5 December 2018

Wulf Herzogenrath. Video Art in the Akademie Archives
Archive and Exhibition Opening
Wednesday, 12 December 2018, Hanseatenweg

Wulf Herzogenrath – Akademie member and a previous director of the Kunsthalle Bremen for many years – has given his archive to the Akademie der Künste. As a curator, Wulf Herzogenrath decisively contributed to the establishment of video art as a new artistic medium in Germany. His collection conains not only highlights of video art, but covers the entire spectrum of its artistic production and thus the history of video art itself. In addition to more than 600 videotapes the Akademie received his entire archive of printed matter as well as an extensive specialised library on video art. It is precisely this combination of videotapes and accompanying materials that allows the singularity of the Herzogenrath Archive to stand out. As part of the "Videoart at Midnight" Festival, the Akademie der Künste is introducing the Wulf Herzogenrath Archive to the public with an exhibition and a special event.

In addition to documentation on video art, the exhibition shows several early works, accompanied by photos, letters and installation designs from the exceptional study collection in the Herzogenrath Archive. The focus of this review is on documenta 6 – for which Wulf Herzogenrath curated a new, independent section of video art in 1977. It represents a milestone in the history of media art. Herzogenrath's collection of artist's books – with original dedications that are living testimonies to his numerous professional as well as private encounters since the late 1960s – are being presented to the public for the first time. The list reads like a Who's Who of the international art scene, including dedications and collages by Marina Abramović, Joseph Beuys, William Kentridge, Nam June Paik, Pipilotti Rist, Robert Wilson, et al.

As part of the Archive and Exhibition Opening on 12 December, Wulf Herzogenrath and Ulrike Rosenbach look back at crucial events in the history of video art. Their talk – moderated by art historian Franziska Stöhr – focuses on early video art exhibitions as well as large-scale archive projects, and will also address questions about where the medium is today. Werner Heegewaldt, director of the Archives at the Akademie der Künste, and Olaf Stüber, director of the ‟Videoart at Midnight" Festival, hold the opening speeches.

Funded by the Capital Cultural Fund.

Information
Wulf Herzogenrath. Video Art in the Akademie Archives

Exhibition
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin
13 – 16 December 2018, daily 11 am – 7 pm
Admission € 5/3, free with VAM Festival registration

Archive and Exhibition Opening
Wednesday, 12 December 2018, 7 pm, free admission

Further information about the VAM Festival: www.videoart-at-midnight.de/festival-18/