Symbols of the feminine

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Symbols of the Feminine is a cross-cultural collection of artefacts and realities that the gynecologist Heinz Kirchhoff has compiled over almost four decades. It contains objects on the subjects of mother goddesses , fertility symbols and motherhood . The collection is owned by the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen .

history

Kirchhoff began collecting various objects in the late 1950s, which already hinted at his later very complex collection theme. Over the years he systematically bought objects and also received numerous gifts from friends and colleagues, and most recently from institutes and museums. In the 1960s and 1970s this passion for collecting gained more and more dynamism and systematics. In addition to copies of prehistoric figures, the ethnographic holdings eventually took up more and more space in the collection. Western works of art from the 20th century rounded off the collection. It is noteworthy that, in addition to copies that were commercially available, Kirchhoff also specifically commissioned replicas , especially since the production of casts for sale in the 1960s and 1970s was still an exception. Parts of the collection have been exhibited since the 1980s and the first attempts have been made to process the collection scientifically, which, however, got stuck. On his 80th birthday in 1985, Kirchhoff officially handed the collection over to the university. With Kirchhoff's death, the collection is largely considered closed. Unfortunately, setbacks in the form of thefts also had to be accepted, including a historicist fountain figure in the form of a spring nymph made of bronze from the permanent exhibition in the hospital, which was apparently stolen due to its material value and was probably melted down.

Thematic composition of the collection

The collection contains a total of around 650 objects. Geographically, the collection includes both Europe and non-European countries, i. H. Cultures of Africa, the South Seas and Pre-Columbian America. Here the emphasis is on the archeology of Central America with some notable originals. Asia is represented with numerous pieces, with a focus on the Hindu and Buddhist cultures of South Asia. The collection extends from prehistory to the early advanced civilizations of the Middle East and Egypt and classical antiquity, the European Middle Ages and the modern era up to the 20th century. Examples from folk art and applied arts can be found here . Contemporary art rounds off the collection. Thematically, the objects in their interpretation by Kirchhoff belong to the themes of fertility, childbirth, the role of women and gender stereotypes .

Formal composition of the collection

Half of the collection comprises objects that Kirchhoff himself viewed as copies. This mainly concerns prehistoric finds and objects from antiquity, and in some cases also objects from the Middle Ages and early modern times. Kirchhoff had a different approach to his ethnographic holdings. He saw them as authentic when they came from the countries assigned to them, such as B. New Guinea or the continent of Africa . An origin for the use of the indigenous people themselves and in particular an actual cultic use seemed to him either of secondary importance, or he misjudged the majority of his objects in this regard. Only the majority of the pre-Columbian objects can be regarded as largely authentic , while in specialist circles the overwhelming number of African pieces and the oceanic pieces are almost without exception assessed as airport art . This also applies to a lesser extent to the Asian stocks. The small but pointed holdings of contemporary art and the applied arts of the 20th century are of art historical interest.

Exhibitions

After the donation to the university, large parts of the collection were exhibited in the Institute for Ethnology between 1986 and 1997, without any detailed ethnological analysis. After Kirchhoff's death in 1997, the collection was initially stored in a magazine and the cooperation with the ethnological institute largely ceased. Instead, the collection returned to the context of university medicine. The objects were then exhibited at two locations in Göttingen: Around 200 objects were permanently on display in the university clinic. A smaller selection was in the entrance area of ​​the Neu-Mariahilf hospital in Göttingen . In addition, there were some internal university exhibitions in Göttingen, where pieces from the Kirchhoff collection were loaned out, e. B. “Things of Knowledge” (2012), “Beauty, Power, Motherhood” (2015) and especially “Desire and Wonder” in the Deutsches Theater , where only objects from the Kirchhoff collection were on view. The traveling exhibition made up of approx. 50 exhibits, which was and is being presented at different locations, is important for the national awareness of the collection. So far, this presentation has largely concentrated on non-relevant exhibition locations, in particular of medical provenance. This can be traced back to the high number of copies and products of Airport Art , which makes presentation in an ethnological museum as well as in a relevant art museum only possible to a limited extent. At the same time, there is growing disdain from the university as the owner of the collection. In this context, the public also interprets the clearing of the showcases in the clinic. Officially, the university cited a planned renovation of the room as the reason for the eviction, while the sponsoring association argued that there was a lack of security with regard to the two thefts. Since 2017, 28 objects from the collection have been exhibited in 4 showcases in the entrance area of ​​the auditorium at Waldweg 26 in Göttingen. On the one hand, these objects are of an ethnological nature (small sculptures from Africa, the South Seas, Asia and European folk art) on the other hand, copies of antiquities; in a relatively small space they give an overview of the diversity of the collection.

reception

The role of women in cultural comparison is a subject of growing interest. This contrasts with a relatively low reception of the collection in scientific publications. In addition to some essays that deal essentially with the history of the collection, systematic research on and with the collection has so far hardly been possible. The incomplete, sometimes faulty or very general documentation and allocation of many pieces is cited as the cause of this lack of interest by cultural scientists from different disciplines. The majority of the copies are also no longer up to date with the corresponding casting technology. Most of the ethnological objects, on the other hand, are of a young age and have already been made for sale to Europeans. Furthermore, the scientific approach postulated by the collector during his lifetime is expressly culturally evolutionist and therefore scientifically out of date and even politically questionable.

literature

  • Hoffmann, Dietrich, Maak-Rheinländer, Kathrin (editor): Designed entirely for study. The museums, collections and gardens of the University of Göttingen , 2001.
  • President of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (editor): The collections, museums and gardens of the University of Göttingen , 2015.
  • Forum Knowledge Gö. Information booklet on the planned Knowledge Forum, first edition 2016.
  • Forum Knowledge Gö. Information booklet on the planned Knowledge Forum, extended edition 2017.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Art theft in the clinic: bronze statue stolen from Göttinger Tageblatt, May 11, 2012, accessed on June 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ “650 sculptures removed from the hospital” Göttinger Tageblatt, March 23, 2016, accessed on June 19, 2017