documenta 14: Learning from Athens by Adam Szymczyk (review)

documenta 14, the most anticipated event in the international art calendar in 2017, unfolded in two venues, first in Athens, Greece, from April 8–July 16, and then in Kassel, its traditional venue, from June 10–September 17. An intimidating cultural extravaganza, not least because it was held in two cities in two countries and commanded a princely sum of nearly $50 million to organize, it presented a glut of works that occupied both cities. In Kassel, the displays were spread around the entire city at venues such as documenta's permanent grounds, documenta Halle, Neue Gallerie, and Friedrichsplatz; local institutions and museums including Stadtmuseum, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Naturkundemuseum; and alternative spaces such as Weinberg-Terrassen, Gottschalk-Halle, and KulturBahnhof (a former underground train station). To see all of the works would have required spending at least a full week in Kassel—a luxury most art professionals can no longer afford given the saturated art world calendar, which in 2017 appeared to be on a speed dial. Several art biennials (Sharjah and Venice, for example) and art fairs (the Armory show in New York, Frieze in New York and London, Art Basel in Basel, Hong Kong, and Miami, etc.) occurred either at the same time or followed each other in quick succession.

Inspired by a postwar idealism, Kassel-born artist Arnold Bolde established documenta in 1955 to return Germany to the international fold after years in cultural isolation following the calamity of World War II and the Nazi regime's ban of art it deemed "degenerate." Thus, since its inception documenta had underscored the social responsibility and political agenda of art. Starting from a narrow, Eurocentric vision of internationalism, it progressively opened up during the course of the second half of the twentieth century. In 2002, it reached a radical apogee under the artistic direction of its first non-Western curator, the Nigerian-born Okwui Enwezor, who staged documenta 11 with activities in four cities on four continents as a prelude to the main event in Kassel. In that instant, documenta became a truly global showpiece.

1.

Olu Oguibe
Monument for Strangers and Refugees (2017)
Concrete, 3 m x 3 m x 16.3 m Konigsplatz, Kassel

all photos: Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi

2.

Theo Eshetu
Atlas Fractured (2017)
Video, 35 mins [Kassel version] Neue Galerie, Kassel

all photos: Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi

Succeeding installments of documenta have aspired to the same intellectual heft, expansiveness, multiculturalism, and multiple sites established in 2002. documenta 14 was no exception. If Enwezor's focus in 2002 was on how the conditions of a postcolonial world shaped by legacy of colonialism confront or have enabled globalization, documenta 14 curators drew upon what one might describe as a burgeoning new wave decolonization discourse that has emerged in Latin America, Europe, and South Africa in the last few years. In the context of documenta 14, it was framed as unlearning what we know and challenging its enabling epistemic systems.

4.

Ibrahim Mahama
Check Point Sekondi Loco. 1901–2030, 2016–2017 (2016–17)
Jute sacks and threads, dimensions variable Towarche, Kassel

all photos: Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi

5.

Hiwa K
When We Were Exhaling Images (2017)
Mixed media, dimensions variable Friedrichsplatz, Kassel

all photos: Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi

Like its illustrious predecessor, documenta 14 included an impressive number of African artists—about eighteen—the highest number so far in the history of the exhibition. They included such unsung heroes as Ernest Mancoba (the South African-born pioneer modernist and founding member of the European avant-garde CoBrA movement); notable names such as Akinbode Akinbiyi, Manthia Diawara, El Hadji Sy, Otobong Nkanga, Theo Eshetu, Olu Oguibe, Tracey Rose, and Pelagie Gbaguidi; as well as a slew of new stars—Emeka Ogboh, Sammy Baloji, Bouchra Khalil, and Ibrahim Mahama. These artists contributed some of the major highlights of documenta...