance in the field of conflict between independence and intervention, and sought to explore the points of contact between design, art and architecture. However, ...
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d6 1977
documenta 6 of 1977 faced the task of formulating an independent, new definition of the concept of the thematic exhibition following the extensive, encyclopaedic concept the preceding documenta adopted. The media concept of d6, devised by artistic director Manfred Schneckenburger, attempted to ...
documenta 6 of 1977 faced the task of formulating an independent, new definition of the concept of the thematic exhibition following the extensive, encyclopaedic concept the preceding documenta adopted. The media concept of d6, devised by artistic director Manfred Schneckenburger, attempted to ...
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d4 1968
the run-up to documenta 4 in 1968 was riddled with debate and controversy, with the key question being the very future of the documenta. The politicization of society in the late 1960s also made itself felt in Kassel – red flags and groups of people chanting slogans meant that the opening speeches could not be held. Moreover, internally documenta 4 underwent a generational conflict and a debate on ...
the run-up to documenta 4 in 1968 was riddled with debate and controversy, with the key question being the very future of the documenta. The politicization of society in the late 1960s also made itself felt in Kassel – red flags and groups of people chanting slogans meant that the opening speeches could not be held. Moreover, internally documenta 4 underwent a generational conflict and a debate on ...
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d2 1959
Based on the success of the first show, the second documenta in 1959 was already made an institution: it was now organized by a limited liability company and the conceptual realization spread among a larger number of art historians. These experts now focused on the post-War period, programmatically subtitling the exhibition "Art after 1945". 1945 was conceived not only as a political caesura. On the basis of ...
Based on the success of the first show, the second documenta in 1959 was already made an institution: it was now organized by a limited liability company and the conceptual realization spread among a larger number of art historians. These experts now focused on the post-War period, programmatically subtitling the exhibition "Art after 1945". 1945 was conceived not only as a political caesura. On the basis of ...
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