Ralph Melcher

Ralph Melcher

Ralph Melcher (* 1967 in Lauingen an der Donau ) is a German art historian .

biography

Melcher studied art history and literature at the Universities of Bonn and Pisa . After his state examinations, he received his doctorate in 1997 at Bonn University on the subject of medieval sculpture in Italy . This was followed by an academic traineeship at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart . As part of his internship, he was involved in the curation of exhibitions and the creation of catalogs on art from the Middle Ages as well as art from the 19th and 20th centuries. During this period he was also involved in the compilation of an inventory catalog of Italian Gothic painting . In 1999 Melcher became the assistant to the curator of the German contribution to the Venice Biennale , a pavilion designed by Rosemarie Trockel .

He then moved to the Museum für Neue Kunst (Karlsruhe) , an art museum within the complex of the Center for Art and Media Technology, as assistant to the director and curator . There he was in charge of the collections and the exhibition program, and he was also in charge of the building department and the public relations department. In 2001 Melcher was appointed deputy director of the museum. In Karlsruhe he curated monographic and thematic overview presentations by contemporary artists such as Bill Viola , Franz West , Sylvie Fleury , Tobias Rehberger , Keith Haring and Martin Kippenberger . Other focal points of his curatorial work were the painting of the Junge Wilde and Minimal Art .

In 2003 he was appointed director of the Saarland Museum at the suggestion of the then Saarland Minister of Education, Jürgen Schreier . The museum is run by the Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation ; After a reorganization of the foundation structures, Melcher was also appointed as its chairman. In this role, Melcher was responsible for the Saarland Museum with its modern gallery, as well as for other Saarland museums: the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Saarbrücken Castle , Saarbrücken City Gallery and the German Newspaper Museum in Wadgassen . One of Melcher's main concerns was an extension of the Modern Gallery, which began in 2009 and was intended to add a large building to the museum with the so-called Fourth Pavilion.

Scandal about the "fourth pavilion"

After the Saarbrücken public prosecutor had initiated proceedings against him for breach of trust, Melcher was given leave of absence on April 21, 2011 by the Saarland State Chancellor and Minister of Culture, Karl Rauber . In its meeting on October 14, 2011, the Foundation's Board of Trustees decided to dismiss Melcher with immediate effect for gross breach of duty. In a further meeting on October 17, 2011, the Board of Trustees decided to issue a further notice of termination against Melcher. In this case, he is suspected of accepting benefits . In the first investigation, Melcher is charged with gossiping expenses (primarily in the case of luxuriously furnished business lunches ), corruption and mismanagement in the construction of the so-called "fourth pavilion".

The board of trustees and the former ministers of education Jürgen Schreier , Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Karl Rauber , who are accused of neglecting their duty of supervision and control, are also in the public eye . The SPD parliamentary group has requested the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry in the Saarland state parliament . The construction costs of the “Fourth Pavilion” were originally estimated at 9 million euros, but experts are now assuming a construction cost of more than 30 million euros.

On February 27, 2012, Melcher was sentenced by the Saarbrücken regional court to a suspended sentence of ten months for breach of trust and taking advantage. In June 2012, ex-minister of education and foundation curator Jürgen Schreier accepted a penalty order for taking advantage and had to vacate his post at the Saarland lottery company Saarland-Sporttoto . In the same year, a final order was issued against Melcher's administrative director for breach of trust in 45 cases. This was responsible for Melcher's expense reports. Melcher went on appeal, the Federal Court of Justice referred back to the regional court for renegotiation. The chamber now assessed a smaller proportion of the luxury meals criticized in the first instance as being criminally relevant and reduced Melcher's sentence on March 25, 2013 to nine months. This judgment became final. Shortly thereafter, Melcher went on the offensive and is now suing the Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation for termination of his employment relationship for damages and subsequent payment of due salary. After the court granted the ex-project controller of the foundation and possible exonerating witness Gerd Marx a right to refuse to testify , Melcher's applications for evidence are blocked. The proceedings were adjourned on August 9, 2013 for an indefinite period. In 2014 the regional court dismissed a lawsuit by the foundation against Melcher for payment of 400,000 euros in damages for illegally concluded contracts because the ministry's complaint was not submitted on time. This decision was confirmed by the Higher Regional Court on July 20, 2016 . Another criminal procedure initiated against him in January 2016 dealt with alleged irregularities in advertisements and the determination of fees before the Saarbrücken regional court. After the exonerating ruling by the Higher Regional Court in the civil action, Melcher negotiated with the public prosecutor to reduce a monetary requirement originally set at 800,000 euros to 500,000 euros. After payment, the court stopped the criminal proceedings, which means that the criminal and civil law processing of the affair surrounding the “Fourth Pavilion”, at least as far as Melcher is concerned, has been concluded on October 20, 2016. Melcher himself denied at all times that he had deliberately acted illegally. Ultimately, his “naive point of view” was his undoing, he described himself as a “ pawn victim ”, and his professional as well as his civic existence had been destroyed.

Publications (selection)

• The medieval pulpits of Tuscany . (= Manuscripts on art history. 56). Dissertation. Werner, Worms 2000, ISBN 3-88462-955-7 .
• with Christof Trepesch and Eva Wolf (eds.): A picture of culture - the history of the Saarland Museum . Gollenstein, Blieskastel 2004, ISBN 3-935731-80-9 .
• as publisher: Dein Land macht Kunst - Landeskunstausstellung 2008, June 21st to August 31st . Saarland Foundation. Kulturbesitz, Saarbrücken 2008, ISBN 978-3-932036-37-8 .
• as publisher: The paintings in the old collection in the Saarland Museum . Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation (Saarland Museum), Saarbrücken 2009, ISBN 978-3-932036-44-6 .
• as publisher: The Saarbrücken Castle Church - Church and Museum . Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation (Saarland Museum), Saarbrücken 2009, ISBN 978-3-932036-46-0 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Ralph Melcher in the catalog of the German National Library
• Hello Saarland ( Memento from February 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Now after all: Minister Rauber suspends the head of the Melcher Cultural Heritage Foundation. ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung . April 21, 2010. 
2. ↑ Cathrin Elss-Seringhaus: Melcher terminated without notice. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. October 15, 2011, p. B1.
3. ^ Michael Jungmann: U-Committee on the new pavilion building. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. of October 18, 2011, p. B2.
4. ^ Ex-museum boss Melcher sentenced to ten months probation.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. February 27, 2012.  
5. ↑ Saartoto boss: Schreier leaves in August. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. June 27, 2012.
6. ^ Stiftung Kulturbesitz: Penal order against head of administration final. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. October 30, 2012.
7. ↑ New judgment in the Melcher trial: nine months probation. ( Memento of the original from February 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. March 25.2013. 
8. ↑ Melcher sues against dismissal - does the foundation have to pay him additional salary? In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. 5th July 2013.
9. ↑ Ex-project controller does not have to testify in the Melcher process. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. August 9, 2013.
10. ^ Saarbrücker Pavilion Affair: Ex-Board Member Ralph Melcher does not have to pay for the time being . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. 3rd December 2014.
11. ↑ Melcher does not have to pay ( Memento of the original from October 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: SR.de July 20, 2016. 
12. ^ End of prosecution for Melcher In: Saarbrücker Zeitung. 20th October 2016.