Documenta 14, about to conclude on 17 September 2017, has set a groundbreaking benchmark - colocation in Athens and Kassel (first since documenta was founded in 1955), stretching 163 days (replacing the usual 100 days) and estimated to reach an audience of over one million. As reported, the 47 venues in the Athens exhibition (running from 8 April to 17 July) have recorded 339,000 attendees while the 35 Kassel venues have drawn nearly 445,000 visitors at its halfway point, much exceed the previous editions.
Titled "Learning from Athens" by artistic director Adam Szymczyk, the quinquennial mega exhibition stands in solidarity with the debt-ridden Greece and endeavors to revive the memory of its historical and cultural grandeur. Nonetheless, the Athenian overture is a point of departure and has opened up discourses on modern-day socio-political issues such as failure in democracy and neoliberalism, state of diaspora and dispossession, the rise of neofascism, problems in gender inequality and human rights, preserving indigenous culture and so on. As political art pieces seem to dominate the whole show, documenta 14 has evoked debates on the efficacy of art to offer solutions to our current world in turmoil.
Despite some contestable viewpoints, documenta 14 is still arguably an enticing art event taken over by live performances, sound arts, screenings, and talks, in addition to the more traditional art forms. From the life-sized replica of the Parthenon of banned books erected in the Friedrichsplatz; to the performative holistic black soap initiative that advocates circular economy. From the nostalgic Yugoslavia Borosana shoe shop that reflects socialist ideals in Neue Neue Galerie to the female art collective's fight for women's right to education in the disused underground train station. It is not difficult to pick some top works among over 160 international artists in the Kassel venues that strike a balance between subtlety and directness.
Titled "Learning from Athens" by artistic director Adam Szymczyk, the quinquennial mega exhibition stands in solidarity with the debt-ridden Greece and endeavors to revive the memory of its historical and cultural grandeur. Nonetheless, the Athenian overture is a point of departure and has opened up discourses on modern-day socio-political issues such as failure in democracy and neoliberalism, state of diaspora and dispossession, the rise of neofascism, problems in gender inequality and human rights, preserving indigenous culture and so on. As political art pieces seem to dominate the whole show, documenta 14 has evoked debates on the efficacy of art to offer solutions to our current world in turmoil.
Despite some contestable viewpoints, documenta 14 is still arguably an enticing art event taken over by live performances, sound arts, screenings, and talks, in addition to the more traditional art forms. From the life-sized replica of the Parthenon of banned books erected in the Friedrichsplatz; to the performative holistic black soap initiative that advocates circular economy. From the nostalgic Yugoslavia Borosana shoe shop that reflects socialist ideals in Neue Neue Galerie to the female art collective's fight for women's right to education in the disused underground train station. It is not difficult to pick some top works among over 160 international artists in the Kassel venues that strike a balance between subtlety and directness.
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| Marta Minujín, The Parthenon of Books (2017)
Steel, books, and plastic sheeting Friedrichsplatz, Kassel |
Collecting banned books from the public in Friedrichsplatz.
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| Daniel Knorr, Expiration Movement (2017) Smoke and manifesto, Zwehrenturm, Kassel |
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Hiwa K, When We Were Exhaling Images (2017)
Vitrified clay pipes, laminated beams, furniture, and various objects, Friedrichsplatz, Kassel
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| Nikos Alexiou, The End (2007) Digital animation, color, silent, looped Collection of Kalliopi Alexiou Fridericianum, Kassel |
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Vlassis Caniaris, Hopscotch (1974) Installation including six human figures (chicken wire over wooden frame, paper and plastic filling, and used clothes), nine suitcases, metal bird cage, and chalk on tarpaper. National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST), Fridericianum, Kassel
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Andreas Angelidakis, Polemos (2017)
Foam and vinyl seating modules
Fridericianum, Kassel
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| Janine Antoni, Slumber (1994) Maple loom, wool yarn, bed, EEG machine, artist’s REM reading on computer paper, seven nightgowns woven into a 126-feet blanket, Dimensions variable. National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST), donated by the Dakis Joannou Collection in 2014 Fridericianum, Kassel |
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| Romuald Karmakar, BYZANTION (2017)
Digital video, color, sound, 7 min., Westpavillon (Orangerie), Kassel |
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| Otobong Nkanga, Carved to Flow (2017), Performance and installation, Neue Galerie, Neue Neue Galerie (Neue Hauptpost), and Glass Pavilions on Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse, Kassel |
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Máret Ánne Sara, Pile o’ Sápmi (2017)
Curtain made from reindeer skulls and metal wire, porcelain necklace made from reindeer-bone ash, two photographic lightboxes, and two vitrines containing the Reindeer Husbandry Act and excerpts of the trials of Jovsset Ante Iversen Sara versus the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Neue Neue Galerie (Neue Hauptpost), Kassel
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 One thousand pairs of Borosana shoes worn by the female workforce of documenta 14 Procuced for Yugoexport Various locations throughout Kassel, Photo: Introduction Poster, A1, Ad for Vertical formats. |
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Cecilia Vicuña, Quipu Gut (2017)
Dyed wool. Dimensions variable
documenta Halle, Kassel
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Aboubakar Fofana, Fundi (Uprising, 2017
Natural fiber-based textiles, handsewn and dyed in organic indigo in Bamako and Athens: Indigoferra arrecta, Polygonum tinctorium, and Isatis tinctoria grown in collaboration with Kasseler Werkstatt (Gartenbau); Stadt Kassel, Umwelt- und Gartenamt; Universität Kassel, Gewächshaus für tropische Nutzpflanzen, Witzenhausen. documenta Halle, Kassel |
Lorenza Böttner(1959–1994), Drawings, pastels, paintings, video, and archival materials (1975–94)
Neue Galerie, Kassel
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Vivian Suter, Nisyros (Vivian’s bed) (2016–17)
Glass Pavilions on Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse, Kassel
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| iQhiya, Monday (2017), Performance and installation with school desks and video projection Former Underground Train Station (KulturBahnhof), Kassel |
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| Roee Rosen, The Dust Channel (2016) Digital video, colour, sound, 23 min. Palais Bellevue, Kassel |
Video, Installation View, Palais Bellevue, Kassel, documenta 14, Foto: Daniel Wimmer
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| Olu Oguibe, Monument for strangers and refugees, (2017) Concrete, 3 × 3 × 16.3 m, Königsplatz, Kassel |
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