Frankfurter Hauptschule (FHS) is a German artist collective consisting of around 20 art students associated with the Städelschule.[1] The collective first garnered international attention by staging the theft of Joseph Beuys' multiple "Capri Batterie" from an exhibition in Oberhausen and later transferring it to a museum in Tanzania as an act of symbolic restitution.[2][3]
The group has been holding a guest professorship at Berlin University of the Arts since 2021.[4]
Work
editFrankfurter Hauptschule is known for making provocative and ambivalent political gestures. The group uses different mediums such as interventions, performance art, installations, and exhibitions.
Stunt at the Richard-Wagner-Festival
editIn 2013, the group appeared for the first time during the annual Richard-Wagner-Festival, a music festival created in honor of German composer Richard Wagner in the German city of Bayreuth. During their first known stunt, members of the group handed out 50,000 counterfeit free tickets to the opening night of the festival.[5] According to Frankfurter Hauptschule, Wagner, who has openly articulated anti-semitic sentiments,[6] had been receiving amnesty and praise from the German public for decades - despite his controversial views.[7]
Katharina Wagner, director of the festival and great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, filed a complaint with the police but the group could not be persecuted due to a lack of evidence.[5][7]
Heroin performance
editDuring their formative years, the group showcased performances around gentrification. In 2015, Frankfurter Hauptschule announced a public performance of heroin usage in Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel, a neighborhood known for its Red-light district and open drug scene.[8] After initial threats of banning, the performance was later successfully held in front of Frankfurt's City hall, Römer, and sparked both outrage and general discussion around the controversial open drug scene.[9]
Bad Beuys go Africa
edit
In 2020, the artist collective appeared to have stolen the Joseph Beuys multiple "Capri-Batterie" from an exhibition in the German city of Oberhausen to smuggle it to the former German colony of Tanzania as an act of symbolic restitution.[3][10]
In a video titled "Bad Beuys go Africa" and posted to YouTube, Frankfurter Hauptschule appears to document the theft and subsequent delivery to the Tanzanian museum Iringa Boma, accompanied by a cover of the song "Africa" by Toto.[11] According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, the theft went unnoticed for several days but later prompted an investigation by German authorities.[12] After the supposed theft had made international headlines all over the world,[13][14][15][16] Frankfurter Hauptschule revealed that the entire act had been faked.[1] The collective had worked together with Tanzanian curator Deonis Mgumba to raise awareness for Nazi-looted art that is still unrightfully on display in German museums.[17] American scholar Adam Blackler confirmed that the video would "certainly generate more discussion about the controversies surrounding colonial artifacts [and] repatriation."[1]
The real Capri-Batterie was later found in a back room at the original exhibition site.[18]
Controversies
editIn 2018, Frankfurter Hauptschule installed a sculpture in the form of a torched and burned-out police car in Frankfurt's Red-light district as a protest against the displacement of drug addicts in the area.[19] The city's chief of police denounced the installation of the sculpture as it supposedly called for violence against the police.[20] Despite the substantial critique from city officials, the prestigious Städelschule showed their support for the controversial installation.[19]
The police car was later available for purchase both at the Frankfurter Hauptschule Online Shop[21] and at Art Cologne in 2023.[22]
At their first solo exhibition at Neuer Aachener Kunstverein in 2022, the police had to remove a sculpture of a dreamcatcher the artist collective had installed in a nearby park. Residents had submitted complaints as the artwork featured the Nazi-symbol of the Black Sun.[23][24] According to Frankfurter Hauptschule, the exhibition was supposed to hint at the connections between esoteric practices, conspiracy ideologies and fascism, which had become particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Brown, Kate (2020-10-23). "These 'Bad Beuys' Stole an Artwork by Joseph Beuys From Germany—and Gave It to Tanzania as a Comment on Colonialism". Artnet News. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Artist Collective Claims Responsibility for Stolen Beuys Sculpture". Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ a b Moody, Oliver. "Artists smuggle Joseph Beuys sculpture to Tanzania as 'reparation' for colonial thefts". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- ^ Germany, hessenschau de, Frankfurt (2021-11-02). "Lehrauftrag: Die Guerillakünstler der "Frankfurter Hauptschule" gehen an die Uni". hessenschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Przybilla, Olaf (22 May 2013). "Wie Kartenfälscher gegen Richard Wagner protestieren". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Richard Wagner - Wagner's anti-Semitism | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ a b Nair, Pravin (2022-09-20). "Frankfurter Hauptschule, Frankfurt. Hypocrisy and crassness in the name of art". Lampoon Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ Migowski, Max (2019-12-04). "Frankfurt's creative community is battling Brexit fears and bankers". INDIE Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Ein Schuss im Herzen der Stadt". www.fr.de (in German). 14 November 2015. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- ^ Claire Selvin, Claire Selvin (2020-10-23). "German Artist Collective Claims to Have Stolen Joseph Beuys Sculpture". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "Frankfurter Hauptschule - Bad Beuys go Africa". YouTube (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ Lorch, Catrin (22 October 2020). "Restitutionsdebatte: Entführung eines Kunstwerks". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Allemagne, un collectif d'artistes « vole » une œuvre de Joseph Beuys". Le Journal Des Arts (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Francoforte, rubano un'opera di Beuys e la regalano alla Tanzania". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "美術館ふたたび閉鎖へ、進歩的コレクション売却、230万円の写真集など：週刊・世界のアートニュース". Tokyo Art Beat (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Bad Beuys "ukradli" Beuyse a darovali ho tanzánskému muzeu. Upozorňují na přežitky kolonialismu". A2larm (in Czech). 26 October 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ Almino, Elisa Wouk; Gyorody, Andrea (2020-11-11). ""Bad Beuys": Artists "Steal" a Joseph Beuys as a Statement About Repatriation". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ Padtberg, Carola (2020-10-26). "Posse um Beuys-Skulptur: Wie Frankfurter Kunststudenten die Medien foppten". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ a b "Post-Brexit influx of bankers offers boost for Frankfurt's art scene". Financial Times. 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Ausgebranntes Polizeiauto soll nicht an der Uni gezeigt werden". www.fnp.de (in German). 14 February 2018. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ Hauptschule, Frankfurter. "Frankfurter Hauptschule". Frankfurter Hauptschule. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ "Zwischen Wohlfühlkunst und Existenzangst: Ein Erfahrungsbericht von der Art Cologne". www.rhein-zeitung.de (in German). 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ Delonge, Angela (2022-01-27). "Vom Ordnungsamt entfernt: "Traumfänger"-Kunstwerk wird vorerst nicht gezeigt". Aachener Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ "kANzELKuLTuR". kubaparis.com. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ "KANZELKULTUR — Frankfurter Hauptschule at NAK Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen". OFluxo. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2023-02-12.