Documenta IX

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The Zwehrenturm with the symbols and banners ( duck sleep ) by Lothar Baumgarten

The DOCUMENTA IX took place from June 13 to September 20th 1992 instead. The 9th documenta was under the artistic direction of Jan Hoet and the co-curators Denys Zacharopoulos and Pier Luigi Tazzi. For the first time, new media and experience forms were shown in large numbers.

Jan Hoet wrote in the preface to the short guide: Documenta IX is perhaps more than the previous documenta exhibitions a conscious and personal statement on our time. An argumentation in pictures that equally demands the eyes, the feeling and the experience of the individual. Without any special theoretical basic concept, Jan Hoet organized the documenta as a large art event with a colorful accompanying program.

The documenta IX dealt with sponsorship and merchandising in a relaxed manner, there were t-shirts, baseball caps and umbrellas with documenta symbols. Art messages were conveyed on cigarette packs: Art does not offer clear answers. Just ask. (Jan Hoet)

The magazine “Das Kunstforum” elevated documenta itself to a work of art in the title of the issue. Exhibits such as “Man walking to the sky” were judged to be mediocre by the critics, but enjoyed great public support. ( Kassel got another "secret" landmark next to the Hercules )

Documenta IX has made a significant contribution to making the documenta concept more accessible to broader sections of the population. Since 1992 the documenta has been a project of the whole city of Kassel, which a few years later (1999) declared itself the documenta city .

The event set another record with 603,456 visitors.

Exhibition locations

The Aue pavilions as “temporary buildings” on the edge of the Karlsaue

The exhibition venues were Museum Fridericianum , Ottoneum , Friedrichsplatz , documenta-Halle , Orangery ( Karlsaue ), Aue pavilions as temporary buildings in Karlsaue, the Neue Galerie , as well as the city center and the surroundings and open spaces of the exhibition locations.

The documenta IX was the "documenta of places" with seven permanent rooms and numerous exhibition locations throughout the city center.

The orangery was only available in a few areas because the Museum of Astronomy and the History of Technology moved in; instead, the documenta hall was completed on time and was used as a new and future permanent event location.

For the first time, temporary structures (elevated steel pavilions) were erected as additional exhibition space on the edge of the floodplain for documenta.

Works of art

189 international artists were invited to take part in Documenta IX. The most popular work of art was Jonathan Borofsky's 25 meter high “ Man walking to the sky ” (“Himmelstürmer”) on Friedrichplatz. He embodies a strong sculptural movement and dynamic with the walking direction towards utopia.

Lothar Baumgarten decorated the Zwehrenturm with quotes from the media company, which he placed next to the symbols of the game colors of card games and crowned the tower itself as a Giorgio de Chirico quote with nostalgic banners.

Mo Edoga stood on Friedrichsplatz and with the same peace of mind built his signal tower of hope out of flotsam and scrap wood, with which he discussed with the visitors of the documenta and explained the concept of "making as art".

In the foyer of the Fridericianum, Peter Kogler's “Ants” crawled around the visitor before Bruce Nauman's video installation Anthro / Socio - Rinde Spinning yelled at him.

Thomas Schuette's “ The Strangers ” had arrived life-size in ceramics on the balcony of the Red Palace and looked a bit lost, homeless and homeless at the colorful, fun company at their feet.

Charles Ray put the crown on the self-employment of art with art and the artist (and back) and addressed the narcissism of the artist (and the art business) in a shockingly striking way .

Documenta IX and its more than 1,000 works of art were flashy, colorful, entertaining and - contrary to the expectations and statements of established art critics - sustainably successful in terms of public effectiveness.

Art is an attitude that arises from resistance to any kind of authoritarian ambition. (Jan Hoet)

Participating artists

193 (out of 195) of the participating artists are listed below.

"The Strangers" by Thomas Schütte
“Man walking to the sky” by Jonathan Borofsky on Friedrichsplatz
“This stone is from the mountain - this stone is from the red palace” by Jimmie Durham
An “Aue pavilion” on the edge of the Karlsaue

Works of art remaining in Kassel

  • “ The Strangers ” (or: “The Arrival”) by Thomas Schütte (ceramic, glazed, the figures in life size) - Location: Friedrichsplatz, arbor of the former Red Palace (SinnLeffers fashion house) - Partial work of art - the rest of the original group “The Strangers “Is located in Lübeck above the entrance to the music and congress hall .
  • " Man walking to the sky " (or: "Himmelsstürmer") (steel, fiberglass, aluminum. Height: approx. 25 m) by Jonathan Borofsky - Location: Kulturbahnhof Kassel , forecourt
  • "Spatial sculpture" (exposed brickwork: 8.75 m × 10.74 m × 3.99 m) by Per Kirkeby - location: Du-Ry-Straße, below the documenta hall
  • "This Stone Is From The Mountain / This Stone Is From The Red Palace" (sandstone, in 2 parts. Each approx. 50 cm × 50 cm × 50 cm) by Jimmie Durham - location: Karlsaue, Gustav Mahler stairs
  • “Three to One” (sound installation) by Max Neuhaus - location: AOK building (stairwell), Friedrichsplatz

documenta IX Edition

Eight different editions, each composed of six numbered and signed graphics by various artists, were published for documenta IX. The graphics were placed in a folder. Each edition was published in an edition of 50 copies. The graphics had a maximum format of 53 × 76 cm. Only five artists were represented in Edition F because the artist Lothar Baumgarten was unable to produce his graphics.

Sources and literature

  • Documenta IX: Kassel, June 13th - September 20th, 1992 - catalog in three volumes; Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-89322-380-0 (German) / ISBN 3-89322-381-9 (English).
  • Documenta IX short guide | Guide; Stuttgart 1992.
  • Kunstforum international, Volume 119 The Documenta as a work of art, Ruppichteroth 1992.
  • Cultural Office of the City of Kassel / documenta archive (ed.) / CIS GmbH (prod.); CD: Documenta 1-9 - A focus on four decades of exhibition history / Profiling four decades of exhibition history - 1955-1992 ; Kassel / Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-89322-934-5 .
  • Farenholtz, Alexander / Hartmann, Markus (eds.); Jan Hoet - On the way to Documenta IX; Kassel / Ostfildern-Ruit, 1991, ISBN 3-89322-240-5 .

Web links

Commons : Documenta 9  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information about the participating artists on documentaarchiv.stadt-kassel.de ( memento from January 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on December 29, 2015)