Volker Rattemeyer

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Volker Rattemeyer (born March 14, 1943 in Osnabrück ) is a German art historian . From 1987 to 2010 he headed the Museum Wiesbaden .

Life

Volker Rattemeyer studied psychology, art history and fine art in Kassel , Bochum and Osnabrück . Arnold Bode , the founding father of the Kassel documenta, was one of his mentors . In the 1970s he was a research assistant at the Institute for Psychology at the University of Bochum. In 1977, Rattemeyer was awarded a doctorate by studying fine art at the art academies of the Federal Republic of Germany. phil. PhD. From 1977 to 1987 he headed the art work group at the Scientific Center for Vocational and University Research at the University of Kassel . During this time he published studies on art education, the history and future of documenta and the first 20 years of Art Cologne . In the Museum Fridericianum and in the Kassel Orangery he curated exhibitions with works by young German and European artists. On September 1, 1987, Rattemeyer was appointed director of the Wiesbaden Museum. He held this position until his retirement at the end of September 2010. His successor was Alexander Klar . Since then he has lived as an author in Kassel and Wiesbaden. He is a member of the advisory boards of several foundations. Since December 2004 he has been chairman of the board of the kultur.initiative.rhein.main. On July 2, 2010 he was awarded the Hessian Order of Merit .

Christian Rattemeyer (* 1971), curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is his son.

Act

At the beginning of the 1990s, Rattemeyer developed far-reaching proposals for a structural renovation and conceptual profiling of the Wiesbaden Museum. The core of these proposals was the concept of a museum for art and nature. On the basis of extensive renovation work, he was able to gradually implement this concept between 1991 and 2010. When he left the museum, it was close to completion.

For the museum's art collection, Rattemeyer developed a profile aimed at international contemporary dialogue with the three collection focuses “Alexej von Jawlensky and German Expressionism”, “Constructive Positions of the First Two Generations” and “International Art since the 1960s”. In order to give these focal points an unmistakable face, Rattemeyer pursued a strategy geared towards sustainability, in which acquisitions, donations and permanent loans were combined with an exhibition policy based on the expansion of the collection.

The focus was on the targeted expansion of the Wiesbaden collection of works by the painter Alexej von Jawlensky and the positioning of the expressionist Hanna Bekker vom Rath collection as well as other works from the environment of the artist groups Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke . Another milestone was the targeted expansion of the collection in the area of ​​constructivist positions with the significant work bundle by Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart , whose estate is now being looked after scientifically at the Museum Wiesbaden. In the field of international positions in art since 1960, Rattemeyer felt obliged to what he himself called the “silent avant-garde”. By acquiring key works by numerous documenta artists and the associated monographic exhibitions, he succeeded in positioning the collections of the Wiesbaden Museum for the first time in the field of international contemporary art. Artists such as Joseph Beuys , Christian Boltanski , Jochen Gerz , Eva Hesse , Rebecca Horn , Donald Judd , Ilya Kabakov , Kazuo Katase , Ingeborg Lüscher , Robert Mangold , Brice Marden , Agnes Martin , Christiane Möbus , Micha Ullman , Franz Erhard Walther and He set up work-related artist rooms for Dorothee von Windheim . In the main focus of painting, which was traditionally represented at the Museum Wiesbaden by Alexej von Jawlensky and Otto Ritschl, Rattemeyer set new accents through acquisitions, permanent loans and exhibitions with works by artists such as Ulrich Erben , Gotthard Graubner , Alan Green , Ad Reinhardt and Mark Rothko .

Two large special exhibitions at the beginning and at the end of Rattemeyer's term of office were dedicated to the themes of women artists of the 20th century (1990) and the spiritual in art - From the Blue Rider to Abstract Expressionism (2010/11). In total, Rattemeyer set up more than 100 special exhibitions, mostly monographic, at the Museum Wiesbaden.

For the Old Masters Collection he developed a concept that deviates from the usual structure according to art historical epochs. They are replaced by themed rooms with the genres religion, mythology, portrait and still life, supplemented by a special room for the golden age of Dutch baroque painting. Works by contemporary artists represent the 21st century view of the art of previous times.

Between 2004 and 2010, Rattemeyer prepared a new presentation for the Natural History Collection under the heading “Aesthetics of Nature”. The focus is on the four themed rooms “Color”, “Form”, “Movement” and “Time”, in which the objects unfold their charisma using lavishly renovated historical showcases from the 1920s. The design and scenography of this new presentation were developed by Rattemeyer personally and in constructive dialogue with the departmental scientists and taxidermists.

The collection of Nassau antiquities, which is more aimed at the region, was given a new perspective during Rattemeyer's tenure as part of an agreement made between the state of Hesse and the state capital Wiesbaden to build a new Wiesbaden city museum.

The conceptual renewal of the Wiesbaden Museum and its formerly three departments was possible because the State of Hesse decided to fundamentally renovate the building at the beginning of the 1990s. This began between 1994 and 1997 with the renovation of the art collection, for which the architects Schultze & Schulze were awarded the Johann Wilhelm Lehr plaque from the Association of German Architects. The next step was the renovation of the middle wing between 2003 and 2006. In August 2009, the renovation of the two side wings began, which also followed Rattemeyer's plans. The reopening, originally planned for 2011, dragged on until May 2013. In 2007 the German section of the international art critic association AICA named the Wiesbaden Museum Museum of the Year 2007.

Publications (selection)

  • Contradictions in the area of ​​tension between training and professional reality. The study of fine art at the federal republican art academies. A job-related analysis of the study situation between 1945 and 1960 . Dissertation. University of Osnabrück 1977.
  • Further development of art studies taking into account the professional opportunities of the artist . Scientific center for professional and University research, Kassel University, 1980.
  • Study and profession of visual artists . Bock, Bad Honnef, 1982, ISBN 3-87066-502-5 .
  • Chances and problems of working materials in artistic education and training . Knowledge Center for professional and University research at d. Comprehensive University of Kassel, 1982, ISBN 3-88122-113-1 .
  • documenta - trendmaker in the international art world? Johannes Stauda Verlag, Kassel 1984.
  • 20 years of the art market: Art Cologne . Federal Association of German Galleries (publisher), Cologne 1986.
  • Promotion of young artists: 31 funding institutions, their funding measures, etc. their award practice . Federal Minister for Education and Science, 1987.

As museum director, Rattemeyer was the editor of numerous exhibition catalogs. The last catalog he published follows as an example.

  • (Ed.): The spiritual in art. From the Blue Rider to Abstract Expressionism . Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2010, with texts by Herbert Beck , Volker Rattemeyer, Annegret Hoberg, Jelena Hahl-Fontaine, Renate Petzinger, Jörg Daur and others, ISBN 978-3-89258-088-1 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Contradictions in the field of tension between training and professional reality. The study of fine art at the federal republican art academies. A job-related analysis of the study situation between 1945 and 1960 . Osnabrück 1977.
  2. ↑ documenta - trendmaker in the international art world? Johannes Stauda Verlag, Kassel 1984.
  3. ↑ 20 years of the art market: Art Cologne . Federal Association of German Galleries (publisher), Cologne 1986.
  4. ↑ Frankfurt-live.com from August 20, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Christian Rattemeyer , post.at.moma.org, accessed on January 21, 2018.
  6. ^ The New York Times. June 20, 2002; accessed on March 31, 2011.
  7. ^ Katinka Fischer: On Volker Rattemeyer's departure as director of the Wiesbaden Museum. In: Wiesbaden Courier. September 21, 2010.
  8. ^ Volker Rattemeyer: The Wiesbaden Museum between 1987 and 2007. In: Volker Rattemeyer (Hrsg.): The Wiesbaden Museum. Museum of the Year 2007. Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2007, pp. 24–38.
  9. ^ Volker Rattemeyer (Ed.): Artists of the 20th Century. Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 1990.
  10. ↑ Thomas Wagner: Back to the roots ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), In: art-magazin.de , January 11, 2011, accessed on March 22, 2015.
  11. ^ Volker Rattemeyer: The Wiesbaden Museum between 1987 and 2007. In: Volker Rattemeyer (Hrsg.): The Wiesbaden Museum. Museum of the Year 2007. Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2007, pp. 38–39.
  12. ^ Volker Rattemeyer: The Wiesbaden Museum between 1987 and 2007. In: Volker Rattemeyer (Hrsg.): The Wiesbaden Museum. Museum of the Year 2007. Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2007, pp. 57–61.
  13. ^ Renate Petzinger: A museum is like a city. In: Volker Rattemeyer (ed.): The Wiesbaden Museum. Museum of the Year 2007. Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2007, pp. 45–53.
  14. ^ Volker Rattemeyer (ed.): The Wiesbaden Museum. Museum of the year 2007 . Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-89258-073-7 .
personal data
SURNAME Rattemeyer, Volker
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art historian
DATE OF BIRTH March 14, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Osnabrück