The appointment of the Indonesian art collective Ruangrupa as directors of Documenta 15 was a shock to the art world. No cult of personality on this edition of the Kassel art show, but a collective view on the (art) world now and tomorrow. A sign to the rest of us that the future will be collective or will be not? It was not easy to find any comprehensible information on Ruangrupa but this small docu of German tv channel 3sat sheds a little light.
This was my second Documenta visit. Twenty-five years had gone by since Documenta 9. Curated by my compatriot Jan Hoet it created a big buzz in Belgium so I wanted to see for myself.
Why did I wait so long to visit again? Honestly I don't know. I guess it was never top of mind. Documenta 9 was great after all. Despite the fact that this has been a very mediocre 14th edition of the Kassel exhibition I became enthousiast to return in 2022.
Fridericianum: as always at the heart of documenta
Marta Minujín, Parthenon of Books, 2017, Friedrichsplatz
Digital animation The End by Nikos Alexiou (EMST Collection), Fridericianum
Part of Alvin Lucier's, Sound on Paper, 1985, documenta Halle
Stanley Whitney, installation view, documenta Halle