Der Springende Punkt (The Key Point)
Happening and Fluxus, Kölnischer Kunstverein 1970, chosen and presented by Marcel Odenbach
20 Apr - 21 Dec 2007
In the form of an annually changing exhibition, The Key Point provides insight into the archives of institutions or individuals whose experimental exhibition programs or special curatorial signature provide important points of contact for the work of the Kölnischer Kunstverein.
For the development of this series, a collaboration with an artist who has a special affinity to the selected institution is planned. The artist will be invited to research the archive material and develop a corresponding presentation. Thus, the aim is to select a particular moment in the history of this institution, which is of personal importance to both artists and curators, rather than to present a complete archive.
The Cologne artist Marcel Odenbach is invited to participate in this exhibition. His long activity at the Kunstverein as an artist and member, coupled with his interest in the processing and reappraisal of history(ies), is an ideal prerequisite for dealing with this archive. The starting point of his research is the exhibition Happening and Fluxus from 1970, through which he first became aware of the Kölnischer Kunstverein. Not only his grandfather, but a large group of members from the south of Cologne left the Kunstverein in outrage on the occasion of the actionist, provocative exhibition. At the same time, a large group of young, new members joined the Kunstverein.
Happening and Fluxus was already designed with a readiness for conflict in the selection of artists and in the type of installation. What is interesting about this exhibition and the events triggered by it is the question of the social role of art in the early period of the Bonn Republic, which is reflected in the public discussion of the exhibition by politicians and citizens, but also the question of Cologne as a city of art. Odenbach presents exhibition catalogues, editions, letters, photographs and other documents as a selection of materials that are intended to capture the historical moment from the perspective of the exhibition organizers Harald Szeemann and Wolf Vostell, the Kunstverein director Toni Feldenkirchen and the audience’s perspective.
For the development of this series, a collaboration with an artist who has a special affinity to the selected institution is planned. The artist will be invited to research the archive material and develop a corresponding presentation. Thus, the aim is to select a particular moment in the history of this institution, which is of personal importance to both artists and curators, rather than to present a complete archive.
The Cologne artist Marcel Odenbach is invited to participate in this exhibition. His long activity at the Kunstverein as an artist and member, coupled with his interest in the processing and reappraisal of history(ies), is an ideal prerequisite for dealing with this archive. The starting point of his research is the exhibition Happening and Fluxus from 1970, through which he first became aware of the Kölnischer Kunstverein. Not only his grandfather, but a large group of members from the south of Cologne left the Kunstverein in outrage on the occasion of the actionist, provocative exhibition. At the same time, a large group of young, new members joined the Kunstverein.
Happening and Fluxus was already designed with a readiness for conflict in the selection of artists and in the type of installation. What is interesting about this exhibition and the events triggered by it is the question of the social role of art in the early period of the Bonn Republic, which is reflected in the public discussion of the exhibition by politicians and citizens, but also the question of Cologne as a city of art. Odenbach presents exhibition catalogues, editions, letters, photographs and other documents as a selection of materials that are intended to capture the historical moment from the perspective of the exhibition organizers Harald Szeemann and Wolf Vostell, the Kunstverein director Toni Feldenkirchen and the audience’s perspective.