Page 16 - Studio International - July August 1972

'Documenta 5' risk of an avant-garde show. But what is meant theme is "Questioning Reality—Image-worlds
by that ? Management, public relations,
today". By reality is meant all the images that
at Kassel competition, consumption—these are after all surround us, whether artistic or non-artistic.
Within this reality of image-worlds three planes
phenomena applicable to art's own market,
publicity and prestige as well. Uninvited artists of reality are distinguished : the reality of the
Jurgen Harten have always cast aspersions on the fairness of picture, the reality of the object depicted, and
the selection; dealers whom the trend of the show the identity (or non-identity) of the picture and
did not suit have sometimes called for a boycott. the depicted object.' What is meant by this,
Nor should one forget that the 'documenta' and how did it come about ?
itself succumbs to the erosive process of being The first plan, to hold not a 100-day museum
consumed: it regularly draws along behind it an but a hundred-day happening in the exhibition-
array of exhibitions of hitherto little-known halls, theatres, streets and squares of Kassel, was
artists and new trends, and is thus overtaken by soon abandoned as unworkable. Moreover
itself. What, because of its association with action-art had rather had its day. In March
`documenta', once seemed interesting can soon 1971 Ammann, Szeemann and the professor of
be forgotten. In this respect, too, nothing has non-standard aesthetics at the Hamburger
changed. Hochschule für bildende Kunst (Hamburg
Nevertheless there are signs that 'documenta College of Art), Bazon Brock, put forward a
5' is not simply taking up where its predecessor comprehensive draft—which later came to be
left off. To take organization: instead of a referred to as the 'Brock draft'. In this it was said
council of more than twenty members that the theme of the fifth documenta resulted,
hammering out a consensus in sub-committees on the one hand, from the 'historical claim of the
and plenary sessions, this time Harold artist to autonomous development of conceptions
Szeemann is responsible for the programme, and ideas'; on the other hand it took account of
with Jean-Christophe Ammann and Arnold `society's claim vis-a-vis art ... to take over
Bode to help him. Perhaps this approach is more certain functions, that is to say to help in the
`transparent' than the process of democratically recognition of conditions essential to life and
reaching a common view; but just as one cannot the altering and directing of them towards
In 1955, when the Gesellschaft fur Abendländische accuse Szeemann of an autocratic lust for goals which are not primarily artistic but general
Kunst e. V . —or 'Society for Western Art power—he has appointed various collaborators, and social'. It was further to be asked how far in
(registered association)' —instituted the each of them responsible for specific themes— artistic production itself, general social
`documenta' exhibitions in the rough-and- one cannot say of the old 'documenta' council conditions were detectable which, for example,
readily repaired ruins of the Museum that the necessity of reconciling conflicting might be indicative of the relationship between
Fridericianum in Kassel, probably neither the interests undermined the democratic process. artistic portrayal and reality—though one should
`father' of the idea, Arnold Bode, nor the city's There is a more meaningful basis to the change bear in mind that society has long overlaid the
aldermen had any suspicion that the most of procedure. Reaching a consensus presupposes `primary' reality with the 'second nature' of an
important Quadrenniale of contemporary art that common criteria are largely worked out artificial one. What that means in practice is
would evolve from it. There was no continuing jointly; for example, with the fourth `documenta' explained in the course of the development of
organizational structure and each time, in 1955, these criteria were only established just before this 'structural principle'. Further light was
1959, 1964 and 1968, the whole undertaking the close of the selection of the works, and they shed by a working paper circulated soon
started up from scratch; nonetheless this were extremely cautious ones. The fifth afterwards, which also contained a provisional
regularly recurring temporary arrangement has `documenta' sets out from predetermined list of artists and exhibitors.
grown into an institution. One should remember thematic principles, because it aims to offer Under the heading 'Reality of the Picture'
this when considering the meaning, standing more than just a 'stock-taking'. (The System of Pictures, Objects, Symbols as
and achievement in exhibition technique of the The 'documenta 5' prospectus declares : 'The Reality) appeared Socialist Realism
fifth 'documenta'. (supplemented by some important names, such
`In our time, in which all human standards as Pearlstein, and some former Nazi artists),
and spiritual rules are repeatedly called in publicity, kitsch, art photography (Canetti),
question, we must try constantly to redefine our comics, science fiction, utopia, political
own standpoint' —so read the first sentence of propaganda, mass media (art-work for magazines,
Heinz Lemke's foreword to the catalogue of the film posters), social iconography (flags,
first 'documenta'. But it is not this intention uniforms, fashion clothing, stamps, bank-notes),
that is remarkable (similar statements can be and monuments and gravestones.
found in numerous exhibition catalogues) so Under 'Reality of the Object Depicted'
much as the fact that the political authorities of (The Object Depicted, The Object
Kassel and the Land of Hessen—who later set Characterized, The Objectivized Object as
up a limited company to run the 'documenta' — Reality) we find present-day realistic painting
have continued to act according to the spirit of (largely American hyper-realism or radical
the declaration. They have delegated to realism), the photography of events (Capa),
independent laymen and specialists the task of action-art (only anonymous examples, such as
attempting a 'definition of our standpoint'. In Black Power, Cuba, May '68, Red Guards, also
this respect nothing has changed. the Guerilla Art Group), pornography, design
One might object that in a town that was (Danese, Milan), Pop Art, psychedelic
8o per cent bombed flat in the Second World painting, individual mythologies (originally
War, and which the division of Germany has called 'Shamanism and Mysticism', with
turned into a peripheral area, public relations Beuys, Nitsch, Thek and others, but with a
and image-projection outweigh the intellectual section on 'Religious Folk Art'), formalized
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