Research

Since the first exhibition catalog on the subject of light in 17th century painting at the Residenzgalerie Salzburg in 1991, around 30 catalogs have dealt with painters such as Ruisdael, Rembrandt, Lastman, de Hooch, Vermeer and the various genres of Dutch art.

Since the first engagement with the methods of art history (Kunsthistoriker in eigener Sache 1990), questions regarding the approach to the material (visual sources as well as the materiality of the works) have been discussed again and again.

As part of the museum's activities, works by the Hamburg, Westphalian (Conrad von Soest) and Göttingen masters of the early 15th century have already been the focus of investigations. The analysis of narrative strategies on the one hand and questions of painting technique on the other characterize the research.

In particular, the exhibition projects of the last 10 years (Dresden, Leipzig, Haina), often carried out together with students, were dedicated to researching and designing the often still completely unknown female artists of the second half of the 18th century. The focus is on the working conditions of the women painters and their reception in the media of the time.

Project "Uncovered" (winter semester 2015/16) on missing female artists in the context of the Kassel Art Academy of the 18th century

The Tischbein family of artists is not only included in the comprehensive handbook on the history of the Kassel Art Academy from its foundation in 1777 to 1830 from 2017/ expanded edition 2019. In addition to the Kunstakademie Kassel, the three websites, which are maintained and continuously updated as a contribution of the University of Kassel under LAGIS, concern

and previously the Collegium Carolinum, as well as the Tischbein family of artists themselves. In addition, smaller exhibitions regularly show the latest research findings.

The subject of this research focus is the reconstruction of the discursive and social conditions for the change in the exhibition practice of art in museums from the emergence of the institution in the 18th century to the present day. After focusing on the emergence of the white cube in the early 20th century in the dissertation, the current emphasis is on the development of innovative museum exhibition practices in the period after the Second World War.

Project seminar "Museum history in Kassel" (SS 2012, WS 2012/13) for the creation of a website

The Transdisciplinary Research Center for Exhibition Studies (TRACES) was founded in autumn 2019 and brings together interdisciplinary research on exhibition studies that is developing at the Kunsthochschule and the departments of architecture, urban and landscape planning, humanities and cultural studies as well as social sciences. At the heart of this research is an expanded concept of exhibitions that analyzes public spaces of action and places of knowledge production. TRACES was founded in response to the establishment of a "documenta Institute" in Kassel, which was agreed upon by the State of Hesse, the City of Kassel, documenta gGmbH and the University of Kassel. Prof. Dr. Alexis Joachimides is the Managing Director of TRACES.

This research focus deals with the changes in the social roles assigned to artists during the 18th and 19th centuries. With the emergence of the modern market society, the perception of the artist is dependent on his ability to negotiate a social place for himself. This results in a pluralization of habitus forms, which he can appropriate in the context of his self-presentation.

This research focus traces the emergence of the modern city in the "bourgeois age" using the example of its earliest representatives. During the so-called "Sattelzeit" from the late 18th to the early 19th century, the new way of life and urban form of the tenement city emerged, which has characterized the structure of the modern city ever since.

The entire development of the fine arts, design and architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries is represented. As part of the critical communication of this content, the aim is to incorporate current issues of specialist discourse into teaching and research. In the course of this, project seminars and often in cooperation with the museums, exhibition venues and archives located in Kassel on the one hand and university disciplines on the other, the problem areas raised are explored in a transdisciplinary manner and visualized in exhibitions, among other things.

The international summer school and conference 'Critical Scenography' (VW Foundation), research project 'The Bioscopic Room' (Fritz Thyssen Foundation), research project 'From Object to Exhibit' (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) should be mentioned here. In this context, VR reconstructions of the documenta 1955, the International Art Exhibition 1926 in Dresden and the exhibition 'Film and Photo' (Room 1) 1929 in Stuttgart were also created. The realization of these projects, which was carried out in a team, is based on his experience as a former curator of the art collections of the Ruhr University Bochum and freelance curator (curation, co-curator, curatorial support) at various institutions in Hanover, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Weimar, Dresden, Eindhoven and New York.

The introduction of virtual reality technology into art studies teaching since 2017 is another innovation by the Chair of Art Studies, which was awarded the Hessian University Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2019 - together with Simon-Lennert Raesch (Software Engineering Research Group).

• Award for the "Virtual Dimension" project for excellent teaching

The close proximity to professional practice, internationalization and interdisciplinarity (art, design, visual communication and humanities disciplines) are central criteria of the incumbent, which have led to further activities: Multi-year exchange projects with Northern Iraq (Sulemaniya Art Academy) and Israel (Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem and White City Center, Tel Aviv) for students and lecturers from the participating institutions.

The interdisciplinary research project 'From Object to Exhibit' (2018-2021), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aims to investigate the relationship between object and staging in exhibitions of the 20th and 21st centuries using the case studies of the 1926 International Art Exhibition in Dresden and the Room for Constructive Art (El Lissitzky, 1926).

The project partners - art history (Kassel), exhibition design (Düsseldorf) and museum (Dresden) - are researching the interactions between the exhibit and its staging in different ways within the framework of exhibitions, conferences, reconstructions, archive research and installations.

The influence of perceptual psychology and film on the design of the 'Space for Constructive Art' (El Lissitzky, International Art Exhibition 1926 in Dresden).

A research project (2016-2018) in close cooperation with the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Albertinum, Neue Meister): Dr. Hilke Wagner and Dr. Birgit Dalbajewa

The theses of Siegfried Giedion and László Moholy-Nagy on a new visual culture in the 1920s. With the financial support of the Central Research Fund of the University of Kassel. Over 90 years ago, Bauhaus artist and media pioneer László Moholy-Nagy set up Room 1 of the International Werkbund Exhibition 'Film and Photography' (FiFo) in Stuttgart. This legendary exhibition presented the most renowned representatives of modern international photography, now known as 'Neues Sehen' or 'Bauhaus photography'. Room 1 of the FiFo had a special task: to review the history and present of photography in an almost encyclopaedic manner with the help of over 300 selected exhibits in order to sketch out the future of this type of image in the subsequent showrooms. This research project is a continuation of the art historical research and virtual and material reconstruction of Room 1 of the FiFo and is being carried out in collaboration with Dr. Ute Famulla. A network of experts frames the research that has been carried out and is planned: ETH/gta Zurich, Prof. Dr. Oliver Lugon (University of Lausanne, CH), Götheborg Art Academy (Sweden), Kunsthaus Zurich, Nuremberg University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Christoph Schaden.

Re_Construction of a Spatial Artwork of the Classical Avant-Garde (2007-2009) - a research and reconstruction project by Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Hemken (Kunsthochschule Kassel, Art History) and Prof. Jakob Gebert (Kunsthochschule Kassel, Product Design) in cooperation with: Kunsthalle Erfurt, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, Kunsthalle Schirn Frankfurt/M., Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, Netherlands and Hattula Moholy-Nagy, New Haven (USA). The 'Room of the Present' was last shown as part of the retrospective of László Moholy-Nagy at the Guggenheim Museum NY (2016). At the center of the project is the re-construction of a spatial artwork, the 'Room of the Present' by László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946). The designs for the unrealized environment date back to 1930, when the former master at the Staatliches Bauhaus in Dessau was commissioned by Alexander Dorner (Provinzialmuseum Hannover) to design a space for contemporary art and culture for the modern museum concept. Moholy-Nagy had delivered a design for a museum space that became a milestone in the history of modern art and modern exhibition design: it represents a pioneering achievement for the art of the environment, new media art, exhibition design and museum history. This spatial artwork was realized on the occasion of the Bauhaus anniversary in 2009. The extensive research work was realized in the course of a cooperation between art history (Prof. Hemken) and product design/exhibition design (Prof. Gebert) at the Kunsthochschule Kassel in collaboration with a number of researchers and institutions in the period 2007-2009. Gebert and Hemken were responsible for the conception, management and coordination.

The documenta of 1955 is still considered an important milestone in the history of modern art exhibitions. Its initiator Arnold Bode, who together with Werner Haftmann, Kurt Martin, Alfred Hentzen and Hans Mettel formed the curatorial team, planned to organize an art show on a large scale that presented modern works of the highest standard and international origin. At the same time, the exhibition was a high point in the effort to establish a new democratic public in the Federal Republic of Germany after National Socialism. The research and development project is part of a comprehensive examination of the first documenta by Kai-Uwe Hemken. (Among other things, the scenography and discursivity of the first documenta was the subject of joint courses in a cooperation project with the German Department of the University of Kassel (Prof. Greif) and the ASL (Prof. Hennecke), funded by the University of Kassel). Thanks to the support of the teaching innovation of the University of Kassel, this research focus could be taken to the next level: The virtual reconstruction provides a new insight into the curatorial scenography of documenta 1955 (VR video walk).

The history of the Kunsthochschule Kassel has not yet been fully researched. This applies in particular to the period from 1918-1968, which is characterized by great dynamism: November Revolution, Weimar Republic, National Socialism, Democracy and Reconstruction, 1968 Revolution. This extremely changeable political history has also left its mark on the Kunsthochschule Kassel. However, an investigation of the effects on the Kunsthochschule and the related events, personnel and structures has not yet been undertaken. The source situation is precarious, as a considerable amount of archival material was destroyed during the Second World War.

The research project addresses this desideratum and will examine the following stages of the institution for the first time: In the 1920s, the Kunsthochschule Kassel was characterized by the 'New Objectivity' art movement and was thus considered a progressive academy. After the official closure of the art academy for reasons of economy, only one class for painting (Kay Nebel) was maintained, but as early as 1935, the Reich Ministry for Science, Education and National Education (REM) in Berlin established a scholarship program for young talent in National Socialist art. This program was headed by Prof. Kay Nebel and Dr. Ludwig Thormaehlen (Landesmuseum Kassel). Thus, the Kunsthochschule Kassel was by no means unencumbered by the National Socialist era. After 1949, i.e. after the reopening of the art academy, which was called the 'Werkakademie', the democratic new beginning began, with the State Bauhaus as a model. The new beginning of the Werkakademie was achieved by progressive professors: Hans Leistikow, Arnold Bode, Teo Otto, Fritz Winter, Ewald Dülberg and others. Revolt at the art academy formed in the 1960s on the part of the students, who demanded greater influence on the concerns of the art academy.

In 1994-97, the Institute of Art History at the Ruhr University Bochum set up a research and development project on the subject of 'EDP and Art History' after the Volkswagen Foundation, in conjunction with the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, announced a funding program of the same name and a positive decision was made on an application from the Bochum Institute. Prof. Dr. Reinhard Schleier was in charge of the Bochum project, which from then on was in association with a number of other art history institutes in Germany, while the team was primarily determined by Dr. Hubertus Kohle and Dr. Kai-Uwe Hemken. As curator of the art collections of the Ruhr University, Kai-Uwe Hemken was responsible for the computerized inventory of the entire university holdings of modern art as well as more experimental sub-projects with a research character, which Kai-Uwe Hemken had developed. These include the creation of a database on action art (Happening, Fluxus) in North Rhine-Westphalia since the 1960s and the development of an ICONCLASS system for art with an abstract formal language. The sub-projects on action and abstract art require not only the recording of corresponding events and case studies, but also a typologization and the definition of a formal language matrix, so that they can be transferred into a retrievable systematization (database) for both modern artistic media of expression. The project-specific research work was accompanied by a critical review and reflection on the interactions between art and new media, which was reflected in publications by Kai-Uwe Hemken, among others.

The subject area of Art and Research is located at the interface between art history, architectural history and theory and the history of knowledge. Historically, it focuses on the period from the 18th century to the present day, adopting a decidedly global perspective on art, architecture and research. This includes such fundamentally different areas as Marie-Antoinette's garden, the design of mobile exhibition systems or processes of value production in contemporary art, all of which are characterized by a specific relationship between art and research.

The professorship is part of the documenta Institute. The focus is on the examination of practices and forms of exhibitions and exhibiting, which are investigated in their historical depth, specific materiality, spatiality and social function. The focus is not only on art exhibitions, but also on cabinets of curiosities, gardens and shopping malls. At present, the focus is particularly on the examination of supposedly "incidental" aspects of the exhibition, such as infrastructure and logistics.

Conceptual Art, which emerged in the 1960s, claimed to privilege the mere idea over an object-like work and thus took a momentous step for the concept of art and work that still resonates today. In addition to dealing with exhibition and publication formats of Conceptual Art and the question of the political nature of art, the focus here is currently on the examination of the artist group Art & Language.

The focus of teaching and research is dedicated to the life and work of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 - 1951) as well as the editorial supervision of the yearbook "Wittgenstein-Studien. International Yearbook for Wittgenstein Research".

The aim of this focus is to reconstruct the aesthetic thinking of the members of the so-called 'Bloomsbury Group', whose artistic practice and aesthetic theory formation contributed to cultural modernization in Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century. Alongside well-known representatives of the group such as Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and Maynard Keynes, Roger Fry and Clive Bell in particular are central figures.

Cultural theory plays a central role in Sigmund Freud's scientific oeuvre, while art theory considerations play a rather subordinate role. In addition to dealing with the work of the founder of psychoanalysis himself, the research work undertaken in part in interdisciplinary collaboration with art education endeavors to develop the basic features of a psychoanalytical theory of art.

Since the mid-1950s, a fruitful tradition of the philosophy of images and art has developed in the 'analytical philosophy' that has dominated the Anglo-Saxon world in particular. The historical reconstruction of this tradition - from Morris Weitz and Paul Ziff to Richard Wollheim, Nelson Goodman and Arthur Danto through to recent developments - forms the center of this focus.