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Tomas Schmit. Works, Texts, Documents 1962–1970
With the exhibition Tomas Schmit. Pieces, Actions, Documents 1962–1970, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) offered particular insight into the early work of Tomas Schmit, including his actions, texts, and drawings. For the first time, the focus was on his previously unpublished Performance Pieces from the 1960s, which particularly underscore the conceptual stringency and discursive quality of his works. In addition to the documentation of the exhibition at n.b.k., this publication contains extensive unpublished material that is brought together for the first time and in a specific way. What emerges from the lively cross-references of this book is a rich portrait that extends beyond Tomas Schmit to include enlightening insights about Fluxus itself. One of the aims of this publication is to encourage the reassessment of Fluxus and to illuminate aspects and impulses of the movement that are still relevant today. The demand formulated by Schmit and his colleagues to eradicate the separation between art and everyday life gave rise to diverse interdisciplinary approaches that paved the way for today’s established performative and collective art practices.
With his radical questioning of bourgeois art and his approaches to a new aesthetic interweaving art and life, Tomas Schmit (*1943 in Wipperfürth, †2006 in Berlin) played a significant role in shaping the Fluxus movement of the early 1960s. A central focus of Schmit’s pieces and actions was activating the viewer. This is expressed in the actions he performed in front of and with audiences (1962–1965); then later in his books, texts, and editions, in which he provided viewers with instructions for actions (from 1965); as well as in his drawings (from 1969).
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. 26
Edited by Marius Babias, Krisztina Hunya, Barbara Wien. With texts by Marius Babias, George Brecht, Krisztina Hunya, Jackson Mac Low, George Maciunas, Tomas Schmit, Kristine Stiles
544 pages, color and b/w illustrations, softcover, German / English, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Cologne 2024
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Tomas Schmit. Stücke, Aktionen, Dokumente 1962–1970
Tomas Schmit Retrospective
With interpretations and performances by Peter Brötzmann, Nina Canell, Övül Ö. Durmusoglu, Harun Farocki, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Charm Mone, Hajnal Németh, Alexandra Pirici, Gerhard Rühm, Lerato Shadi, Joanna Warsza
Curators: Marius Babias, Krisztina Hunya
With his radical questioning of bourgeois art and his approaches to a new aesthetic interweaving art and life, Tomas Schmit (*1943, †2006) played a […]
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Symposium zur Tomas Schmit Retrospektive
Reception*
Marius Babias, director n.b.k., and Gabriele Knapstein, curator and head of Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin
Introduction*
Jenny Graser, curator for contemporary art, Kupferstichkabinett – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Keynote lecture**
Kristine Stiles, professor of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC
Performativity in the Work of Tomas Schmit* […]
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Tomas Schmit
Tomas Schmit (*1943 in Wipperfürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, †2006 in Berlin) had a major influence on the radical challenge of bourgeois art and the approaches to a new aesthetic within the Fluxus movement of the 1960s and is regarded as one of its pioneers. In his artistic practice, which after the Fluxus actions from 1970 onwards comprises drawings in particular, he […]
)
Tomas Schmit
Tomas Schmit (*1943 in Wipperfürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, †2006 in Berlin) had a major influence on the radical challenge of bourgeois art and the approaches to a new aesthetic within the Fluxus movement of the 1960s and is regarded as one of its pioneers. In his artistic practice, which after the Fluxus actions from 1970 onwards comprises drawings in particular, he […]
)
Tomas Schmit
Tomas Schmit (*1943 in Wipperfürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, †2006 in Berlin) had a major influence on the radical challenge of bourgeois art and the approaches to a new aesthetic within the Fluxus movement of the 1960s and is regarded as one of its pioneers. In his artistic practice, which after the Fluxus actions from 1970 onwards comprises drawings in particular, he […]