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Hans Haacke. DER BEVÖLKERUNG – Wir (alle) sind das Volk
In 2000, Hans Haacke realized the site-specific, participatory work DER BEVÖLKERUNG (To the Population) in the Reichstag building. Members of the German Bundestag have since been invited to bring soil from their constituency to the Reichstag. Haacke’s project triggered heated discussions, which finally led to a debate in the Bundestag on April 5, 2000. A narrow majority of the parliamentarians voted against the opponents’ motion to reject the artwork. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of DER BEVÖLKERUNG, documents and archival materials on the genesis and reception of Hans Haacke’s art project have been displayed at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, and Neuer Berliner Kunstverein initiated the presentation of Hans Haacke’s project Wir (alle) sind das Volk / We (all) are the people (2003/2017) on the facades of numerous partner institutions in Berlin on the occasion of Berlin Art Week 2020.
This book documents both projects and features texts by Hans Haacke and interviews with the artist, as well as the complete historical Bundestag debate and recent statements by participating politicians. Written contributions by Sarah Alberti and Burcu Dogramaci expand the discourse to topics such as reunification and migration history, showing how Haacke’s process-oriented work remains highly topical even 20 years after its creation.
The publication can be purchased at local bookshops, via the website of Buchhandlung Walther König, and at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein. Members of Neuer Berliner Kunstverein can buy the book at n.b.k. for the special price of 15.00 Euro.
n.b.k. Exhibitions Vol. 25
Hans Haacke. DER BEVÖLKERUNG – Wir (alle) sind das Volk
Edited by Marius Babias, Oliver Schwarz, Ursula Ströbele. With a preface by Marius Babias and texts by Sarah Alberti, Marius Babias, Hans Haacke, Burcu Dogramaci, Ursula Ströbele, a. o.
245 pages, color illustrations, softcover, German / English, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Cologne 2022
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On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of DER BEVöLKERUNG (To the Population), documents and archival materials on the genesis and reception of Hans Haacke’s once controversially discussed art project will be displayed at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein‘s Showroom. The artist designed this participatory project in 1998 at the invitation of the German Bundestag for the […]
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Hans Haacke
In his interdisciplinary artistic practice, Hans Haacke investigates economic, ecological, and political processes and systems and questions prevailing power relations. The photograph Wir (Alle) sind das Volk (We (All) are the People) was created in 2003 as part of an unrealized competition proposal for the courtyard of St. Nicolas Church in Leipzig. The 600 points of light on […]