XXXIII Biennale Internazionale d’Arte Venezia (1966) (24 min) English subtitles.
In the humorous report from one of the world’s largest and oldest art events, the Venice Biennale, Jef Cornelis and his team follow the official opening days of the exhibition and national pavilions, where only the press and VIPs have access. The film depicts both the exhibitions and the visitors in all their confusion through the exhibition halls and pavilions. ‘Rumour has it that everything is decided at that very moment,’ and, ‘Indeed the crisis continues, but the show must go on,’ comments the speaker.
documenta 4 (1968) (54 min) English subtitles.
When documenta 4 takes place in 1968, the international artworld is in a crisis of authority. Arnold Bode, documenta’s artistic co-founder and artistic director, looks critically at the changes taking place at the time, and yet documenta 4 is inevitably filled with controversies, generational conflicts and debates. The politicised society of the late 1960s clearly manifests itself in Kassel – red flags and crowds singing political songs drown out the opening speeches.
Jef Cornelis utilises a specific technique in his portrayal of the event – he and his reporter position themselves as naïve spectators on the sidelines and ask questions of the various actors: curators, artists, gallerists and visitors. With limited commentary, Cornelis thus challenges the viewer to judge for themselves.
documenta 5 (1972) (53 min) English subtitles.
documenta 5 in 1972 is regarded today as an epoch-making shift in documenta’s history. For the first time, the exhibition is single-handedly overseen by a curator who sets the thematic framework for the selected art. It was the Swiss curator Harald Szeemann who set the focus here on the relationship between image and reality under the title Questioning Reality – Pictorial Worlds Today. At a time where mass media gained more and more importance, Szeemann set out to examine art’s relationship to visual forms of expression in relation to reality. The film gives insight into the period’s trends such as hyper realism, conceptual art and kitsch, but also the entire phenomenon ‘documenta,’ the hype around the exhibition, and discussions around the role of the curator.
The film programme is presented in collaboration with Terrassen, Cinemateket, CAFx (Copenhagen Architecture Festival) and AHC.
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