Singing Art Museum

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Singing Art Museum
Singing - Ekkehardstraße - Art Museum 01 ies.jpg
Singing - Ekkehardstraße - Art Museum
Data
place Sing Coordinates: 47 ° 45 ′ 40.1 ″  N , 8 ° 50 ′ 12.1 ″  EWorld icon
Art
Art museum
opening 1990
operator
City administration Singen
management
Christoph Bauer
Website
ISIL DE-MUS-412017

The Kunstmuseum Singen , founded in 1990, focuses on the presentation of modern and contemporary art from the international "four-country region of Lake Constance" (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein). Reopened in 2014 after modernization and spatial expansion, the Singen Art Museum, with around 1000 square meters on two floors, is one of the large municipal art museums on the German side of Lake Constance. The Singen Art Museum is located in the city of Singen .

history

The museum developed from an exhibition tradition that began in 1947 with the first "Singen Art Exhibition". From this nucleus arose an art and exhibition system, the award of public contracts since the 1950s, the establishment of a collection that was profiled in terms of art history and not restricted by genre and style, and the commitment of people and institutions to art. In the 1980s, the desire arose to make the historically grown art collection of the city of Singen (Hohentwiel) accessible to its own citizens and the art-interested public. The local council decided to set up a municipal art museum. In 1990 the house, located in the middle of downtown Singen, was opened.

collection

The Kunstmuseum Singen has a collection that conveys more than 100 years of art history on Lake Constance with around 5000 paintings, graphics, photographs, sculptures and sculptures. The house develops its exhibition, communication and research work from the four focal points of the collection: Landscape of the Hegau and Lake Constance since 1900, exile on Lake Constance - Höri artist from 1933 to 1960, modern art from the German southwest, contemporary art from the Euregio Lake Constance .

In addition, the Art Museum Singen makes a contribution to art in Singen's public space. The city under the Hohentwiel with works of art in the outdoor space, from Otto Dix to Joseph Kosuth , from Curth Georg Becker to Ilya Kabakov , can be regarded as a public art city ​​in the Lake Constance area and the German southwest.

"The landscape of the Hegau and Lake Constance since 1900"

The oldest works of art in the Singen Art Museum's collection show landscapes. They illustrate how the new motifs of the Hegau, Hohentwiel and Lake Constance around 1900 were rediscovered and worthy of pictures. At first it was mostly foreign, traveling painters who saw the landscape in a new way and presented it sometimes objectively, sometimes clayey, then again atmospherically, the local graphic artists, painters and photographers soon followed suit. Until the late Expressionist painting of the 1960s, the representation of the local landscape remained a central subject for most artists in the region. The history of the landscape of the Hegau and Lake Constance follows the great art-historical development: topographical descriptions and idealized representations became autonomous landscapes under the influence of open-air painting. The painters, graphic artists and photographers increasingly used the freedom of art for more and more individual, colorful and formal experiments. As a result, the whole range of possibilities can be found in the Singen collection.

A small collection of works ranging from August von Bayer (1859) to Johannes Grützke (2000) deals with Joseph Victor von Scheffel's (1826–1886) historical novel “ Ekkehard ” (1855). Scheffel's work, in which the medieval Hohentwiel and Lake Constance become places of action, was one of the most widely read books in Germany well into the 20th century. He encouraged numerous artists to sometimes create idiosyncratic images.

"The Höri artists from 1933 to approx. 1960"

The paintings, graphics, sculptures and photographs by the Höri artists form the valuable core of the Singen Art Museum's collection. It is the specialty of the Singen collection that almost all Höri artists, including their circle, are represented with groups of works. The entire collection, exhibition and research activities of the museum developed from this central inventory.

Around 1900, some writers, including Hermann Hesse (1877–1962), first discovered the Höri peninsula on Lake Constance . After the First World War, the poets were followed by some painters [Eugen Segewitz (1886–1952), Walter Waentig (1881–1962) and others. a.]. In conscious turning away from the big cities, the first generation of Höri artists, still strongly following the tradition of traditional landscape painting and plein air, looked for new, rural, unspoilt, Mediterranean motifs.

When the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the second, actual influx of artists to the Höri began. These artists also fled the city's art centers - but under completely different circumstances. The rude dismissal of politically "unreliable" professors from their teaching posts, the defamation of modern, abstract and expressionist art as " degenerate ", later the hardship in the cities threatened by the bombing war and the better supply situation prompted those artists who did not want to emigrate abroad, to withdraw to rural regions. The then remote Lake Constance peninsula Höri became a preferred refuge, also because of its proximity to Switzerland. First came Otto Dix (1891–1969), who lived at Randegg Castle (in Hegau) from 1933 to 1936 , Max Ackermann (1887–1975), the photographer Hugo Erfurth (1874–1948) and the painter Erich Heckel (1883–1970) ), Gertraud Herzger von Harlessem (1908–1989), Ferdinand Macketanz (1902–1970) and Helmuth Macke (1891–1936), whose “old mill” in Hemmenhofen became a focal point. The art historian Walter Kaesbach (1879–1961), expelled from his post as director of the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1933 , became a “quarter maker”, patron and agent for buyers and collectors in Hemmenhofen for many artists seeking refuge. Of these, the educated fruit farmer Paul Weber (1893–1985) from Bodman, who built up a comprehensive collection, was certainly the most important. During and after the war, Curth Georg Becker (1904–1972), born in Singen , the painters Walter Herzger (1901–1985), Jean Paul Schmitz (1899–1970), Rudolf Stuckert (1912–2002) and Rose- Marie Schnorrenberg (* 1926) and the sculptor Hans Kindermann (1911–1997) joined the Höri.

Parallel to the Höri artists, other painters retreated to Lake Constance: Julius Bissier (1893–1965), Elisabeth Mühlenweg (1910–1961) and Fritz Mühlenweg (1898–1961), Willi Müller-Hufschmid (1890–1966), Hans Breinlinger (1888–1963), Berthold Müller-Oerlinghausen (1893–1979), Georg Muche (1895–1987) or Werner Gothein (1890–1968). These artists are also represented with works in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Singen, as are those who lived on Lake Constance before 1933 - such as the painters Hans Purrmann (1880–1966) and William Straube (1871–1954), who were strongly influenced by Henri Matisse . or the painters Karl Einhart (1884–1967), Richard Dilger (1887–1973) or Alexander Rihm (1904–1944). Local artists, in turn, processed influences from the Höri artists, such as the painter Karl Oßwald (1925–1972), who valued the late expressionist works of Otto Dix . And the great camera masters of “ subjective photography ” such as Toni Schneiders (1920–2006) or Siegfried Lauterwasser (1913–2000) are represented in the collection.

Singen art exhibitions - the cornerstone of the collection

After the Second World War, the up-and-coming town of Singen recognized the proximity to the Höri artists as an opportunity. The Singen art exhibition in 1947 marked a new beginning. The show was one of the first post-war initiatives to convey modern art in the German south-west and offered artists, who had been ostracized for many years, a platform to present their current works. This quickly resulted in an annual series of exhibitions (from 1949), which until its end in 1972 radiated far beyond the region. Decisive for their success was the cooperation of the mayor Theopont Diez , the head of the cultural office Herbert Berner and the "artistic director" Curth Georg Becker .

First of all, the show brought together “Art in Hegau and the Untersee”, so the early subtitle. But the painter Curth Georg Becker, who was born in Singen in 1904 and returned to the region in 1943/46, knew how to quickly transform the Singen art exhibitions into national forums, as he was considered one of the best-known representatives of a festive figurative at the Académie Matisse in the 1950s and the École de Paris trained oil and watercolor painting all over Germany. The list of guest artists, secessions and groups regularly invited to Singen art exhibitions from 1953 onwards, largely determined by him, reads like a “who's who” of French-influenced German post-war modernism.

The newly emerging art centers in Germany soon became important points of reference - in particular the Karlsruhe Art Academy , to which Erich Heckel and Walter Herzger established the connection as professors. However, numerous artist associations, collectors and art associations on Lake Constance and in the south-west of Germany, in particular the Oberschwaben-Bodensee Secession (SOB), which Otto Dix presided, shaped the orientation of the Singen art exhibitions.

In the middle of the sixties the national borders were overcome and artists from Vorarlberg and from neighboring Switzerland were invited. The city bought; the municipal art collection was created. When the Kunstverein Singen was founded in 1960, the basis for art education in Singen expanded.

Modernism after 1945 from the German southwest

The dawn of a new generation in the seventies changed the collection and exhibition system of the city, the art association and independent initiatives. How, so the question, do you define “region” within an art business that is expanding, internationalizing and pluralizing more and more? In addition, young artists in particular rejected any “labeling”, left the “self-sufficient province” and migrated to the art centers. The multi-year exhibition series “Art around Lake Constance” focused for the first time on the artistic exchange among the people of Lake Constance. The oeuvre of artists who had ties to the region, but no longer only worked on site, but also in the centers, included international tendencies and received national attention, was presented more comprehensively for the first time in exhibitions that were now monographed. The art academies of Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Freiburg, which compete in terms of their orientation, became stimulating points of orientation for building up the collection. And the promotion of younger artists from the German southwest with not established, experimental positions began. For the first time, the established, common exhibition rooms were abandoned, integrated into the urban space or exhibitions were organized in alternative locations, for example in the “substation”. Other genres, media and techniques were added to painting and graphics. Stylistic restrictions were overcome; Sculptures, sculptures, collages, assemblages , object art as well as photo and video works.

To this day, the Singen Art Museum, often in collaboration with the Singen Art Association, presents artists from the south-west of Germany from 1970 to the present day.

Representatives of this area of ​​the collection include Herbert Baumann (1927–1990), Gerlinde Beck (1930–2006), Franz Bernhard (1930–2013), Jürgen Brodwolf (* 1932), Roland Dörfler (1926–2010), Diether F. Domes ( * 1939), Paul Uwe Dreyer (1939–2008), HAP Grieshaber (1909–1981), Otto Herbert Hajek (1927–2005), Erich Hauser (1930–2004), Emil Kiess (* 1930), Günter C. Kirchberger ( 1928–2010), Herbert Kitzel (1928–1978), Harry Kögler (1921–1999), Georg Karl Pfahler (1926–2002), Werner Pokorny (* 1949), Robert Schad (* 1953), Rudolf Schoofs (1932–2009 ), Anton Stankowski (1906–1998), Emil Wachter (1921–2012), Herbert Zangs (1924–2003).

Contemporary art from the Euregio Bodensee

The Euregio Bodensee forms an openly understood frame of reference for the collection and exhibition activities of the Kunstmuseum Singen. The term “region” can refer to content, motifs or themes, to the place of birth, residence or work of an artist, to projects or references to the vast Lake Constance area. This “restriction” that grew out of the collection is not intended to be narrow. However, the networked “four-country region of Lake Constance”, with its links to the art centers of neighboring countries and beyond, has become a hub for the exchange of different artistic positions and a lively place for numerous projects and initiatives. Quite a few well-known and promising artists come from this Euregio, keep in touch or have a second mainstay on Lake Constance. Long-term projects are just as much a reality as orders for space, location or topic-related interventions that are implemented in public spaces or in the “ white cube ” of museums.

The Singen Art Museum has accompanied several artists who have long been successful nationwide over the years. These include Felix Droese (* 1950), Friedemann Hahn (* 1949), Renata Jaworska (* 1979), Markus Weggenmann (* 1953), Harald F. Müller (* 1950), Marcus Schwier (* 1964), Gerold Miller (* 1961), Johannes Dörflinger (* 1941), Jan Peter Thorbecke (* 1942), Dschiggetai (di Jürgen Schiertz, * 1944), Eckard Froeschlin (* 1953), Jürgen Pal Bäumen (* 1951), Miriam Prantl (* 1965) , Andrea Zaumseil (* 1957), Markus F. Strieder (* 1961) or Markus Daum (* 1959).

Art in Singen's public space

The communal engagement includes, supported by sponsors, also public contracts. In relation to its size, Singen became a city rich in works of art outdoors. The spectrum ranges from building art and autonomous sculpture set up outside to complex interventions that have been developed within the framework of projects and buildings for specific locations.

Otto Dix - The only surviving murals

Otto Dix (1891–1969) is one of the most important artists in Germany. To this day he is recognized as a contemporary painter - with works that have experienced different, even contradicting interpretations in German-German art history. It is still little known that his oeuvre also includes wall paintings and late Expressionist works. Today the only surviving murals War and Peace (council chamber) and Das Paradies (wedding room) by Otto Dix are in the Singen town hall, two large-format, space-dominating works that the artist created for the 1960 town hall. The color schemes and cardboard boxes can be found in the collection of the Singen Art Museum.

Curth Georg Becker - paintings, glass windows and majolica tiles

The painter and graphic artist Curth Georg Becker (1904–1972) from Singen is one of the most important representatives of post-war modernism in southwest Germany. As co-initiator and artistic director of the Singen art exhibitions, he provided innovative impulses for the development of art in the region in the 1950s and 1960s and, not least through numerous commissions for murals and glass windows on public and private buildings, decisively shaped the cultural profile of the city of Singen. His extensive oeuvre unfolded after 1945 in the current field of tension between figurative objectivity and surface geometric abstraction. In his hometown of Singen, Curth Georg Becker created a series of monumental works from 1956 to 1972: the painting “The Man in the Community” (1960) for the town hall, majolica tiles for schools and glass windows for churches. His large concrete thick glass windows (1959) in the Evangelical St. Mark's Church are among the most important church windows of the 1950s in Germany.

Contemporary art

As part of the international art project “Here, there and there. Art in Singen “In 2000, significant works of art that shape the cityscape were created in Singen. Works by Joseph Kosuth (* 1945), Ilya Kabakov (* 1933), Stephan Balkenhol (* 1957), Roman Signer (* 1938), Harald F. Müller (* 1950), Catherine Beaugrand (* 1953) can be seen on site , Guido Nussbaum (* 1948) and Kirsten Mosher (* 1963).

These are combined with works in public space that were created between the seventies and the nineties, including large sculptures by Roland Martin (* 1927), Erich Hauser (1930–2004) and Robert Schad (* 1953). In 2007 and 2010, co-initiated by the Kunstmuseum Singen, two more works of art by Miriam Prantl and Markus Daum were realized at the new Stadthalle Singen, and in 2012 the multi-part work Empilement by Markus F. Strieder at the Bildungsakademie Singen.

Exhibitions

Temporary and special exhibitions

The Singen Art Museum offers constantly changing insights into its own collection, as well as up to five special exhibitions a year. In mostly monographic shows, the museum conveys current positions by international artists in the Euregio Bodensee, provides a platform for new, so far little-known artistic positions from the Euregio Bodensee or researches its own collection holdings and collection focuses. Last but not least, the art museum offers the Singen art association space for its “SingenKunst” exhibition series, which has been taking place since 2002.

  • “Walter Becker (1893–1984). Dream and reality. Painting and graphics. ”July 15 to September 23, 2018
  • "State of things. The Künstlerbund is a guest at the Städtische Galerie Bietigheim-Bissingen and the Kunstmuseum Singen. “October 22, 2017 to January 7, 2018.
  • “Jean Paul Schmitz (1899–1970). A Rhenish expressionist on Lake Constance. Paintings, watercolors, drawings, lithographs. ”July 16, 2017 to September 24, 2017.
  • “The artist friends Rolf-Müller Landau and Curth Georg Becker. Color and light. Paintings, watercolors, graphics. ”23 July 2016 to 25 September 2016.
  • “Around the Twiel. The landscape of the Hegau in art. ”November 21, 2015 to February 28, 2016
  • “Otto Dix. Anja Niedringhaus. Christoph Bangert. War. Images of violence. ”October 15, 2016 to December 4, 2016.
  • "Back there! Art in new spaces. ”On the reopening. September 13, 2014 to June 7, 2015.
  • "Bert Jäger (1919–1998). Photography. Black and white photography. ”July 22, 2012 to September 16, 2012.
  • "Eckart Hahn. The black scent of beauty. Paintings and Objects. ”May 25, 2012 to July 8, 2012.
  • “Baden-Württemberg 60. 60 years of the state of Baden-Württemberg. 60 works of art for Baden-Württemberg. ”January 29, 2012 to March 11, 2012.
  • “Modern at Lake Constance. Walter Kaesbach and his group. ”September 27, 2008 to January 11, 2009.

Movies

  • Ilya Kabakov: The Golden Apples
  • The Singing Art Museum

literature

Web links

Commons : Kunstmuseum Singen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Golden Apples, 2000
  2. ↑ SINGEN ART MUSEUM - Singen Art Museum. Retrieved September 3, 2018 .