VCA Documenta and Visual Arts Tour

23 June - 13 July 2012

About the Tour

This three-week tour, led by Norbert Loeffler, will visit the Documenta in Kassel, the most important art exhibition in the world; and a number of Germany's key museums and galleries. The tour concludes in Vienna, another major art city with outstanding museums and galleries.

The cities to be visited - Frankfurt, Kassel, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Munich and Vienna - all have a wide range of  art and galleries, featuring art from the Renaissance to recent contemporary art. Among the highlights - the works of Durer, Altdorfer and the European "Old Masters", some of which can only be seen in Germany, for example Durer's key paintings, similarly the key works of Friedrich in Berlin, the key works of Schiele and the Vienna Secession in Vienna, and those of Beuys, Kiefer, Fritsch and others. Alongside the Documenta there will be major art shows in all the above cities.

There will also be opportunity to attend performances in some of the world's most famous theatres and concert halls. The program is supplemented with orientation walks around the various city centres and historical sites in order to provide a context for the art and the unique culture of each city.

The Documenta began in 1955 in the provisionally restored ruins of the bombed Fridericanum Museum of Kassel. Directed by Arnold Bode, a painter and academic professor, the exhibition was an attempt to reestablish (West) Germany as a partner to the international art world. The first Documenta was a retrospective of classic modernist art from the first half of the Twentieth Century, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Ernst, Kandinsky, Beckmann, Klee and others, all artists whose work had been defamed as "degenerate" by the Nazis and not seen in Germany since before 1933.

The success of the first Documenta led to further exhibitions that more and more presented contemporary art in 1959, 1964 (both directed by Bode with the assistance of Werner Haftmann, the art historian), 1968 and beyond, and made the Documenta both a seismograph for developments and the major forum for contemporary art in the world. The most famous Documenta occurred in 1972 when Harald Szeeman, the legendary Swiss  curator, was the director. His concept questioned the place of art in today's world and provocatively challenged the increasing commodification and musealisation of art, and placed it in the context of political and public space. He also introduced popular everyday art forms such as film and advertising into the exhibition. In addition, Joseph Beuys, a key figure in several Documentas, set up his Bureau for Direct Democracy and his 100 Day of Discussion with the public. Many of the directions of late Twentieth Century art were established at this Documenta.

More recently in 1997, Catherine David was the first women director. She used the last Documenta of the century to look back and critically interrogate the basis of art in recent decades. The emphasis was on ethical and political issues, and the exhibition included few conventional art works. Political forms of art were distributed across Kassel and the continuing 100 Days of Discussion saw 100 guest speakers addressing the state of art, culture and world politics.

The last Documenta the 11th directed by Okwui Enwezor a Nigerian-born curator, sought to define the role of art in a postcolonial, globally interconnected world. The thrust of Enwezor's initiative was to redress the past exclusions carried out by "Westernism". This far-reaching and almost utopian desire to make a case for a contemporary art that responds to, even if it cannot redeem, the tragedies of history is very much in keeping with the tradition of the Documenta.

Documenta 12 was under the artistic direction of Roger M.Buergel, a young European curator, and his co-curator and partner Ruth Noack. 3 questions framed this exhibition: Is modernity our antiquity? What is bare life? What is to be done?

Documenta 13 will be under the artistic direction of Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev. Carolyn works as a curator and writer in Rome, Turin and New York. She is currently the Chief Curator at the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art in Turin and was the Artistic Director for the 16th Sydney Biennale (2008). From 1999 to 2001 she was Senior Curator of Exhibitions at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center – a MoMA Affiliate. Previously, she organized exhibitions as an independent curator in different countries. Further details on the Documenta 13 including the list of participating artists, will be released closer to the time of the exhibition.

21 Days in Germany & Austria

Overmight Frankfurt (2 nights) • Kassel (3 nights) • Cologne (2 nights) • Berlin (5 nights) • Munich (4 nights) • Vienna (4 nights)