Oldenburg Art Association
The Oldenburger Kunstverein in Oldenburg is one of the oldest art associations in Germany. It was founded in 1843 to “teach about art objects and promote the sense of art” and quickly assumed a central role in the city's cultural life. As his first domicile, he moved into the representative "Augusteum" in 1867, which also housed the ducal picture gallery. Around 100 years after its founding, he then built and moved into a smaller, but modern and contemporary exhibition hall.
After 1945 the Oldenburger Kunstverein expanded its work and since then has also offered chamber concerts and a literature and lecture program in which it initiates and cultivates the current art and cultural policy debate. It was one of the few institutions that opened up very early and extensively to art from the then socialist states. He also dealt early with photography as an independent art form and the new media and presented interactive and interdisciplinary projects.
With its range of programs in the various fields and through cooperation projects, the Oldenburger Kunstverein is today an indispensable and up-to-date source of inspiration for the local and regional art and culture scene. In a time that calls for increased civic engagement, he demonstrates with conviction the efficiency and quality of voluntary work.
program
- Exhibitions
Since it was founded, the Oldenburger Kunstverein has shown over 850 exhibitions that focus on important national and international artistic positions and, above all, show current trends in art development. Not showing the tried and tested, but the young, surprising and bulky - such a program course is risky because it does not meet the expectations of the event audience. The Oldenburger Kunstverein steers this course because it is also about promoting vision, about critical discourse and about curiosity about the future.
Looking back over the past 15 years, the foresight of the Oldenburger Kunstverein has often been confirmed. Young artists, such as Jörg Sasse in 1995 , Thomas Ruff in 1996 , John Bock in 2000 or most recently Michael Beutler or Thomas Zipp , who had their first institutional solo exhibitions here, are now among the stars of the international art scene and are an integral part of current art history.
- Literary events
From different directions literary tendencies are presented that are typical of the time and that find their correspondence in the visual arts. This includes For example, the Oldenburg literary talk with the writer Klaus Modick , in which experts from the literary world discuss phenomena characteristic of the time. This also includes interdisciplinary events such as the series Art in Conversation, which moves between current events, philosophy and the visual arts, or the question of why Thomas Mann is considered to be the central figure of modernity that has just been relegated to us.
- Master concerts
For the concert series of the master concerts, which has been organized since 1946, internationally known soloists and ensembles are required to present chamber music from the baroque to the present day. Seven master concerts are currently held annually. They have been well received and are 80% subscribed in advance.
A declared aim is to present not only works of the classical tradition, but also compositions from the 20th century. Another goal is not to neglect the promotion of young talent in addition to the presentation of international greats; That is why the Oldenburger Kunstverein belongs to the organizer ring of the “ Federal Selection of Concerts of Young Artists ” and brings a concert from this offer every year.
Legal
The Oldenburger Kunstverein is an association under old law . He has according to available the Oldenburg Ministry of 31 July 1867, the property of a legal entity (Source: Journal of Laws for the Duchy of Oldenburg , Vol. 20 1867-1868, p 394, No. 53) and is in the district government Weser-Ems under the file number 122 00 01.
The Oldenburger Kunstverein is recognized as a non-profit organization.
history
1843 to 1868
The Oldenburger Kunstverein was created as part of a general "citizens' movement for art". In addition to the courtyard, she wanted to help shape cultural life in the city. In many German cities, the culturally obsessed bourgeois society founded such associations in order to be able to present and promote art - especially young and contemporary. Today around 200 of these associations work in Germany, their activities being located between museums, art galleries and galleries. They have become an indispensable part of the art scene. The Oldenburg initiative came from the members of the "Literarisch-Geselligen Verein" in 1839. They suggested that the previously inaccessible grand ducal art treasures should be presented to the public in an “educational” manner and at the same time that pictures of the latest were exhibited.
- 1842/43: Almost three weeks subscription to an art association. 203 people want to become members.
- 1843: Official establishment of the association on January 22nd.
Task according to the statutes: "Instruction on art objects and promotion of the artistic sense". The Grand Duke and his wife register as members. This marked the beginning of a close sponsorship relationship between the Princely House and the OKV until 1918. The first exhibition opened on February 19 in the casino. It lasts three days and shows 39 exhibits - from views of ancient Egyptian architecture in reproductions to original works by local artists. Eleven more short exhibitions followed, mostly with reproductions. Programs give instructive comments. The number of members increases to 267. - 1847: Relocation of the exhibitions to the new ducal library on the dam.
- 1848: Sharp decline in activities in the year of the revolution. With the exhibition “The History of the German People” by Karl H. Hermann, the association takes sides and shows that it is emancipated.
- 1857: The Grand Duke gives the association a building site on Elisabethstrasse and grants a 10,000 thalers subsidy for building costs. The 100th exhibition mainly shows works by Oldenburg artists and is a great success. The OKV will be returning to the casino as a guest for ten years. Branch associations in Jever and Varel are supplied with exhibitions.
- 1864: The Art Association and the Monument Association, which would like to honor Grand Duke Paul Friedrich August , award the architect Heinrich E. Klingenberg the construction contract for an art hall.
- 1867: Opening of the "Augusteum". The art association is a social meeting point. According to the new statutes, the association should build up a collection in order to "awaken, maintain and expand the sense of visual art".
1868 to 1918
The public in Oldenburg, as elsewhere, raves about late romanticism , historical pictures and realistic landscapes. Impressionist painters are not (yet) recognized. The work of the association is timely in its own way: Many young, but hardly modern artists are shown. The taste of the Oldenburg public has hardly developed after 50 years of work. Interest in exhibitions is waning and visitor numbers are falling. At the turn of the century, young artists urged participation in board work.
With the exhibitions of the " Brücke " painters in 1908 and 1910, the OKV experienced a great moment in its history. “Is this the dawn of a new era of colored expression?” Asks the critic of the Oldenburger Nachrichten.
- 1870/71: The war-related confiscation of the Augusteum interrupts exhibition activities.
- 1890: The OKV has around 460 members.
- 1893: Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation. Among the exhibiting artists are the 22-year-old student Bernhard Winter , the six-year-old Georg Müller vom Siel and the 30-year-old Richard tom Diek.
- 1901: 300th exhibition - no more than four exhibitions are presented per year.
- 1904: The Oldenburger Kunstfreunde association joins the OKV. With the participation of the Oldenburger Künstlerbund (founded in 1904), the gallery association and the Oldenburg State, a "State Gallery" is founded in the Augusteum.
- 1908: First regional solo exhibition by the “Brücke” painters Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich Heckel .
- 1910: The "Brücke" painters are presented a second time, along with works by the Oldenburg painter Emma Ritter .
- 1913: An expansion of the Augusteum is planned. However, the war and the abdication of the Grand Duke prevent its realization.
- 1918: The 75th anniversary of the founding of the association is celebrated in autumn.
1918 to 1945
The twenties also brought a breath of fresh air to the cultural scene in Oldenburg. The Kunstverein, however, is sticking to a more deliberate exhibition policy. After 1918, he worked to make the palace and the ducal collection of paintings accessible to the public as a cultural asset. The exhibitions strive to present current young art. Works by Lovis Corinth , Max Liebermann , Käthe Kollwitz , Ernst Barlach and Max Beckmann can be seen in larger graphic exhibitions . The more important role in this, however, is played by the Association for Young Art, founded in 1922 .
The Nazis and the aggressive Nazi art policy make it the Kunstverein before the DC circuit in 1937 impossible to issue modern art. The OKV only shows regional art and solo exhibitions by Oldenburg jubilarians such as Anna Martens, Bernhard Winter and Wilhelm Kempin; also furniture, art in building and historical exhibitions. There were no more exhibitions in the last two years of the war.
- 1918: Exhibition in autumn on the 75th anniversary of the foundation with works mainly by artists from Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven. Works from the Grand Ducal Collection are also shown, including a. by Georg Müller vom Siel , Helene Strack and Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein .
- 1920: The copper engraving collection becomes a separate department of the Kunstverein.
- 1922: The number of club members is sensationally high at 1,152.
- 1933: The board of directors conceives an extensive Gau exhibition that is to unite the Bremen and Oldenburg artists' associations. She is supported by Gauleiter Carl Röver . Authorities, schools and party organizations are obliged to visit the exhibition. Towards the end of the year control of the OKV by the Weser-Ems regional management of the Nazi Reich Chamber of Fine Arts.
- 1937: Front pictures of the First World War by Otto Engelhardt-Kyffhäuser are shown in September . The critics praised the realism of the portrayal of "... a German loyalty, born from the silent heroism of the German man". In October, the OKV was brought into line under pressure from the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts through amendments to the statutes: The association's executive board will be appointed by the Reich Chamber in future.
- 1938: The number of members of the Kunstverein sinks to a low of 292.
- 1943: There is no festive event for the 100th birthday of the association. The exhibition activities come to a standstill until the end of the war. Half of the Augusteum is used as a replacement for the destroyed district court.
1945 to 1973
The Second World War had more or less brought the city's cultural life to a standstill. But after the collapse, the city's culture also continued to flourish. The Kunstverein makes it its first most important task to remove the enormous deficit of information about the state of contemporary art outside Germany and to initiate the discourse about the cultural development in Europe; he organizes lecture series on art and literature and offers chamber music concerts. A clever exhibition policy makes the OKV a nationally coveted exhibition venue. He is one of the few institutions that very early and extensively also art from the then social
- 1945: First meeting of a provisional board on August 29th. The OKV is housed in the State Museum in the castle. On October 28th, opening of the first post-war exhibition: "Contemporary Art". Before that, Pastor Christel Matthias Schröder gave a lecture on “Art creation and enjoyment of art”. The second exhibition before Christmas shows "Living Art in Oldenburg and East Friesland".
- 1946: The OKV starts its musical events with a concert in the Great Hall of the palace on June 29th. 3,500 visitors see the exhibition with works by Franz Radziwill .
- 1947: With works by young Oldenburg painters and works by old masters, the “Oldenburg Culture Days” attract a large audience in January. However, the majority sticks to what is known and tried and tested. The first general meeting after the war takes place on June 19th.
- 1948: The Augusteum is leased to the judicial authorities on a long-term basis.
- 1954: First travel grants to promote artists.
- 1957: Twelve works by Erich Heckel , Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Emma Ritter were acquired for the Kunstverein's collection from the exhibition “Painter of the Bridge in Dangast from 1907 to 1912”, curated by the art historian Gerhard Wietek .
- 1966: The board of directors decides to build a new building in the garden of the Augusteum, as a redesign of the old building for modern exhibition purposes cannot be financed.
- 1968: The new exhibition building is opened on February 11th with an exhibition of international graphics. For the first time, artists from Eastern and Western Europe will be shown together.
1973 to 2003
The democratic awakening and the counter-movement to the established cultural scene are changing the understanding of culture. The "new cultural policy" leads to a broad expansion of cultural offers. However, the question of financial feasibility soon leads to other decisions: cultural offers have to prove themselves in the competition on the "cultural market". The crisis in the public finances makes sponsorship support increasingly important. In the work of the art association, the mood of the seventies is reflected in an experimental program. The OKV has its undisputed place in the urban art scene in all program fields. Current discussions are taken up in the areas of film (until 1983) and literature. The very demanding chamber music program maintains the classical-romantic tradition, but also offers views of the music of the 20th century. The art exhibitions are consistently internationally oriented and show the most important trends in art development. The OKV exhibits the new media at an early stage, discusses the “state of architecture” or relies on interactive room-sound experiments. The association reacts to the requirements of the current art business by appointing a management team. With collaborations inside and outside Oldenburg, he strengthens himself for the near future.
- 1976: Sale of the Augusteum to the State of Lower Saxony , which annexes the exhibition rooms to the State Museum. First exhibition on photo, film and video as new media in art.
- 1977: Start of the film series with Jean Cocteau's "Orphée".
- 1979: The series of author readings in the OKV begins with a reading by Gabriele Wohmann . Relocation of the "master concerts" from the great hall of the palace to the newly designed plenary hall of the former state parliament.
- 1987: Exhibition of the "100 sheets" by Horst Janssen .
- 1989: Ulrike Rosenbach's performance is one of the highlights of the club's activities.
- 1991: With the renewed presentation of the draftsman Horst Janssen , the OKV contributes to the increasing awareness of the artist in the city. In the following year Janssen was given honorary citizenship of the city.
- 2000: Double exhibition of works by the artist Valie Export together with the new Edith Russ House for Media Art.
- 2002: Materials on the inventory and collection of the OKV are processed and published by Oliver Gradel.
- 2003: For the first time, a systematic member survey is carried out to determine the current position and plan future activities. Celebration of the 160th anniversary. The Oldenburger Kunstverein has shown around 850 exhibitions since it was founded.
literature
- 150 years of the Oldenburger Kunstverein. 1843-1993 . Texts: Manfred Dierks, Barbara Sellin, Jürgen Weichardt and others. Isensee, Oldenburg 1993, ISBN 3-89442-144-4 .
- Oliver Gradel: The Augusteum in Oldenburg - Grand Ducal Art Museum and exhibition hall of the Oldenburger Kunstverein (1867-1918) . Lecture for the Lebendiges Museum eV association in the Oldenburg Castle on April 1, 1998. Isensee, Oldenburg 1998, ISBN 3-89598-561-9 .
- Oliver Gradel: Archive and collection of the Oldenburger Kunstverein . Isensee, Oldenburg 2002, ISBN 3-89598-864-2 .
- Jürgen Weichardt: The Grand Dukes and the Oldenburg Art Association . In: Jörgen Welp (Red.): Dedicated to the well-being of Oldenburg: Aspects of the cultural and social work of the House of Oldenburg, 1773–1918 (= publications of the Oldenburg landscape . Vol. 9). Published by the Oldenburg landscape, Isensee, Oldenburg 2004, ISBN 3-89995-142-5 , p. 173 ff.
