Playing with the System
Artistic Strategies in the GDR from 1970 to 1990
Curator: Anne Thurmann-Jajes
Auto-Perforations-Artisten, Carlfriedrich Claus, Lutz Dammbeck, Guillermo Deisler, Die Gehirne, Claus Hänsel, Joseph W. Huber, Kanal X, Oskar Manigk, Olaf Nicolai, César Olhagaray, Robert Rehfeldt, Valeri Scherstjanoi, Cornelia Schleime, Gabriele Stötzer, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt
Reflection on art in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) cannot be undertaken without considering the related political and social situation—censorship and socialist-realist dogma as well as control exerted by cultural officials, or the espionage activities on the part of the Ministry for State Security. This section focuses on the reprisals to which artists were subjected, but also to the ingenuity they employed to nevertheless always be able to continue their artistic activities, indeed with very enigmatic, astute, and ironic allusions to the system. The postcards camouflaged as Kleingrafik (small-format graphic art) and stamps by the mail artists offensively targeted the situation in the GDR, but also that of the whole of Eastern Europe and of Latin America. The artists attempted to take advantage of even the smallest opportunities for free expression, such as the Kriechgalerie (“creep-gallery”) in Robert Rehfeldt’s basement during the nineteen-seventies or the “living-room galleries” that came into being in the eighties. This way, on the one hand, materials could be smuggled in with the aid of the system, for instance through customs officers; on the other hand, “original-graphic” newspapers from the so-called underground were indirectly produced for interested parties in West Germany. The ideological liberalization of the nineteen-seventies made it possible for artists to take part in the international Mail Art Network and to participate in the graphic arts biennials held in Ljubljana, Cracow, and Fredrikstad. Thus, over the years alternative art forms developed. While for artists like Guillermo Deisler and César Olhagaray from Chile or Valeri Scherstjanoi from Russia the GDR basically represented more freedom than their homelands, the reprisals tactics practiced by the Ministry for State Security led many artists to abandon the country, either temporarily or permanently. (Anne Thurmann-Jajes)
Section's design
Micha Brendel
Assistants
Viola Balke, Patrycja de Bieberstein Ilgner, Bettina Brach, Hartmut Danklef, Marcel Kastian, Cordelia Marten
The section has been realized in collaboration with the Study Center for Artists Publications