Documenta 12 (The Exterior)
Other things:
To continue our critique of contemporary architecture, it was hard for me not to hate the constructed-spefically-for-Documenta-12 pavilion. It read as some lazy manifestation of relational aesthetics through the framework of thin plexiglass. Lacaton & Vassal: you didn't graduate, you should never be allowed on the magazine. Your "Crystal Palace" made it impossible to view work and although you were trying to subvert the white cube gallery aesthetic (I get it), what you created was shoddy, bombastic and simply annoying. Don't get me wrong: I typically LOVE quonset huts.
Luckily, much of the other work was housed off the aforementioned site. The Neue Galerie followed the most classic rubric of presentation, but also housed some of the most successful work. Uh. Eleanor Antin, Mary Kelly, Lee Lazono, some other dudes; all strong candidates. I'll hopefully grift some of it later for you. Not noting a section of the gallery that was particular stunning would be an oversight: Lady Agnes Martin (I don't care what any of you say), Nasreen Mohamedi and Atsuko Tanaka were coupled in a collection of two or three rooms. Although my surprise was essentially based on being unfamiliar with the latter two's work, I stayed for hours.
I should also mention here that the palace Wilhelmshohe was smart. After approaching through a rice patty by Sakarin Krue-On I spent much of my time in the exhibit reckoning the museums permanent collection with Documenta's installment of Middle Eastern Calligraphy.
-----------------------------------
Documenta 12, what happened? I met you over a month ago and I've been hoping that I'd come to a solid conclusion. Still, I've failed.
Here's some of what I've got thus far:
It's natural to want to talk about the curators in a major pavilion exhibition like this. Roger Beurgel and Ruth Noack are probably sick of being called a "Husband and Wife team." Nevertheless, that's what they are in this context.
Once the artist list was posted, however, I was eagerly in shock with the number of artists on the list whose work I was not familiar: a good challenge, a beautiful list.
I started counting female and male exhibitors quickly. More than half are women. What? That's not supposed to happen.
Okwui was loved and hated by many critics after number 11. I'm not going to do that with Beurgel and Noack. I'm going to let them be. Their approach to drama was nice (sans a couple of theatrical problems) as was their commitment to unknown talent (the one, classic Richter was almost hidden). This is not a tepid digestion. Rather, it is a complex acceptance. Same thing?
Weeks after I was in Kassel, I met with a group of people from Glasgow who had similarly made the trek. Their experience was so much different than mine. The experience had left them reeling from "art high." However, questionably the largest art tourism event in the world left me underwhelmed in a very positive manner.
