Paul Kaiser (cultural scientist)

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Paul Kaiser (* 1961 in Freiberg ) is a German art and cultural scientist , curator and publicist . He is considered an expert in East German art, is a research assistant at the TU Dresden and director of the Dresden Institute for Cultural Studies . With an article in the Sächsische Zeitung in which he criticized the lack of presence of GDR works of art in museums, he sparked the so-called Dresden image dispute in 2017.

Life

From 1984 Kaiser studied aesthetics , cultural theory and history at the Humboldt University in Berlin . After graduating in 1989, he initially worked as a freelance cultural journalist, for magazines such as Wirtschaftswoche , Zeit Magazin and Tagesspiegel , among others . From 1993 to 1995 Kaiser was a PR consultant and speaker for press and public relations at the Leipziger Messe . From 1996 to 1998 he was project manager and guest curator at the German Historical Museum in Berlin , where he put together the exhibition “Boheme and dictatorship in the GDR”. This was followed by a job at the Dresden Art Fund to prepare the exhibition “Narrowness and Diversity. Commissioned art and art funding in the GDR ”.

Kaiser has been working as a research assistant at the TU Dresden since 1999. Among other things, he researches the history of the GDR, the sociology of art , the contemporary art market and the bourgeoisie in the GDR. Since 2005 he has been writing articles as an art correspondent for Ringier Verlag , including for magazines such as Cicero ; Topics are the international art market and contemporary German painting. He completed his dissertation on the official culture and artistic counterculture in the GDR state socialism in 2008. He regularly curates exhibitions dealing with GDR art. Kaiser is responsible for the research coordination of the Bildatlas: Kunst in der DDR , an online database on art that was created in the Soviet occupation zone or the GDR and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research .

In 2017, Kaiser became director of the Dresden Institute for Cultural Studies, founded in 2010, where he has been a member of the board of directors for science and art.

Dresden icon controversy

On September 18, 2017, the Sächsische Zeitung published a text by Kaiser under the title “Wende on the walls”, in which he accused the Dresden Art Museum Albertinum , with “brute gesture and without any justification [] the art-historical epoch between 1945 and 1990 from the To have disposed of the permanent collection in the depot ”. Kaiser sees this as a continuation of the "substitute accounting for the images with which generations had been socialized" that began in the 1990s. He attests to those responsible, who come from the “West German-dominated art business []”, “ colonial attitudes with which one wanted to teach East Germans to see”. Above all, Kaiser criticizes the director of the Museum Hilke Wagner , who has removed East German works of art so comprehensively from the “rooms once reserved for East German art” that visitors could get the impression “that the GDR never existed”. In doing so, Kaiser rekindled the " picture dispute about the acceptance" of East German works of art that has been smoldering since reunification .

After the publication of Kaiser's article, a debate about GDR art flared up, which was carried out both in the feature section and politically. The AfD parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament made a small inquiry in September 2017 to find out how many GDR works of art are still shown in the Albertinum's permanent exhibitions. The Saxon State Ministry for Science and Art stated that 77 works that were created in the GDR are shown in the museum. Kaiser criticized, however, that this number was misleading, since the works from special exhibitions and those from the show presentation of the sculpture collection were counted, although both the small inquiry of the AfD and his article in the Sächsische Zeitung the low presence of GDR art in the permanent The museum's permanent collection. In fact, only four works of art created in the GDR are still represented in the permanent exhibition.

The museum director Hilke Wagner, who, according to her own statement, had received hate letters and calls for resignation as a result of the debate about Kaiser's articles, contradicted the accusation that she had disposed of GDR works of art in the depot. Instead, she would have exchanged the works for unknown GDR artists in order to “present to the Dresden population precisely those works that have not yet received the appropriate recognition”. According to her, a purely “ nostalgic or purely sociological interest” does not constitute an obligation for the museum to show more GDR art.

To settle the dispute, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen finally invited in November 2017 to a "picture dispute with eye contact", in which 16 experts from art, science and politics discussed and dealt with the questions of over 500 spectators. Due to their West German origins, some voices in the audience denied the museum managers the competence to design an East German museum appropriately, and expressed regret that East German art was given such a low status in the German art scene. The general director of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Marion Ackermann justified the small proportion of Eastern art in the collections with practical spatial problems and emphasized that there was no “conforming western conspiracy” behind it.

At the same time as the debate started by Kaiser, various museums in the new federal states announced that they would be dealing with works by GDR artists in larger exhibitions. The Potsdam Barberini showed in autumn 2017 in the exhibition “Behind the Mask. Artists in the GDR “more than 100 works by 87 artists and thus attracted more than 110,000 visitors. The exhibition "Yesterday's Snow" in the Dresden gallery Holger John also attracted an unusually large number of visitors in January 2018. The Museum of Fine Arts in Leipzig showed in April 2018 special exhibition on the major East German painter Arno Rink , who is also a university lecturer major influence on future generations of East German artists, especially the so-called New Leipzig School , had. The Moritzburg Art Museum in Halle (Saale) showed the exhibition “Paths of Modernity. Art in the Soviet Zone / GDR 1945 to 1990 ”. In July 2018, the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts finally announced that in summer 2019 it would be showing an exhibition on East German art from the period before and after the fall of the Wall, curated by Paul Kaiser, under the title “ Point of no return ”. The focus of the show should be on the way visual artists deal with the peaceful revolution, turning point and upheaval; more than 130 works of art by 60 artists are to be shown. Works by artists who were born in the GDR but no longer came into direct contact with the GDR art system, but who are now partially dealing with questions of hegemony and colonization, are also to be presented.

Overall, the Dresden iconoclasm is part of a larger social debate about the supposed cultural colonization of East Germany and the cultural hegemony of West Germany.

Exhibitions as curator (selection)

Publications (selection)

  • (as ed.) Boheme and dictatorship in the GDR. Groups, conflicts, quarters. 1970 to 1989. Fannei and Walz, Berlin 1997, ISBN 978-3-927574-39-7 .
  • (as Hrsg.) Enge und Diversity - commissioned art and art funding in the GDR: analyzes and opinions. Junius, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 978-3-88506-011-6 .
  • (as Ed.) Abstraction in State Socialism: Enemies and Free Spaces in the Art System of the GDR. VDG Weimar, Weimar 2003, ISBN 978-3-89739-134-5 .
  • Boheme in the "workers and farmers state": official culture and artistic counterculture in the GDR state socialism. Dissertation 2007.
  • (as ed.) Iconoclasm and social upheaval: The debate about the art of the GDR in the process of German reunification . B & S Siebenhaar Verlag, Berlin / Kassel 2013, ISBN 978-3-936962-33-8 .
  • Boheme in the GDR: Art and Counterculture in State Socialism. Dresden Institute for Cultural Studies, Dresden 2016, ISBN 978-3-9816461-5-3 .
  • Arno Rink and the Leipzig School. In: Arno Rink. I paint! (Exhibition catalog) Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-7774-3019-5 .

Web links

proof

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Jessica Lingert: Dr. Paul Kaiser. In: University of Marburg. July 24, 2012, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Paul Kaiser. In: Clio Online - specialist portal for the historical sciences. 2010, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  3. ^ Paul Kaiser: German flat goods. In: Cicero. October 26, 2005, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ About the project - Art in the GDR. In: Bildatlas DDR Art. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .
  5. ^ The Dresden Institute for Cultural Studies. In: Kulturstudien Dresden. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e Paul Kaiser: Turn on the walls . In: Saxon newspaper . September 18, 2017, p. 24 .
  7. ^ AfD parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament, member Karin Wilke: Small inquiry: hanging on GDR art in the gallery Neue Meister Dresden. (PDF) September 20, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  8. ↑ State Ministry for Science and Art: Small Inquiry. In: Small inquiries. October 18, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  9. ^ A b Paul Kaiser: Lecture manuscript / lecture "The Dresden Iconoclasm" / Lingner Schloss Dresden on December 7th, 2017. (PDF) In: Kulturstudien Dresden. December 7, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  10. ↑ a b c Anne Hähnig: GDR art: Or can that go away? In: ZEIT Online. October 23, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b Stefan Locke: Picture dispute in the Albertinum: High Noon in Dresden. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. November 16, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  12. ↑ a b Michael Bartsch: Picture dispute in Dresden: The injured East German soul. In: TAZ. November 7, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Justus H. Ulbricht: "Picture dispute with eye contact" in the Dresden Albertinum. In: Dresdner Latest News. November 7, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  14. ^ Dpa: "Behind the Mask": Museum Barberini shows GDR art. In: Monopoly magazine. October 26, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Barbara Möller: It wasn't all gray. In: The world. October 28, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  16. ↑ dpa: Barberini attracted 110,000 visitors to GDR art. In: Märkische Allgemeine. February 4, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  17. ↑ a b c d Marlen Hobrack: Iconoclasm - attack of the crybugs. In: Friday. August 7, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Ulrike Gastmann: Dresden - most beautiful city. In: ZEIT Online. August 22, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  19. ^ New exhibition: Arno Rink retrospective in Leipzig. In: MDR culture. April 18, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Andreas Montag: Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig: Retrospective: painter Arno Rink asks himself. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. June 10, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 (German).
  21. ↑ Marlen Hobrack: Bilderstreit - A cauldron but quite colorful. In: Friday. May 5, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  22. ↑ a b c Leipziger Bildermuseum is planning a large show on East German art. In: Leipziger Volkszeitung. July 31, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  23. ^ Dpa: Picture dispute: Leipziger Museum is planning a large show on East German art. In: Monopoly magazine. July 25, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Markus Decker: bpb boss on West German dominance: "There is a lack of translators of cultural differences". In: Berliner Zeitung. October 31, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 (German).
  25. ↑ Jakob Hayner: Art in the GDR: A people felt. November 30, 2017, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  26. ^ New special exhibition: GDR art in the Dresden Albertinum. In: MDR culture. June 15, 2018, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Colony East? In: ZDF aspects. April 5, 2019, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Ulrike Nimz: cultural sociology: grass over it. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. April 7, 2019, accessed April 7, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Reinhard Wengierek: Complementary colors to red, confetti in the wind. In: The world. September 5, 1997, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Marlene Heidel: Pictures out of plan: Art from the GDR and collective memory . Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-86732-218-8 , pp. 230 .
  31. ↑ Without us! Dresden. 2009, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  32. ↑ exhibition "60-40-20": Art in Leipzig since 1949. In: East German Savings Bank Foundation. 2009, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Jörg-Heiko Bruns: Saxony by the Sea: Art Collection Gera shows thematic show. In: Thuringian General. July 29, 2010, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Birgit Kummer: Erfurt Angermuseum invites you to a "table talk with Luther". In: Thuringian General. October 20, 2012, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  35. ↑ Franziska Nössig: DDR and crown of thorns: Exhibition in Angermuseum Erfurt. In: Thüringische Landeszeitung. October 19, 2012, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Steffen Weiß: Lecture by curator Dr. Paul Kaiser in the exhibition "Creating (t) dreaming studio pictures and artist myths in East German art" in Gera. In: Mein Anzeiger. December 5, 2012, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  37. ↑ dpa: "Farewell to Icarus": A new look at the visual worlds in the GDR. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. October 17, 2012, accessed on April 6, 2019 (German).
  38. ↑ Paul Kaiser: Vision of the sun seeker. Dr. Paul Kaiser on commissioned art from bismuth. In: Saxon State Center for Political Education. 2013, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  39. ↑ Sylvia Eigenrauch: Position sign from Gera: Exhibition on Wismut art opened. In: Ostthüringer Zeitung. June 1, 2015, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  40. ↑ Red October. Communism as fiction and command Neue Sächsische Galerie - Museum for contemporary art. In: New Saxon Gallery. 2017, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  41. ↑ Michael Meyer: The Image of Man: Ahrenshoop celebrates 125 years of the artist colony with a look back, into the present and forward. In: Ostsee-Zeitung. March 27, 2017, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  42. ^ Lydia Werner: Exhibition in the Angermuseum: Josep Renau and his Erfurt mural. In: Thuringian General. April 6, 2017, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  43. ^ Dpa: Exhibition shows mining in the mirror of GDR art. In: Berliner Morgenpost. April 27, 2018, archived from the original on April 6, 2019 (German).;
  44. ↑ Ulrike Thielmann: Exhibition: "Point of No Return" - Art Museum Leipzig looks at Peaceful Revolution. In: MDR culture. July 22, 2019, accessed July 22, 2019 .
  45. ↑ Lars Schumann: Catalog for the exhibition “Arno Rink. I paint! ”Selected as one of the most beautiful books in Germany 2019. In: Leipzig Info. June 18, 2019, accessed June 18, 2019 .
  46. ↑ Cordula Passow: CATALOG “ARNO RINK. I PAINT! ” In: Weltexpresso. June 18, 2019, accessed June 18, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Kaiser, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art and cultural scientist, curator and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Freiberg , Germany