| The project: The exhibition
and the accompanying book were the result of a joint project between the
Neue Sammlung, State Museum of Applied Arts and Design and Ludwig Maximilians
University (LMU). They were prepared by students of the Institute of the
History of Art under Prof. Robert Stalla. The exhibition is the third in
a series of interdisciplinary projects initiated by Prof. Stalla at LMU
in order to provide students with practical experience as part of their
university education.
In fall 2002 Pinakothek der Moderne was opened. Having been staging exhibitions for over 75 years the Neue Sammlung is now for the first time ever able to exhibit its collection on a permanent basis. In other words, what had been requested time and again since the museum was founded in 1925 has now become reality; that is, adequate premises for an institute that has advanced to become one of the most important international museums for applied art and in the field of design maintains a collection that is unique in the world. The move to the new building brings to an end the spatially cramped, makeshift state of affairs that had necessitated incessant temporary exhibitions and, with the interplay of art, architecture and design in the Pinakothek der Moderne provides an opportunity to reach a significantly wider audience. As such the departure from the old premises signals less an end and more a new departure and new beginning.
The "Focus on 1926"
project aims to highlight this radical change by means of a specific farewell
exhibition in Prinzregentenstrasse 3. The initial idea was to take a look
back at the museum's beginnings, at the arduous story of its founding and
the opening exhibition in 1926. At the time a cross section of the museum's
collection would be on view in the very same premises. With a retrospective
of this kind, an outside perspective, an inter-play with prospective young
colleagues seemed particularly attractive. To this end from August 2000,
under the guidance of their lecturer Prof. Robert Stall and in close cooperation
with the Neue Sammlung, young Munich history of art students worked on
reconstructing part of that original exhibition, focusing on the particularly
expressive and prominent poster section. Above and beyond suggesting what
form the reconstruction should take this also involved the academic study
of the selected posters as part of a major course in the winter semester
2000-01 and preparation of the exhibition catalogue, i.e., the compilation
of articles about the exhibits and biographies of their creators and the
bibliography. The students played just as important a role in the production
of the book as they did in the conception, organization and staging of
the exhibition. Among other things this involved making contacts with graphic
artists and publishers, editorial work, finding sponsors, organizing the
transportation of loaned exhibits as well as questions to do with public
relations, press releases, the building of the exhibition and the technology
involved, not to mention looking into the various opportunities for staging
the exhibition.
In his greeting in the catalogue Hans Zehetmair, Bavarian Minister of State for Science, Research and Art commented: "The founding of museums such as the Pinakothek der Moderne today and the Neue Sammlung in 1926 represent important landmarks in cultural policy… Addressing the history of our museums is hence not a matter for historians alone…, at the same time it demonstrates to a wide audience the manner in which a newly-founded museum can develop over the course of time. As such for me it was particularly important to assume the patronage of this research project, the outcome of which is presented here… The manner in which museum and university cooperated, in both theory and practice is exemplary and should be seen as a guideline for the future." |
