Documenta 13 (2012) was directed by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, who assembled an international circle of “agents” and developed a complex concept linking Kassel with the former Breitenau monastery and the Afghan cities of Kabul and Bamiyan. Under the main theme “Collapse and Recovery,” the exhibition addressed healing war trauma through art, with new works by artists like Omer Fast and Mariam Ghani and workshops held on-site. Christov-Bakargiev connected four locations — Kassel, Kabul, Cairo/Alexandria, and Banff — with states of existence such as “On Stage” and “Under Siege,” while also disrupting temporal structures: documenta 13 officially began as early as 2010 with Giuseppe Penone’s Idee di Pietra. Natural motifs, Arte Povera roots, eco-feminism, and anti-anthropocentrism ran through the exhibition, which unfolded as a decentralized, globally oriented practice.

In the lead-up to documenta 13, Christov-Bakargiev puzzled the press with what some called a “non-concept,” mixing eco-feminism, dog calendars, and an intentionally unwieldy title — The dance was very frenetic, brisk, rattling, ringing, rolling, twisted, and lasted a long time. Beyond Kassel, she emphasized expanding the exhibition into other political and symbolic spaces: Breitenau, once a Nazi labor and concentration camp and later a girls’ reformatory and psychiatric institution, embodied layered histories of repression and recovery. The Kabul exhibition alone drew 27,000 visitors, while events in Cairo, Alexandria, and Banff remained mostly closed to the public. Nature, animals, and everyday materials — seeds, apples, trees, dogs — stood alongside human actors, continuing documenta’s legacy of rethinking art’s role in society and reconnecting with the ideas of Beuys and Arte Povera.

Documenta 13 (2012) was directed by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, who assembled an international circle of “agents” and developed a complex concept linking Kassel with the former Breitenau monastery and the Afghan cities of Kabul and Bamiyan.

Under the main theme “Collapse and Recovery,” the exhibition addressed healing war trauma through art, with new works by artists like Omer Fast and Mariam Ghani and workshops held on-site. Christov-Bakargiev connected four locations — Kassel, Kabul, Cairo/Alexandria, and Banff — with states of existence such as “On Stage” and “Under Siege,” while also disrupting temporal structures.

Documenta 13 officially began as early as 2010 with Giuseppe Penone’s Idee di Pietra. Natural motifs, Arte Povera roots, eco-feminism, and anti-anthropocentrism ran through the exhibition, which unfolded as a decentralized, globally oriented practice.

Sammeln

Wie Blumen, die an unerwarteten Orten blühen, entfaltet sich jede Geschichte mit Schönheit und Widerstandsfähigkeit

Sammeln

Wie Blumen, die an unerwarteten Orten blühen, entfaltet sich jede Geschichte mit Schönheit und Widerstandsfähigkeit

Sammeln

Wie Blumen, die an unerwarteten Orten blühen, entfaltet sich jede Geschichte mit Schönheit und Widerstandsfähigkeit

Sammeln

Wie Blumen, die an unerwarteten Orten blühen, entfaltet sich jede Geschichte mit Schönheit und Widerstandsfähigkeit

Sammeln

Wie Blumen, die an unerwarteten Orten blühen, entfaltet sich jede Geschichte mit Schönheit und Widerstandsfähigkeit