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Life behind ruins: Constructing documenta by Mariel A. Viller6 B.A. Architecture Barnard College, 2008 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF ARCHVES MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE STUDIES MASSACHUSETTS INSTTE AT THE OF TECHNOLOGY MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY JUN 2 7 2013 JUNE 2013 LIBRAR ES 02013 Mariel A. Viller6. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: Department of Architecture May 23,2013 Certified by: Mark Jarzombek, Professor of the Histo4y 7eory and Criticism of Architecture Accepted by: Takehiko Nagakura, Chair of the Department Committee on Graduate Students 1 Committee Mark Jarzombek,'Ihesis Supervisor Professor of the History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture Caroline Jones, Reader Professor of the History of Art 2 Life behind ruins: Constructing documenta by Mariel A. Viller6 B.A. Architecture Barnard College, 2008 Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 23,2013 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Architecture Studies Abstract A transnational index of contemporary art, documenta in its current form is known in the art world for its scale, site-specificity and rotating Artistic Directors, each with their own theme and agenda. On a unique schedule, the expansive show is displayed in Kassel, Germany from June to September every five years. The origins of the exhibition-event are embedded in the postwar reconstruction of West Germany and a regenerative national Garden Show. This thesis focuses on the architectural condition of the first documenta in 1955, which I argue has ultimately shaped the nomadic and parceled form of documenta as it evolved. In a liminal space between a violent, isolated history and a hopeful, democratic future, the organizers of documenta appropriated the damaged, but centrally located Museum Fridericianum as shelter for an exhibition of modern art. I trace the early history of the siting and architecture of the Museum Fridericianum and central urban plaza, the Friedrichsplatz, to unfold the urban planning schemes and controversies of the 1940s and 50s. In the midst of re-planning, the national Garden Show- the Bundesgartenschau,a catalyst for economic regeneration as a tourist attraction and proponent of urban parks, offered the support needed for the germinating plans for an art show that would be called documenta. Arnold Bode, a designer, painter and professor at the Art Academy in Kassel took advantage of the Bundesgartenschauexposure and funding to install an exhibition of modern art in the damaged neoclassical Museum Fridericianum. Although the details of the building's restoration are often overlooked, the thesis examines the built conditions of Bode's Fridericianum in an attempt to reposition documenta in the history of architecture. I argue for the influence of Kassel's urban and landscape history on the staging of documenta, and in turn, the exhibition's dialogue with the form and ideology of the Bundesgartenschau.In displaying the architecture as part of the exhibition, Bode resurrected the Enlightenment ideology that birthed the building and reinterpreted it for a postwar message. Now one among many biennial format global exhibitions, documenta offers a unique and compelling confluence between the subject's relationship with landscape, urban design, architecture, exhibition design and art, based on its inception in 1955 in the Museum Fridericianum. Mark Jarzombek, Thesis Supervisor Professor of the History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture 3 4 Acknowledgments Over the past year of researching and writing this thesis, I have had the privilege of interacting with many individuals, here at home and in Germany. They all have contributed to its final form through meaningful discussions and diligent editing. At the start, my advertisement in the Kassel newspaper seeking "witnesses of documenta," elicited responses from more Kasselers than I could have imagined, and more than I had the time to meet with. My conversations with them made an incredible impact on me beyond this project. For their hospitality and friendship, I thank Enne Lux, Hartmut George M6ler, Helga Meseck, Sylvia Stoebe, Frank M511er, Barbara Eidmann, Karl Bolzmann, Wolfgang Heinrich Fischer, Irmgard Gaenzer, and Willy Vasserot. My extended network in Cambridge provided introductions in Berlin to Andres Lepik, Wilfried Kuhn and Adrian von Buttlar, who all became mentors and provided meaningful dialogue. I am indebted to the fine people at the documenta Archiv, Susanne Riibsam, Karin Stengel and particularly Sara Niedergessif, who also assisted as an interpreter in interviews. For additional translation help, I thank Uta Musgray, Kenneth Kronenberg and Leslie Allison. I'd also like to thank MIT Libraries, particularly Lorrie McAllister for her research assistance early on.'Ihe project was made possible by funding from the Louis C. Rosenberg travel grant from the MIT Department of Architecture, the MISTI 2.0 travel grant for independent research, and the Council for the Arts at MIT Director's Grant. I'd like to thank the HTC discipline group at MIT, particularly my committee, Mark Jarzombek and Caroline Jones, who offered me invaluable guidance and support and who allowed me the freedom to wander while reminding me to see the forest for the trees. I offer thanks to my cohort, Irina Chernyakova and Antonio Furgiuele, for the inspiring conversation, suggested edits and practice runs, but mostly for their sense of humor in small writing quarters. To Marilyn Levine for her friendship, patience and dedicated support through the writing process, enthusiasm for the topic and insightful comments. I am indebted to readers and friends for their support of this project and illuminating conversations: Lydia Ross, Gabi Fries-Briggs, Alexandra Small, Ellis Isenberg, Christianna Bonin, Emily Wettstein, Christina Yang, Charlotte Lipschitz and Kathryn Floyd. I thank my parents, Greta and Jim, for their unwavering confidence, loving support, and reading of drafts at several stages. Lastly, I thank Alexander Bender, who has also read this thesis and given insightful feedback; but more importantly for his perspective, groundedness and levity in the continual adjustments to new normals. 5 6 "I thought of the beauty of ruins ... of things which nothing lives behind ... and so I thought of wrapping ruins around buildings." -Louis . Kahn, 1961 7 8 CONTENTS 0. Introduction: Rubble and Roses.............................................................. 11 1. The Nature of Kassel: through the garden and into the plaza............ 20 A Third Nature.................................................................................... 20 The Metamorphosis of Plants.......................................................... 28 New City on Old Ground.....................................................................40 Bundesgartenschau Revival............................................................ 49 Marshall Plan of the Mind................................................................ 53 "Kassel lives, despite all this"............................................................ 57 2. Life behind ruins: Unity in architecture, art and viewer........................ 67 Creative Conservation..................................................................... 75 Content and Container................................................................... 86 3. Epilogue: Points for Departure...................................................................103 1955 Study Group and Participating Artists..................................................1 11 Bib lio g ra p h y ..................................................................................................... 113 9 10 Introduction: Rubble and Roses A transnational index of contemporary art, documenta in its current form is known in the art world for its scale, site-specificity and rotating Artistic Directors, each with their own theme and agenda. On a unique schedule, the expansive show is displayed in Kassel, Germany from June to September every five years; its reputation so impressive and influential, it has transformed the city with the permanent headliner "documenta Stadt" -"documenta City." The origins of the exhibition-event are embedded in the postwar reconstruction of West Germany and a regenerative national Garden Show. 'This thesis focuses on the architectural condition of the first documenta in 1955, which I argue has ultimately shaped the nomadic and parceled form of documenta as it evolved. In a liminal space between a violent, isolated history and a hopeful, democratic future, the organizers of documenta appropriated the damaged, but centrally located Museum Fridericianum as shelter for an exhibition of modern art. I trace the early history of the siting and architecture of the Museum Fridericianum and central urban plaza, the Friedrichsplatz, to unfold the urban planning schemes and controversies of the 1940s and 50s. At the same time, the national Garden Show- the Bundesgartenschau,a catalyst for economic regeneration as a tourist attraction and proponent of urban parks, offered the support needed for the germinating plans for an art show that would be called documenta. Now one among many biennial format global exhibitions, documenta