Harald Szeemann

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Harald Szeemann (2001)

Harald Szeemann (born June 11, 1933 in Bern , † February 18, 2005 in Tegna in Ticino ) was a Swiss museum director , curator and exhibition organizer of international standing.

family

Harald (Harry) Szeemann came from an Austro-Hungarian family. His grandfather Etienne Szeemann (1873–1971), a polyglot master hairdresser, initially worked in Budapest , Vienna and Karlsbad . As a ship's hairdresser, he came to Cape Town and finally to London . Harald's father was born here in 1905. In 1906 his grandparents moved to Bern with their children . In 1919 they received Swiss citizenship . His grandfather had known Karl Ludwig Nessler , the inventor of the permanent wave .

Life

Szeemann was already interested in music, visual arts and literature during his high school days. After graduating from high school , he studied art history , archeology and newspaper studies at the University of Bern and at the Institut d'Art et d'Histoire of the Sorbonne from 1953 to 1960 . During his studies he played in an ensemble theater in Bern. In 1956 he founded a one-person theater in which he was the main actor, text writer and set designer in one person. In order to earn a living, he worked as a graphic designer in an advertising agency and was a painter and copywriter. In 1957 Leonard Steckel received an offer at the same time for an engagement at the Schauspielhaus Zurich and Franz Meyer , the director of the Kunsthalle Bern , to organize the exhibition "Poetic painters - painting poets" at the St. Gallen Art Museum . Szeemann decided on the exhibition that he dedicated to Hugo Ball . In 1958 Harald Szeemann and the Parisian Françoise Bonnefoy married. Jérôme Patrice (* 1959) and Valére Claude (* 1964) are from his first marriage.

1960 Harald Szeemann was at the University of Bern with magna cum laude on the beginnings of modern book illustration of the Nabis (and their contacts with Revue Blanche, Théâtre de l'Oeuvre, Alfred Jarry, Ambroise Vollard) PhD. In the same year he moved with his family to Paris, where he worked at the National Library and had contacts with Jean Tinguely and Constantin Brâncuși . During his stay in Paris, he received a recommendation from Arnold Rüdlinger , former director of the Bern Kunsthalle, to apply to succeed Franz Meyer. Szeemann was elected director of the Berner Kunsthalle from 1961 by the Board of Trustees - 51% of the owners are Bernese artists . At the age of 27, Szeemann was the youngest curator of an internationally known art institution when he was elected . He headed the art gallery until 1969.

Szeemann was married to the artist Ingeborg Lüscher , whom he met in 1972 during Documenta 5 in Kassel. In 1974 he moved from Bern to Civitanova Marche (Italy). In 1975 their daughter Una Alja , now an artist, was born. In 1978 the family settled in the village of Tegna in Ticino , Switzerland .

Quote

«U always weigh him, so let's do the Uufgaab er Usschtelleige zmache and spend a long time with the Chünschtler, where for me the ideal company is - where we always have something to say and the society, so to speak, etches itself together with the addition of beings , I have to do it with Häärz. "

- Harald Szeemann : The Prominent Microphone , Schweizer Radio DRS 1 , December 31, 2000

Curatorial work at the Kunsthalle Bern

Sculpture of the insane - Art Brut - Insania Pingens, 1963

The exhibited works were originally collected by Hans Prinzhorn as art from the mentally ill in university hospitals in Bern, Lausanne and Paris. It was the first exhibition for works from the Prinzhorn Collection after the end of the Nazi era . Szeemann - director of the Kunsthalle and maker of the exhibition - showed the works with the intention that the mental production sites for the out-of-the-way are not outside, but within society. In doing so, Szeemann set the international discourse on high art and "crazy art" ( Art brut ) in motion.

Wrapped Kunsthalle Bern, 1967–1968

Szeemann gave Christo and Jeanne-Claude the opportunity to package their first building: the Kunsthalle Bern.

When Attitudes Become Form, 1969

With the exhibition “Live in your head: When Attitudes become Form” with the subtitle “Works - Concepts - Processes - Situations - Information” , which is often described as legendary , Szeemann embarked on a new form of staging. This exhibition did not focus on the chronological or thematic order of the presentation. The works of the contemporary artists, which incorporated new art forms such as installation , land art , environment and happening , entered into an exciting dialogue through the conception of the curator. Many of the works were only created “on site” in the museum. Szeemann's claim was "... to show new artistic forms against the dominance of tachism and geometric art " , "which did not arise from preconceived artistic opinions, but from the experience of the artistic process." In the exhibition catalog with the detailed title "Live in your ." head. When Attitudes Become Form. Works-Concepts-Processes-Situation-Information. When attitudes become form. Works-Concepts-Processes-Situations-Information ” a total of 69 artists were presented, but for technical reasons only the works of 40 artists were shown in the exhibition.

In “harmony with the artists of his generation, he worked out new forms of presentation in parallel to expanding the concept of art. In his exhibition, Szeemann brought together European and American artists of the youngest generation, new names such as Richard Serra , Robert Morris , Michael Heizer , Eva Hesse , Bruce Nauman , Joseph Beuys , Mario Merz , Richard Artschwager and Lawrence Weiner , whose work was presented in Bern Place originated ” . The exhibited artists also included Jannis Kounellis , Reiner Ruthenbeck and Sarkis Zabunyan . The exhibition then traveled from the Kunsthalle Bern to the Museum Haus Lange in Krefeld and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. The exhibition When Attitudes become Form led to alienation with the Kuratorium of the Kunsthalle, which refused a subsequent exhibition with works by Joseph Beuys: Szeemann resigned.

Free curatorial work

Agency for intellectual guest work and museum for obsessions

Szeemann founded both institutions after he left the Kunsthalle Bern as productive concepts and tools in his imagination. The agency for intellectual guest work brought about the exhibition “ Bachelor Machines / Les Machines Célibataire ” and helped him to survive Documenta 5. Szeemann invented the Museum of Obsessions after the Documenta to give his agency a direction in which certain exhibition projects relate to one another.

Documenta 5, 1972

Szeemann was appointed curator on the recommendation of the gallery owner and promoter of new art movements, Rolf Ricke . Szeemann was the youngest director of a Documenta in Kassel , and Documenta 5 with the title “Surveying Reality - Imagery Today” is considered by many to be the most important one to date. Szeemann understood the event as happening for 100 days: consequently, he invited the artists to show not only paintings and sculptures, but also performances and "happenings". Szeemann broke with the curatorial convention to select all works individually. Instead, he gave artists the opportunity to freely produce for a specific situation. He also relativized the concept of art by including "non-artistic visual worlds": sculpture of the mentally ill, imagery and piety, social iconography (banknotes, front pages of the magazine Der Spiegel , political propaganda, advertising), science fiction and utopia.

Bachelor machines / Les Machines Célibataires, 1975

The exhibition traveled to nine venues in Europe from July 1975 to April 1977: Kunsthalle Bern, Venice Biennale , Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris, Kunsthalle Malmö , Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Museum des 20th century (today Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation ) in Vienna.

The exhibition hit the nerve of the times and was visionary, because it introduced the intellectual history of technical and social upheavals through the myth of the bachelor machine, which continue to have an effect today as digitization (see "Cyberspace and bachelor machines " in Ars Electronica , ARTificial Intelligence & ARTificial ART).

Monte Verità, 1978

After three years of work, the Monte Verità touring exhibition opened in Ascona in the summer of 1978 . Le mammelle della verità / The breasts of truth . The exhibition was shown in five locations, including the Isole di Brissago and Casa Anatta on Monte Verità . The exhibition was later shown in the Kunsthaus Zürich , in the Berlin Academy of the Arts , in Vienna in the Museum of the 20th Century and in the Munich Villa Stuck before it was turned into a permanent exhibition on Monte Verità. As a result, Szeemann took care of the small museum free of charge throughout his life.

The very extensive exhibition hit the zeitgeist with topics such as Indian mythology, healthy eating and the romanticization of the "healed" past, was a great success with the public and received a lot of positive criticism in the media. While working on the exhibition, Szeemann made many contacts that should be groundbreaking for his future work.

Biennale di Venezia, 1980

Szeemann was co-organizer and introduced the “Aperto” exhibitions for young artists.

Accademia di Architettura, 1996

The Faculty of Architecture, Accademia di Architettura , at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) , the first university in Italian-speaking Switzerland, was shaped by Szeemann during the following six founding years.

Biennale di Venezia, 1999 and 2001

Szeemann was director of the “Visual Art” section of the 48th and 49th Venice Biennales (1998–2002). He expanded the exhibition space to include vacant industrial sites and abolished the general topic and age restrictions.

Kunsthaus Zurich

Since 1981 Szeemann was a "permanent freelancer at the Kunsthaus Zürich ".

The tendency towards a total work of art, 1983

Szeemann conceived the now famous exhibition for the Kunsthaus Zürich , it was then shown in the Museum of the 20th Century in Vienna, in the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf / Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen in Düsseldorf and in 1984 in Berlin. It was opened in Zurich on February 11, 1983, almost exactly on the 100th anniversary of Richard Wagner's death, who is considered to be the founder of the musical synthesis of the arts. The exhibition brought together over 300 objects, architectural models , scores , drawings and paintings, which, as total works of art, represented the European utopias from 1790 to the present day. Szeemann did not want to limit the exhibits to their aesthetic effect, but rather to show “a transformation of social reality into a renewed society” .

Szeemann presented including the Merzbau of Kurt Schwitters , reconstructed by the Swiss stage designer Peter Bissegger, the Goetheanum in Dornach with various exhibits and models, the cathedral Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudí , which ultimately utopian Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona , the Monte Verita in Ascona , but also Anselm Kiefer's mythological allegories. "... through an exhibition strategy that classified the exhibits in their culturally critical, philosophical and religious context of meaning, this Zurich show made this tendency (towards the total work of art) visible in its entire breadth and thus exposed a deep stream of modern art development ..." .

Joseph Beuys, 1993-1994

Szeemann conceived and organized a retrospective of the work of Joseph Beuys for the Kunsthaus Zürich , which took place from November 26, 1993 to February 20, 1994. The following exhibition venues were the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid and, under other curatorial supervision, the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Exhibitions (selection)

  • 1958: The Family of Man , installation, Art Museum St. Gallen
  • 1962: Harry Kramer , Mobiles - Marionettes - Automobiles - Sculptures, Biel
  • 1967: Science-Fiction , Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
  • 1970: happening & fluxus , Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
  • 1974: Grandfather, a pioneer like us , apartment in Bern
  • 1978: Monte Verità
  • 1988: Zeitlos , Berlin
  • 1995: a hundred years of cinema .
  • 1996: Austria in the rose network
  • 1997: Biennale de Lyon
  • 2002: Money and Value - The Last Taboo . As part of the Expo.02 - Swiss National Exhibition
  • 2003: Blood & Honey - the future is in the Balkans
  • 2004: Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla
  • 2005: Belgique visionnaire ( Visionary Belgium ), Brussels , Palais des Beaux-Arts.

Exhibitions about exhibitions by Szeemann

  • 2013: When Attitudes Become Form: Bern 1969 / Venice 2013 (reconstruction of the 1969 exhibition), Fondazione Prada, Venice
  • 2018: Museum of Obsessions , Getty Research Institute Galleries, Los Angeles; then: Kunsthalle Bern and Kunsthalle Düsseldorf

Awards

Szeemann had been a member of the Collège de 'Pataphysique since 1961 and a member of the Akademie der Künste (Berlin) since 1997 . In 2001 he was awarded the Max Beckmann Prize of the City of Frankfurt am Main. In April 2006, Szeemann was awarded posthumously the honorary doctorate of the Faculty of Arts, University of Zurich .

Publications

  • Bachelor machines . (Extended edition of the 1975 catalog, edited with Hans Ulrich Reck). Springer Verlag, Vienna, New York 1999, ISBN 978-3-21183-353-7 .
  • Museum of Obsessions. Merve Verlag , Berlin 1981, ISBN 978-3-88396-020-3 .
  • Individual mythologies. Merve Verlag, Berlin 1985, ISBN 978-3-88396-040-1 .
  • Timeless for time - the museum of obsessions. Lindinger and Schmid, Regensburg 1994, ISBN 3-929970-11-2 .
  • When Attitudes Become Form - Live in Your Head , Kunsthalle Bern. 1969 (reprint 2006)
  • Bachelor machines / Les machines Célibataires (Ed. With Jean Clair). Exhibition catalog, Alfieri, Venezia, 1975.
  • happening & fluxus. Materials. (with Hans Sohm), Kölnischer Kunstverein. Cologne, 1970.

Archives and Library

In 2011 the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles acquired the curator's archive and library. The institute wants to set up its own research area to deal with the field of curature research.

literature

  • Florence Derieux (Ed.): Harald Szeemann: Individual Methodology , Ringier Kunstverlag, Zurich, 2007, ISBN 978-3-905829-09-9 (English)
  • Tobia Bezzola, Roman Kurzmeyer (Ed.): Harald Szeemann, with by through because towards despite. Catalog of all exhibitions 1957-2005. Zurich, Vienna, New York 2007, ISBN 3-211-83632-2 .
  • Hans-Joachim Müller: Harald Szeemann. Exhibition maker. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2006, 168 pages, 94 illustrations, ISBN 3-7757-1704-8 .
  • Gianna Ruepp (Ed.): Harald Szeemann - Il viaggio meraviglioso / The Wondrous Journey, La fabbrica , publication for the exhibition of the same name at the Museo d'Arte Mendrisio, 2009 (Italian / English)
  • Karin Wegmüller (Ed.): Harald Szeemann ... e questo è il mio sistema! 320 photos from Fabbrica Szeemann, photographed by Aufdi Aufdermauer, Wolfsberg Verlag, Zurich 2016, ISBN 978-3-85997-049-6
  • Harald Szeemann in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)

documentary

  • Temporary enchantment , film portrait of the curator Harald Szeemann - a co-production SRG / RTSI Radiotelevisione della Svizzera Italiana with music by JS Bach (director: Gaudenz Meili ), 1992 (streaming )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nike Breyer in an interview with HS in the TAZ on October 27, 2002
  2. ↑ Harald Szeemann: Museum of Obsessions. Merve, Berlin 1981, p. 231.
  3. ↑ Felicia Herrschaft in a conversation with Harry Szeemann
  4. ↑ Translation: "And that's why I always say the task of doing exhibitions and spending a lifetime with the artists who are the ideal company for me, you have to live these many encounters with heart." (Harald Szeemann)
  5. ^ Extension of the exhibition: "Bern 1963: Harald Szeemann invents the Prinzhorn Collection". In: Overview of press releases. Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, archived from the original on October 9, 2007 ; Retrieved October 28, 2008 .
  6. ^ Wrapped Art Gallery. Christo and Jeanne Claude, archived from the original on September 4, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2012 .
  7. ↑ Harald Szeemann in: Live in your head. When Attitudes Become Form. Works-Concepts-Processes-Situation-Information. When attitudes become form. Works-concepts-processes-situations-information, exhibition catalog, Kunsthalle Bern, 1969
  8. ^ Kunsthalle Basel (ed.): "With by through because towards despite" ( Memento from August 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ “In the Museum of Obsessions I settled on three fundamental themes, metaphors that had to be given visual form: the Bachelor, la Mamma, and the Sun.” Harald Szeemann in: Hans-Ulrich Obrist: “Mind over matter” interview. BNET, pp. 8.5-9.1, archived from the original on July 8, 2012 ; Retrieved October 26, 2008 .
  10. ↑ Harald Szeemann: The early years of Rolf Ricke . In: Marianne Stockebrand (Ed.): Rolf Ricke . Texts by artists, critics, collectors, friends and colleagues written for Rolf Ricke on the occasion of his 25th anniversary in the gallery. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-88375-133-4  ( formally incorrect ) , p. 49-55 .
  11. ^ Harald Szeemann: Junggesellenmaschinen / Les machines Célibataires . Ed .: Jean Clair, Harald Szeemann. Alfieri, Venezia 1975, p. 4.3 .
  12. ↑ Harald Szeemann: Bachelor machines . Ed .: Hans Ulrich Reck. Springer, Vienna 1999, p. 48 .
  13. ↑ Florian Brody, Mario Veitl: ARTificial Intelligence & ARTificial ART in: Digitale Träume Virtuelle Welten, Volume 02. Ars Electronica Archive, accessed on March 16, 2009 .
  14. ↑ Andreas Schwab : “You can't complain that your time was boring.” Harald Szeemann and the Monte Verità exhibition . ( palma3.ch [PDF; accessed on November 17, 2017]). Published in full in Italian translation: “Lei non può lamentarsi di aver passato il suo tempo annoiandosi.” Harald Szeemann e l'esposizione sul Monte Verità . In: Claudia Lafranchi Cattaneo, Andreas Schwab (ed.): Dalla visione al chiodo. Dal chiodo alla visione. Il Fonde Harald Szeemann dell'Archivio Fondazione Monte Verità . Bellinzona 2013, p. 173-220 .
  15. ↑ Hans-Joachim Müller: Harald Szeemann. Exhibition maker. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2006, p. 74, ISBN 3-7757-1704-8
  16. ↑ Hans Belting: The Invisible Masterpiece: The Modern Myths of Art , p. 458, CH Beck, 1998, ISBN 978-3-406-48177-2
  17. ↑ Exhibition catalog: The tendency towards the Gesamtkunstwerk ISBN 978-3-7941-2445-9 , p. 211
  18. ^ Roger Fornoff: The longing for the total work of art: Studies on an aesthetic conception of modernism, p. 13, Olms Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-487-12767-5
  19. ↑ Harald Szeemann (Vorw.): Joseph Beuys , Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich 1993, p. 4
  20. ↑ Manfred Schwarz: Dilettantes of the miracle . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 59, 12./13. March 2005, p. 14.
  21. ^ Website of the Fondazione Prada, Venice
  22. ^ Die Kuratorenmaschine , in: FAZ of June 8, 2011, page 28.
  23. ^ Film portrait of Harald Szeemann by Gaudenz Meili
personal data
SURNAME Szeemann, Harald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss curator, head of the Berner Kunsthalle (1961–1969), curator of Documenta 5 and the Venice Biennale (1999–2001)
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 2005
Place of death Tegna