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Kassel, Documenta 5, Idee + Idee / Licht

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Kassel, Documenta 5, Idee + Idee / Licht sediment 30 | 2019 1972, 30.6. – 8.10.: KASSEL, DOCUMENTA 5, IDEE + IDEE / LICHT Günter Herzog m Frühjahr 1971 erhielt Klaus Honnef n the spring of 1971, Klaus Honnef einen Anruf von Jean-Christophe received a telephone call from Amman. Er fragte, ob Honnef Lust Jean-Christophe Amman. He I hätte, bei der documenta 5 mitzu- I asked if Honnef would like to work arbeiten und man sich mit Harald with him on documenta 5 and if he Szeemann, der zum Generalsekretär berufen could meet Harald Szeemann, who had been worden war, in Münster treffen könnte, um dar- appointed Secretary General, in Münster to über zu sprechen. Die beiden Schweizer kannten discuss everything. The two Swiss curators knew Honnef durch seine Arbeit im Aachener Zentrum Honnef through his work at the Zentrum für für aktuelle Kunst – Gegenverkehr und seine be- aktuelle Kunst—Gegenverkehr in Aachen, as well reits zahlreichen und vielfältigen Publikationen. as from his numerous and diverse publications. Auch teilten sie mit ihm ein starkes Interesse an They also shared with him a strong interest in den gleichen Künstlerpersönlichkeiten, wie etwa the same artist personalities, such as Reiner Reiner Ruthenbeck und Hanne Darboven, die Ruthenbeck and Hanne Darboven, whom Honnef Honnef gerade in Münster ausgestellt hatte und had just exhibited in Münster and Szeemann Szeemann 1969 in der Berner Kunsthalle in Live at the Kunsthalle in Berne in 1969 in Live in in your head: When Attitudes become Form, de- your head: When Attitudes Become Form, the ren Untertitel Werke – Konzepte – Prozesse − Si- subtitle of which, Works – Concepts – Processes tuationen – Information bereits auf sein documen- – Situations – Information, already foreshadowed ta-Konzept vorauswies. his documenta concept. Bei ihrem Treffen konnte Honnef wählen, ob er At their meeting, Honnef could choose whether die Abteilung „Prozesskunst“ oder zusammen he wished to take on the “Prozesskunst” (Process mit Konrad Fischer, der sich 1968 mit der Düs- Art) section or, together with Konrad Fischer, seldorfer Ausstellung Prospect 68 einen Namen who had made a name for himself in 1968 with gemacht hatte, die Abteilung „Ideekunst“ über- the exhibition Prospect 68 in Düsseldof, the nehmen wollte. Honnef entschied sich für die “Ideenkunst” (Idea Art) section. Honnef opted „Ideekunst“. Dieser Begriff, so hat Honnef Wilhelm for “Ideenkunst.” This term, as Honnef told Schürmann (s. u.) erzählt, ging zurück auf Szee- Wilhelm Schürmann (see below), was coined mann, der sich damit inhaltlich vom angloame- by Szeemann, who wished to thus differentiate rikanischen Begriff der Concept oder Conceptual himself substantively from the Anglo-American Art absetzen und sein Konzept für die documenta terms of Concept Art and Conceptual Art and to „offener“ halten wollte. Honnef, der noch im sel- keep his own concept for the documenta “more ben Jahr 1971 das erste Buch über Concept Art open.” Honnef, who would publish the first book 127 sediment 30 | 2019 veröffentlichen sollte (siehe hier den Beitrag von on Concept Art that same year (see the essay by Philipp Fernandes do Brito), hatte bereits 1970 für Philipp Fernandes do Brito in this publication), had Dieter Bechtloffs Magazin Kunst, den Vorläufer already guest-edited an issue of Dieter Bechtloff’s des Kunstforum International, ein Heft über Con- Magazin Kunst, the forerunner of Kunstforum cept Art entwickelt, Konrad Fischer 1969 zusam- International, dedicated to Concept Art in 1970. In men mit Rolf Wedewer, dem Direktor des Muse- 1969, Konrad Fischer and Rolf Wedewer, Director ums Morsbroich in Leverkusen, dort unter dem of the Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen, had Titel Konzeption Conception. Dokumentation einer already curated the first museum exhibition on heutigen Kunstrichtung die erste museale Ausstel- conceptual art in Germany there under the title lung zur Konzeptkunst in Deutschland kuratiert. Konzeption Conception. Dokumentation einer Mit Fischer und Honnef konnte Szeemann die da- heutigen Kunstrichtung. (Documentation of a mals wohl besten Kenner der noch neuen Bewe- Contemporary Art Movement). With Fischer and gung gewinnen. Honnef, Szeemann was able to recruit the best experts on the new movement at the time for his Das offene Konzept-Konzept der documenta, das curatorial team. am Ende offiziell Idee + Idee / Licht hieß (weil Szee- mann die Lichtkünstler, so Honnef zu Schürmann, The open Konzept-concept of the documenta, „nirgends anders unterbringen konnte“), erlaub- which in the end was officially titled Idee + Idee/ te es Honnef und Fischer, mit so verschiedenen Licht (Idea + Idea/Light)—because Szeemann, Werken wie Richard Longs Kreis aus Steinen, die as Honnef explained to Schürmann, “couldn’t er aus der Fulda geholt und in die Mitte des Fride- accommodate the light artists anywhere else”— ricianums platziert hatte, „mit den Wandzeich- allowed Honnef and Fischer to build a “cathedral nungen von Sol LeWitt, den Blättern von Hanne of art,” which “would also be a space of Darboven, den Fotoarbeiten von den Bechers, experience and [..] study,” featuring such diverse die zum ersten Mal auf einer documenta waren, works as Richard Long’s circle of stones, which den Gemälden von Agnes Martin, auch eine Pre- he had taken from the Fulda and placed in the miere, den Fotoarbeiten von Douglas Huebler middle of the Fridericianum, “wall drawings by und dem Bildermessstab von Jan Dibbets“ eine Sol LeWitt, works on paper by Hanne Darboven, „Kunstkathedrale“ zu erbauen, die „auch ein Er- photographic works by the Bechers, who were fahrungs- und […] Erhebungsraum sein“ sollte. participating at the documenta for the first time, paintings by Agnes Martin, also a premiere, In der Auswahl ihrer Künstler hatten Honnef und photographic works by Douglas Huebler and the Fischer freie Hand, aber sie gingen sogar so weit, image measuring rod by Jan Dibbets.” dass sie nicht nur bestimmte Künstlerinnen und Künstler, sondern bestimmte Kunstwerke aussu- Honnef and Fischer were given free hand with chen, also die Auswahl der Werke nicht den Urhe- regard to the selection of their artists, but they berinnen und Urheber überlassen, sondern selbst even went so far as to select not only certain vornehmen wollten, was bei einigen auf Ableh- artists, but particular works of art; that is to say, nung stieß, wie etwa bei Dan Flavin, der schon they did not leave the selection of the works to the seine Absage signalisierte, bevor er überhaupt authors, but wanted to choose these themselves, eingeladen worden war (wozu es dann auch gar which was met with opposition from several nicht mehr kam). Für Klaus Honnef war die Ar- artists, including Dan Flavin, who had already beit an der documenta 5 ein Schlüsselereignis in signaled his rejection before he had even been seinem Prozess des Erkennens und Verstehens invited (which then never happened). For Klaus der Fotografie als Kunst durch die Konzeptkunst. Honnef, the work at documenta 5 was a key event Gerade die provokative ästhetische Frugalität in his process of recognizing and understanding der konzeptuellen Fotografie in ihrem Gegensatz photography as art through conceptual art. The zur elaborierten Opulenz der „künstlerischen“ provocative aesthetic frugality of conceptual 128 sediment 30 | 2019 Illustrierten- und Werbefotografie erschien ihm photography in its contrast to the elaborate als das Eigentliche dieser Kunst, und so begann opulence of “artistic” magazine and advertising die kunsthistorische Karriere von Bernd und Hilla photography seemed to him to be the very Becher als, so Honnef, „herausragende Promoto- essence of this art. Thus, according to Honnef, ren der künstlerischen Fotografie in Deutschland“ Bernd and Hilla Becher’s art-historical career as mit ihrer Platzierung als Konzeptkünstler in der “outstanding promoters of artistic photography documenta 5. in Germany” began with their contextualization as conceptual artists at documenta 5. Szeemanns documenta sollte nicht, wie ihre Vor- gängerinnen, ein „Museum der 100 Tage“, son- Unlike its predecessors, Szeemann’s documenta dern ein „Ereignis der 100 Tage“ werden. Keine was not intended to be a “museum of 100 documenta hat im Lauf ihrer Rezeptionsgeschich- days,” but rather an “event of 100 days.” In the te eine so diametrale Umwertung erfahren wie course of its history of reception, no documenta diese, die als erste dem sich damals radikal ver- had undergone such a diametrical reevaluation ändernden Kunstbegriff Rechnung trug und heute as this; it was the first to take account of the allgemein als wichtigste gilt, aber noch während radically changing concept of art at the time sie lief und besonders im Jahr danach höchst and is now generally regarded as the most umstritten war. Harald Szeemann hatte sie als important documenta, despite the fact that it freier Ausstellungsmacher kuratiert. Er war da- was highly controversial while it was still running mals, in der Zeit der „Macher“ („Filmemacher“, and especially in the year that followed. Harald „Liedermacher“), die erste, lange Zeit die einzige Szeemann had organized the exhibition as a und bis heute prominenteste Verkörperung eines freelance curator (Ger.: Ausstellungsmacher, freien, nicht an eine öffentliche Institution gebun- literally “exhibition maker”). At that time, in denen Kurators. Umso problematischer war der the era of the “makers,” such as Filmemacher Umstand, dass man Szeemann für das finanzielle (filmmakers) and Liedermacher (singer- Defizit der documenta 5 haftbar machen wollte. songwriters), he was the first, for a long
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