Jointly organized by the Central Academy of Fine Arts and School of Culture and Media Administration, Freie Universit?t Berlin, the exhibition entitled “The Myth of documenta: Arnold Bode and His Heirs” will be exhibited at the CAFA Art Museum from 1^st March through to 31^st March. This exhibition is co-curated by the Central Academy of Fine Arts and School of Culture and Media Administration, Freie Universit?t Berlin and it was specifically supported by documenta und?Museum Fridericianum gGmbH.

After all the preparations over the last year, the exhibition is the first exhibition dedicated to the historical developments of documenta for more than six decades and will be held in China, which is also the first important cultural event on the occasion of the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. Besides this exhibition, there is another cooperation between the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Kassel with previous exhibitions “Great Way Prevailing: Chinese Contemporary Public Art in Kassel” and “Come from Kassel: Zhangzhou International Public Art Exhibition”. Meanwhile this will unveil a series of cooperative exercises between the Central Academy of Fine Arts and documenta und?Museum Fridericianum gGmbH, including the Chinese version of documenta website jointly implemented by documenta und?Museum Fridericianum gGmbH and CAFA ART INFO as well as the “documenta Research Center” in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Since its founding in 1955, documenta has held thirteen exhibitions and it is about to celebrate its 14^th. As a platform for exhibitions and discussions, documenta could be taken as the benchmark of the aesthetics and developing history of social culture since modernism in the West first appeared and has a global atmosphere. Today, the exhibition remains one of the most important contemporary art exhibitions in the world.

“The Myth of documenta: Arnold Bode and His Heirs” will showcase nearly 300 works and documentary evidence from documenta exhibitions, including the artistic creation, conceptual manuscripts and furniture design by Arnold Bode, as well as the original manuscripts, sketches and some precious original works by artistic directors and prominent artists featured in previous documenta exhibitions.

In addition to the documenta exhibitions, this exhibition will not only extend to discussions on modern and contemporary art in a social context, but it also presents the developing and reforming history of curatorial practice and concept of art education. The exhibition does not showcase the “myth” of documenta, but it also explores the unique conditions of framework, the spirit of the times and historical figures of this legendary exhibition.

This exhibition will divide the developing history of documenta into four chapters so as to introduce it to a Chinese audience. Supplemented by the theme of the exhibitions with independent topics, a public laboratory dedicated to linking history and contemporary narratives is established, to guide the audience to reflect on the historical context of documenta which invites the audience to provide in-depth and divergent feedback to the exhibition.

Courtesy of CAFA Art Museum, translated and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO.