demonstrationsraum

Politics of aura. El Lissitzky's Abstract Cabinet between musealization and participation
deruIn Benjaminian termins, the Abstract Cabinet can be described as a space that, paradoxically, achieves the detachment of aura from the works of art exhibited in it by investing visitor interaction with aura. This tension that made Lissitzky’s installation such an interesting case for contemporary artistic and curatorial practices is further accentuated by the art historical canonization of the space. The primal space was deconstructed in the 1930s under the pressure of the cultural political campaigns of the nazi regime and re-erected as late as in 1968. The ‘Abstract Cabinet’ is on view in a secondary reconstruction of 1979 as part of the permanent collection of the Sprengel Museum. The museum’s logic transformed it into a gesamtkunstwerk, in opposition to a space dedicated to the spectator’s experience. An object, that today is the subject of conservational considerations on the basis of interpreting the historical documents on the space.

To what extent is the Abstract Cabinet’s claim of participation compatible with its musealization? Do non-morphological aspects of the space have to be taken into account when it comes to its preservation? And how can an original state be postulated, when even the complex form of the installation is only fragmentarily conveyed in photographs, construction sketches and drawings? How can its initial mission be experienced again by contemporary visitors? Which methods and media could be employed to re-activate the Abstract Cabinet?This anthology presents a selection of essays addressing these questions from the perspective of art history and curatorial studies. Please note that as of now, the texts (apart from Steven ten Thije's) are only available in German and Russian; an English translation is forthcoming. Stefanie SembillGrußwortKatharina SykoraVorwort – Palimpsest und Reprise. El Lissitzkys Hannoveraner 'Kabinett der Abstrakten' virtuell gewendetCarolin Anda/Yvonne Bialek/Cornelia Durka/Alexander Karpisek/Natascha Pohlmann/Philipp SackDie Bedingungen des Ausstellens ausstellen, die Bedingungen des Wahrnehmens wahrnehmen. Die Augmented-Reality-App 'demonstrationsraum' als kuratorischer Versuch der Aktualisierung von Subjektpositionen im Umgang mit dem 'Kabinett der Abstrakten'Isabel SchulzDie Rekonstruktion von El Lissitzkys ‚Kabinett der Abstrakten‘ auf dem Prüfstand: Geschichte, Museumspraxis, PläneAnnette TietenbergRaum wird zum Bild, Bild wird zum Raum: Anmerkungen zu den medialen und historischen Dimensionen der Rekonstruktion des ‚Kabinetts der Abstrakten‘Kai-Uwe HemkenDer bioskopische Raum. El Lissitzkys ‚Raum für konstruktive Kunst’ (1926)Steven ten ThijeNotes on the Actuality of Lissitzky’s ‚Abstract Cabinet‘ Download anthology as PDF:German / RussianColophonPolitics of aura. El Lissitzky's Abstract Cabinet between musealization and participation

An anthology by the DFG post-graduate program "The photographic dispositif" at Braunschweig University of Art, assembling contributions to the homonymous conference at the Lower Saxony State Chancellery, Berlin, on Dec 2, 2015, published on the occasion of the third instalment of the travelling exhibition "demonstrationsraum" (Lower Saxony State Chancellery, Berlin, Nov 30—Dec 12, 2015; Sprengel Museum Hannover, Jun 5—Oct 16, 2016; Braunschweig University of Art, Oct 26—Nov 11, 2016), and updated on the occasion of the exhibition at "Арт Ель" art space, Novosibirsk, May 19— Jun 11, 2017.

Editors
Carolin Anda, Yvonne Bialek, Cornelia Durka, Alexander Karpisek, Natascha Pohlmann, Philipp Sack

Contributing authors
Carolin Anda, Yvonne Bialek, Cornelia Durka, Kai-Uwe Hemken, Alexander Karpisek, Natascha Pohlmann, Philipp Sack, Isabel Schulz, Stefanie Sembill, Katharina Sykora, Steven ten Thije, Annette Tietenberg

Copy editing
Philipp Sack

Design
Friederike Kühne

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© 2017 DFG post-graduate program "The photographic dispositif" (speaker: Katharina Sykora) at Braunschweig University of Art, Johannes-Selenka-Platz 1, 38118 Braunschweig, Germany. All images, if not marked otherwise, are © Sprengel Museum Hannover, and published by courtesy of the museum. We took the utmost care to contact all potential copyright holders to ensure the accuracy of the information given on this website. Should you notice any copyright violation despite these efforts, we would ask you to point it out to us. We will immediately modify or remove the content in question.
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