The Haus der Kunst (German: [ˈhaʊs deːɐ̯ ˈkʊnst], House of Art) is a museum for modern and contemporary art in Munich, Bavaria. It is located at Prinzregentenstraße 1 at the southern edge of the Englischer Garten, Munich's largest park.
Exhibits
editNazi architecture
editHaus der Kunst was the first major architectural project commissioned by the Nazis. The founding stone was laid by Adolf Hitler in October 1933. Haus der Kunst is an example of totalitarian classicism and was built in stone.[1]
Nazi propaganda
editFor the Haus der Kunst opening the Day of German Art was staged on 18 July 1937. On the day, a parade with 6,000 participants and floats depicted the values, aesthetics, and grand aspirations of Nazi art. However, the carefully selected Nazi art did not attract the expected number of visitors. The Nazi elite had to purchase a large number of Nazi artwork to give the opening the veneer of success.[1]
Post-war
editAfter the end of World War II, the museum building was first used by the US Army occupation forces as an officers' mess. The building's original purpose could still be seen in such guises as the swastika-motif mosaics in the ceiling panels of its front portico.
Beginning in 1946, the museum rooms, now partitioned into several smaller exhibition areas, started to be used as temporary exhibition space for trade shows and visiting art exhibitions. Some parts of the museum were also used to showcase works from those of Munich's art galleries that had been destroyed during the war. The original steps at the building's entrance were removed to make way for a road tunnel, which opened in 1972.[2]
Since 2000
editIn 2002, the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Arts moved into the Pinakothek der Moderne. Today, while housing no permanent art exhibition of its own, the Haus der Kunst is still used as a showcase venue for temporary exhibitions and traveling exhibitions,[3] including on Tutankhamun, Zeit der Staufer, Gilbert and George (2007), Andreas Gursky (2007), Anish Kapoor (2007), Ai Weiwei (2009),[4] Ellsworth Kelly (2011),[5] Georg Baselitz (2014), Louise Bourgeois (2015),[6] and Frank Bowling (2017).[7] A 2012 joint venture with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974 was the first major museum survey of land art worldwide.[8] The museum also drew acclaim for Postwar: Art Between the Pacific and the Atlantic, 1945-1965 in 2016, an effort to tell a global narrative of art in the two decades after World War II.[9] A 2019 retrospective of the Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui became the museum's best-attended show in 10 years.[10]
In 2013, London-based architect David Chipperfield was commissioned to submit plans for refurbishing Haus der Kunst; the plans were eventually presented to the public in 2016.[11][12][13] For approximately 60 million euros, the planned renovation aims to create space for cinema, performance and musical events.[14] Chipperfield also proposed to open up blocked skylights to allow daylight into the building.[15]
After artistic director Okwui Enwezor's departure for health reasons in 2018, Haus der Kunst appointed an expert commission to oversee programming and strategy between 2019 and 2020. The commission was led by Bice Curiger and also included Achim Hochdörfer and the Goetz Collection.[16] In 2019, a selection committee selected Andrea Lissoni as new artistic director; the committee was chaired by Nina Zimmer and included Daniel Birnbaum, Doryun Chong, Susanne Gaensheimer, and Nicholas Serota.[17] Dr. Andrea Lissoni is the new artistic director of the Haus der Kunst, appointed by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts.
Partnerships
editIn 2011, Haus der Kunst forged a partnership with the private Goetz Collection to co-curate exhibits of video art.[18][19] By 2013, it was one of the beneficiaries, along with the Bavarian State Museums and the Neues Museum Nürnberg in Nuremberg, when Ingvild Goetz donated her collection of video art to the state of Bavaria and made the collection as a whole, which includes almost 5,000 works, available on permanent loan.[20]
Management
editDirectors
edit- 1993–2003: Christoph Vitali
- 2003–2011: Chris Dercon
- 2011–2018: Okwui Enwezor[21]
- From 2020: Andrea Lissoni[22]
Funding
editThe State of Bavaria is the biggest shareholder of Haus der Kunst, and provides the museum with millions of euros every year.[23] Since 1983, the museum building also houses the nightclub P1, Munich's famous high-society destination; the rent is one of the museum's revenue streams.
In 2011, Dercon left Haus der Kunst with capital of €1.5 million.[24] During his time in office, Enwezor oversaw the initial fundraising for the planned €150 million renovation of Haus der Kunst.[25] In 2018, however, Haus der Kunst cancelled an exhibition of video and performance artist Joan Jonas, citing "a difficult financial situation stemming from management errors of the past."[26] It also had to postpone a Theaster Gates show until 2019.[27]
2017 Controversy
editIn March 2017, a controversy received international media attention when the director of the Haus der Kunst, Okwui Enwezor, fired a member of the Church of Scientology based on the man's religious affiliation. In Bavaria, civil servants and employees of publicly funded institutions are required to sign that they are not Scientologists.[28][29]
References
edit- ^ a b Simon Knell (2016). National Galleries. Taylor & Francis. p. 91. ISBN 9781317432425.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (March 1, 2017), Should Munich contemporary art museum reveal or obscure its Nazi history? The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Valeriya Safronova (December 28, 2018), Is Munich Getting Cool? Look for the Boat on the Bridge New York Times.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (September 16, 2019), Ai Weiwei was not 'thrown out' of Munich's Haus der Kunst, artist confirms The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Carol Vogel (January 20, 2012), True to His Abstraction New York Times.
- ^ Arthur Lubow (January 20, 2016), A Look Inside the Louise Bourgeois House, Just How She Left It New York Times.
- ^ Jason Farago (July 10, 2019), A Trans-Atlantic Artist, Recognized at Home, at Last New York Times.
- ^ Jane Ure-Smith (October 26, 2012), All the world's a gallery Financial Times.
- ^ Jason Farago (June 4, 2018), Curator Who Shaped a Global View of Contemporary Art Is Leaving His Post New York Times.
- ^ Jason Farago (November 3, 2019), Final Exhibition by Okwui Enwezor Will Open in 2021 in Middle East New York Times
- ^ Patrick Guyton (December 29, 2016), [Chipperfield renoviert das Haus der Kunst: Fehlt nur noch die Hakenkreuz-Fahne] Der Tagesspiegel.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (March 1, 2017), Should Munich contemporary art museum reveal or obscure its Nazi history? The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Iris Lauterbach (September 6, 2017), Sollen die Nazis das letzte Wort aus Stein haben? Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (October 22, 2019), Tate's Andrea Lissoni to lead Munich's troubled Haus der Kunst The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (March 1, 2017), Should Munich contemporary art museum reveal or obscure its Nazi history? The Art Newspaper
- ^ Catherine Hickley (January 22, 2019), Munich's Haus der Kunst, leaderless since June, appoints expert commission The Art Newspaper.
- ^ "Dr. Andrea Lissoni wird neuer künstlerischer Geschäftsführer im Haus der Kunst / Dr. Andrea Lissoni is the new Artistic Director of the Haus der Kunst".
- ^ Rebecca Schmid (April 24, 2018), Selling Off Art to Support a Better World New York Times.
- ^ Renuka Rayasam (September 27, 2012), A Champion for Unconventional Artists Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Rebecca Schmid (April 24, 2018), Selling Off Art to Support a Better World New York Times.
- ^ Jason Farago (June 4, 2018), Curator Who Shaped a Global View of Contemporary Art Is Leaving His Post New York Times.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (October 22, 2019), Tate's Andrea Lissoni to lead Munich's troubled Haus der Kunst The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Valeriya Safronova (October 17, 2018), Mismanagement, and a Scientology Scandal, Blamed in Munich Museum Chief's Ouster New York Times.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (August 20, 2018), Okwui Enwezor hits out at 'besmirching' by Haus der Kunst The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (August 20, 2018), Okwui Enwezor hits out at 'besmirching' by Haus der Kunst The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (August 2, 2018), Munich's Haus der Kunst cancels Joan Jonas exhibition amid financial woes The Art Newspaper.
- ^ Catherine Hickley (August 20, 2018), Okwui Enwezor hits out at 'besmirching' by Haus der Kunst The Art Newspaper.
- ^ "Scientology als Kündigungsgrund"
- ^ "Has Munich's Haus der Kunst Been Infiltrated by Scientology?"