On June 16th, we were scheduled to meet as a class at the Sofitel Dorint in Amsterdam, I arrived early and got to enjoy the city even though it was a very short initial stay.
Here one can see the main square near Central Station in Amsterdam.
Passing through the Red Light District was a tour boat in one of the many canals throughout the city.
Curiously staring out into the distance is the back of the heads of Clay Flynn (red) and Trent Smith (blue).
We gathered outside the Sofitel at 10pm and briefly spoke about our trip and all the plans and projects that it would entail, we also got to meet our instructors Shane Campbell and Michelle Grabner. The very next morning bright and early we left to Kassel on the ICE trains, it was quite a confusing wait but we soon got moving.
Patiently waiting to leave the Amsterdam airport for Germany...waiting from left to right are students Forrest Nash, Liz Rosenberg, Ben Fain, and Rachel Robertson.
Our train ride was a lengthy 6 hours passing through beautiful cities of Germany, Kolon was one of them, you can see a beautiful church that we saw below.
Kolon, Germany
The second we got off the train we were immediately greeted by works that were part of Documenta 12; an upside down bedframe stood at the top of a building teetering on its corner while a large collage that read in German "All men are sisters" hung in front of the doors of the train station. We quickly got on a bus, 24 individuals carrying more than 24 suitcases and backpacks, and headed on to our hotel located in Baunatal, Germany, a very small town on the outskirts of Kassel. Baunatal served us well, with adventures including a team of 20 drunk soccer players, a strip mall to walk circles around each night, pizza, falafel, doner kabab galore, and a phone bill of $692!!! Of course in retrospect this all brought more fun than frustration, and we always had Documenta a quick tram ride away.
It was quite an intense amount of time that we spent researching and observing the work that Documenta 12 had to offer. But first off, a little background on the Documenta 12 exhibition and the history of Documenta itself:
Taken directly from the Documenta 12 website the following reads as follows, "The documenta is regarded as the most important exhibition of contemporary art, drawing attention from all over the world. It was initiated in 1955 by the artist and art educator, Arnold Bode, in Kassel. After the period of Nazi dictatorship, it was intended to reconcile German public life with international modernity and also confront it with its own failed Enlightenment. Under continually changing directorship, and in the equally leisurely and inexorable rhythm of five years, the documenta has advanced to become an authoritative worldwide seismograph of contemporary art."
The artistic director of Documenta 12 is Roger M. Bruegel the curator for the show was Ruth Noack. The themes of Documenta revolved around the following 3 topics Modernity, Life and Education. Documenta's leading question was "Is modernity the new antiquity?" In regards to this question we witnessed many curatorial decisions that referenced this question. Their curatorial emphasis stresses relationships across media and history. The exhibition included rugs, bridal veils, a lacquerwork panel, folk art, Persian miniatures, and children’s drawing. Another such example was evident at the off-site Schloss Museum where paintings such as Kerry James Marshall's "Lost Boys Series" were placed beside paintings done in the 17th century. Even on Kassel's most beloved Hercules Monument, we witnessed work for Documenta 12 on scaffolding structures scattered throughout the huge mountain-scape in which the monument stands.
Documenta 12 had four main locations on site, The Museum Fridericianum, The Aue Pavillion, The Neue Gallery, and The Documenta Halle.
Below are images of the main buildings of Documenta 12:
Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
Zheng Guogu, Waterfall in the Museum Fridericianum
Sanja Ivekovic, Triangle in the Museum Fridericianum
Tanaka Atsuko, Electric Dress in the Museum Fridericianum
The Aue Pavilion, Kassel, Germany
A majority of the Documenta Halle was filled with an installation by Cosima Von Bonin while in the back of the hall glowed we witnessed a glowing orage room, a piece by Chicago's own Inigo Maglano Ovalle.
Cosima Von Bonin, Relax It's Only a Ghost
Inigo Manglano Ovalle, Phantom Truck
We were given a number of assignments for the trip. The first was to conduct one hour presentations on any work of art in the show, we were paired with our roomates for the piece. We spent two full days researching and planning, but most importantly observing our individual pieces. The next two days would be dedicated to meeting as a class and conducting our presentations. The array of work in which we discussed was very interesting, from an infinitely reflective John McCracken sculpture in the entrance of the Museum Fridericianum to the mysterious film by James Coleman entitled Retake with Evidence, performed by Harvey Keitel in the Neue Gallery, the discussions were meaty, lengthy, and informative.
Yogi Proctor and AJ Reading conduct the first presentation outside of the Museum Fridericianum on the work of John McCracken.
Young Joon Kwak conducts a presentation with Adrean Vargas in the Neue Gallery. From left to right are teachers Michelle Grabner and Shane Campbell and students Young Joon Kwak and Adrean Vargas.
Nancy Kim and Kaylee Wyant did a presentation at the Neue Gallery of the work of James Coleman. Seated from left to right is Jamie Groetsema, AJ Reading, Dennis Iren, Anna Peterson, Ben Fain, Michelle Grabner, Nancy Kim, Shane Campbell, Jerome Acks, and Will Megson.
Aside from Documenta, I joined my friends Clay Flynn and Trent Smith on a long hike to the Hercules Monument. The view was breathtaking, with a full site of Kassel and a peculiar scaffold covering the currently headless Hercules. The monument is located above the Schloss Museum, here are the images of our voyage:
Schloss Museum, Kassel, Germany
Myself, Clay Flynn, and Trent Smith half-way through our hike to the Hercules Monument.
Bridge near path leading to the Hercules Monument
Hercules Monument, Kassel, Germany
View outside of a structure at the Hercules Monument
We had a great time in Kassel, a nice full week to see all that we could, but our next stop was Munster, Germany for the exhibition happening every decade: The Munster Sculpture Projekt...On the trains we went, once again, but our last day in Kassel greeted us with a double rainbow, a site not to be missed.
Double Rainbow...woo woo!
AJ Reading waiting patiently on the train to Munster.
