++++ They want to break down barriers between nationalities and the sexes and detect the current state of affairs in art. The principal of rotation for place and curators as well as teamwork are decisive. The chosen city plays the role of main sponsor, this time it is Frankfurt. The Artists' House Mousonturm has been prominent as the place of organization and production.
The curators, Iara Boubnova, founding director of the Institute for Contemporary Art in Sofia, Nuria Enguita Mayo, head curator at the Tapiés Foundation in Barcelona, and Stéphanie Moisdon Trembley, independent curator and co-founder of the Bureau des Video in Paris, are responsible for the selection of art works.
The three curators, who did not know each other beforehand, have practised teamwork with a great openness. The Frankfurt Kunstverein, the Städel Art Institute and Frankensteiner Hof, which has been adapted for the first time for the purposes of art, along with a multitude of smaller art show-places as well as radio and TV in Hesse and on the internet are offering contemporary art, even long-term, ranging from video research via newspaper projects and political work to internet projects.
An essential experience for the curators was that the time for art as a Utopian draft or pure beauty seems to have passed. Whether great or small, the normal consumer is conscientiously studied and ultimately instrumentalized. The Swedish artist, Mans Wrange, has carried out an experiment by creating an average person composed of a variety of average values who was then confronted with everything which is good and expensive, i.e. in conformity with brand names.
According to the usual criteria, art as it is presented at Manifesta cannot be marketed. Artists create their own marketing rules. Leading up to the exhibition, for instance, the artist, Christoph Büchel, who had been nominated for Manifesta, auctioned his invitation with the permission of the biennial's organizers, at an internet auction house. He received 15,099 dollars for his invitation, money which was paid in order to enable the artist, Sal Randolph from New York, to take part. The "revolutionary cells" created their own prize which wants to honour "self-commissioned shaping of social perspectives".
Creative persons can scarcely be divided into theoreticians and practitioners anymore. Since artists travel not only to take part in exhibitions, but often change their place of residence to those locations which are currently relevant for their artistic work, migration, temporary ties, alienness, vulnerability are important issues which are experienced at close range and worked up in an artistic way.
Manifesta Frankfurt at various venues until 25 August, daily from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Visitors service: (0049 69) 405895-808.