From October 2018 to June 2019, the Archive Artist Publications will be the “archive in residence" in Haus der Kunst’s Archive Gallery. The exhibition marks the beginning of a series of presentations that exhibit independent archives and explore issues concerning the relationship between archive, history and its representation.
Since 1980, the publisher, artist and art educator Hubert Kretschmer has been collecting and archiving artist publications. His archive on Munich’s Türkenstraße now contains more than 50,000 items of various media by artists from 86 countries. Hubert Kretschmer’s passion for collecting does not focus on the precious, bibliophile object, but rather on publications and editions produced in limited numbers, some of which are made with the simplest means, are often accessible only to a small circle and are generally not of interest to public institutions. Thus, the archive makes a decisive contribution to drawing attention to the cultural-historical value of these productions and as academic material.
Artists’ publications include all forms of artistic production that are printed or published. With emancipatory intent, artists are also breaking into the traditional art production system and building new international communication and distribution networks. Above all, since the late 1950s, they have questioned the idea of art as a singular, unique object with their creation of multiples and artist books, thereby broadening the definition of the term ‘artwork.’
The collection of Hubert Kretschmer includes multiples, books, magazines, posters, invitations, various recordings and everyday publications that reflect the art movements of the last sixty years. In order to exhibit this archival microcosm in its scope in Haus der Kunst’s Archive Gallery, some of the exhibits are exchanged at regular intervals.
On the occasion of this presentation, a new chronicle on the history of Haus der Kunst was created.
Curated by Sabine Brantl.
