A city is known for the presentation of an art exhibition, which almost represents all cultural charms?and aura?of the city, while even some people?don’t know the city until?they learn about the exhibition, which is rare and Kassel might be a?unique case. documenta, which was held every 5 years,?is a?major event for?cultural and artistic circles and the most important?international contemporary art exhibition, the benchmark of aesthetics and social cultural developments since the modern?era with a?Western and international scope, while each opening of the documenta attracts?art professionals, art lovers and tourists from around the world to gather?in the central city of Germany,?so that it becomes the cultural focus of the world.?

Founded in 1955,?documenta has been held 13 times in the last?62 years.?On March 1, 2017, as the exhibition systematically researches?the 60 years of developmental?history, “The Myth of documenta?— Arnold Bode and His Heirs” opened in CAFA Art Museum. The exhibition was co-hosted by the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Freie Universit?t?Berlin, Yu Ding, Dean of Institute of Arts Administration and Education at CAFA and Klaus Siebenhaar, President of Freie?Universit?t?Berlin serve as curators.?It features about 300 works and documents about the documenta, including the artistic creation, conceptual manuscripts and furniture design by Arnold Bode, the founder of the documenta, as well as the original manuscripts, drafts and some?of the precious originals by the previous?art?directors of?the documenta?and key artists,?to feature a clear “context” of the documenta as?well as?the observation and intervention?on life and society in different?historical and cultural periods.

As the research?of the context of the documenta, the logical starting point of the exhibition is naturally focused on 1955 and the founder Arnold Bode?was the reason why the exhibition is entitled “Arnold Bode and His Heirs”.?Although Arnold Bode was an artist, designer, art teacher, curator,?he could not escape from the Nazi’s tyranny and the brutal World War II during?the years of growth, fortunately, his artistic passion and talent?was displayed in the reconstruction of post-war German order and become the “Father of documenta”. Arnold Bode actively established the?documenta?in order to develop the modernism which was forbidden in the Nazi period,?restored modernism and?developed a new post-war contemporary art.?Therefore, the documenta?has been of an?“interrogative” nature from the beginning,?he?does not only attempt to present the current development phenomenon?of an art type, while the first exhibition?launched by Arnold Bode has answered a question: What?work, or what artistic idea?offers a starting point for what we call the “contemporary art” today.

From the questioning to observation, research, formation, it is Arnold Bode and his heirs’ artistic mission, and also the framework and ideas?of the exhibition. The main body of the exhibition is divided into four parts:?Reconstruction, Transformation, Anything Goes, International Vision,?which successively correspond?to the gestures, patterns and visions presented in different historical periods of the documenta. Arnold Bode’s first three documentas?successfully brought modern art to the cultural vision of the masses, to establish the international authoritative position of the discussion of modern art; In the 1960s and 1970s, while a “counter-culture”?trend was prevailed, the documenta?actively responded to this cultural challenge, finally becoming?the turning and starting point of the artistic and social reform movement, promoted the development of object art, concept artand media art,?and it?also?turned?to a process, performance and participatory event; In the?7th and 9th documentas, the exhibition spaces turned into “experience spaces”, which traversed inner and outer spaces similar to passages, so that, documenta?exhibitions were no longer only a medium, but a social event – a documenta?for all; along with the development of history, in the centurial and worldwide carnival and reflection, the documenta?exhibition has also become a“local history of globalization”, exhibition spaces were connected with globalized politics, society, and culture, while different artistic directors respectively use the?own "narrative” to explain the status quo of world art.

It can be called a documenta?exhibition of documenta?exhibitions,?German curator Klaus Siebenhaar?proposed that?exhibition spaces were dedicated to create a field of research, through this exhibition it not only researched?the?art development process of the 20th century, but also prompted?the changes of the documenta?in the process of art development, part of the show was about the public response, so that, the?art of education or public enlightenment was?also one of the clues hidden?in the exhibition so it?was a?show about the history of art, history of exhibition and history of artistic reception.

Arnold Bode curated an exhibition entitled “documenta” in the German garden exhibition, originally aimed at holding a “l(fā)arge-scale international art exhibition”, but he never thought there would be a?second one after a few years, and it wasn’t expected to become a “myth” as?the meaning of indicator. documenta has created a new concept for art exhibitions?and the idea of documenta?arrived in China?in 1991, and has gradually become a common exhibition label, in order to highlight the research value and academic weight?of the exhibition. documenta?is held every five years, although it can’t?capture art phenomenon as quickly?as the biennial exhibitions, it is able to more fully, calmly, distantly observe art, thinking about artistic status quos that have fermented. So?that, the documenta?dares?to include the challenging art creations, causing?a variety of social forces to be concerned about?it, and?also presents an open, free attitude. Chinese curator Prof. Yu Ding comments that, documenta does?not only?reflect an?history, but also presents an understandable German spirit, which is the continuation of the spirit of reason. Perhaps this calm temperament is the external performance?of reason.

In?the development of contemporary art?in China, it has a lot of associations with documenta and?it also createsa unit to showcase the relationship between China and the documenta. It is the first time for “The Myth of Documenta” to launch a show about the documenta, while the majority of documents first go out of the database of the documenta, which is of?a great significance to Sino-German artistic and cultural exchanges,?and it is first major cultural event for the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. The exhibition kicks off a series of strategic cooperation between the?Central Academy of Fine Arts and Kassel Documenta, including the “documenta?Website Hosted by CAFA” which is co-operated and jointly developed by the documenta?website and CAFA ART INFO, as well as the establishment of the “documenta?Research Center” at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In the myth of the documenta?it will present more Chinese figures.

Text by Zhang Wenzhi, Photo by Hu Sichen/CAFA ART INFO

Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Note: The 14th documenta ?will be exhibited in Kassel, Germany, and Athens, Greece, in 2017 ?