Page 44 - The Documenta issue of World of Art magazine (2002)

DOcumenTA11 WORLD exhiBiTiOns

documenta11
bouabré, Frédéric
brulY, ivory coas
“pictographie: vision
de la “guerre-demon”:
citée déserte; pleurs
sous les yeux;
documenta11 tourbillon vent en traits
black audio Film collective, uk croissants”
handsworth songs, 1986* From the series The
color, 60 min. Directed by john Akomfrah, museum of the African
produced by Linda Gopaul courtesy smoking Face (scarification),
Dogs films, London 1990-1991*
*work shown at Documenta11 colored pencil and ball
point pen on cardboard
black audio Film collective courtesy of André
magnin and the pigozzi
black Audio film collective was founded in 1983 collection, new york
by John Akomfrah, reece Auguiste, edward george, *work shown at
Lina gopaul, Avril Johnson, david Lawson and Trevor Documenta11
mathison. Their aim was the development of black
independent film culture in britain, working on a variety Frédéric bruly bouabré
of projects ranging from industrial videos to feature
documentaries. it was dissolved in 1998. *1923 zéprégüuhé, bété
Land, ivory coast. Lives
in Abidjan, ivory coast
known as writer, poet,
storyteller, researcher
archivist and graphic
artist, bouabré’s work
centers around his
experiments with
language. self named
sheik nadro (one who
doesn’t forget), his
negotiation of text
and image began as a
particular endeavor to
sustain the memory and
reconstruct the identity
of the oral culture of
the bété.

becoming not only a forum for current tendencies in contemporary art, but also an opportunity for the
realisation of innovative and standard-setting new exhibition concepts. each documenta, in its own way,
steers the international discourse onto new pathways. During the past 4 decades, the documenta has
established itself as an institution which has gone far beyond simply presenting whatever is currently to be
seen. every 5 years, the discussion within the international art community is comprised in kassel´s “Museum
of 100 Days”. The examinative discourse and the dynamics of the discussion focussing on the respective
concept of the documenta (and its curator) mirrors society´s expectations of art.

visual presence documenta11

Okwui enwezor, the artistic director of the Documenta11, has selected the design submitted by artist and
designer ecke Bonk as the next documenta´s graphic presentation.
ecke Bonk, himself a participant of the documenta x in 1997, purposely chose an in his own words
understated “Wordmark”, as opposed to a speculative trademark, oriented along the industry´s corporate
identity-models.
Last year, a limited competition for the creation of the graphic image of the Documenta11 had been
instigated, in which seven renowned artists and designers where invited to participate. After examining the
presentations the artistic director decided on the logo by ecke Bonk, which stands in the tradition of his
“typosophic society”, initiated during the late eighties.

42 WORLD of ART