Deutsches Historisches Museum - Verf�hrung Freiheit. Kunst in Europa seit 1945 - Blog

Q. Dear Henry, could you please describe your role as one of the curators of this exhibition?

‘I am one of the three curators. Monika Flacke and I have been working together for two years now, and earlier, too, preparing the Art and Power exhibition that opened in 1995 in London. So we had to develop an idea and consider how we could bring it all together. But of course we couldn’t. That was the worst thing about it—that we were always forced to leave something out—although it is all connected. If you consider such a time span, from 1945 to the present, there is a consistency and coherence. But hopefully, when you enter the exhibition you will sense that this concept played a role. And that the objects and pictures collaborate and interact with one another, and have something to say.

Q. You travelled around all of Europe to find the artworks. Are there particular anecdotes that you remember especially well?

We travelled together through some 20 countries. Perhaps the most dramatic moment was when we arrived in Sarajevo. We had an appointment with two curators at the Museum of Contemporary Art and as soon as we arrived they told us that the museum would close the next day. We asked why, and of course it was and is a very complicated political story. But the fact of the matter was—it was August I think—that they had not been paid since January. No one visited the museum; they did not have a cent, and were working without pay. We thought that it would make more sense to hold a public protest, instead of continuing to suffer, but unfortunately the situation in Sarajevo has gotten even worse. Last month we found out that National Museum is closing and there is no sign of a solution. I don’t know what will happen, but we still hope to be able to work with Sarajevo.

Q. What were the most difficult and the easiest aspects of planning and carrying out this exhibition?

The most difficult thing is naturally the self-discipline, when you have such a wide view of Europe. There are almost 40 countries. So you have to be a bit disciplined and think about what really is of importance. Not just for us, but also for the public. And always stick to the concept and to what is possible. We also couldn’t afford that, even if the lenders were very generous. But that was the most difficult. The easiest thing was the conversations that we had with colleagues. The colleagues were very friendly and supportive, which really surprised us, because we also had difficult questions for the lenders.

Q. What do you personally find special about the concept?

‘That its approach is not chronological and it mixes everything up. It is not about schools, it is not about formal questions, and it is not about substantive questions. One has to somehow extract some inner meaning. And that is not how exhibitions are usually organised. Normally the curators present such and such a painter, such and such a school, or a movement occurring in a certain country. But we really wanted to develop an inner idea, so that the exhibition objects would speak to each other when they were exhibited here in the German Historical Museum.’

Q. Do you have a favourite object or room in the exhibition?

‘A favourite object is perhaps a bit difficult, but I might choose the little house from Donald Rodney. This was an unfortunate man, who died at the age of 37 (I think) of a blood disease. But he made his art out of that: the depiction of a tiny house that he holds in his hand. And he built that house out of his own skin. This is so touching and emblematic of what we wish to express in ‘The Other Space’ or ‘Worlds for Living In’. It is not simply a direct statement, but rather a general idea—the human being and the possibility of existence. Rodney’s house is such a fragile object that practically flutters when you walk by. And yet this somehow is human and very touching.’

What we didn’t ask:

Which object would he have least wanted to have to leave out of the exhibition.

Where is his work place at the DHM:

He works from London.

When does he feel the most free:

‘In the waiting room with a book—anonymously.’