Manifesta 4 in Frankfurt Critiqued as Overwhelming and Lacking Focus
Manifesta 4, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, took place in Frankfurt from May 25 to August 25, 2002, at locations such as Frankfurter Kunstverein and Frankensteiner Hof. Curated by Iara Boubnova, Nuria Enguita Mayo, and Stéphanie Moisdon Trembley, the event showcased over 70 artists from 30 nations, with 20 hailing from Eastern Europe. While the exhibition sought to investigate European identity, it faced criticism for its lack of focus. A research archive at Frankfurter Kunstverein prompted curatorial discussions. Projects challenging biennial conventions included Andreja Kuluncic's income survey and Christoph Büchel's eBay auction of his invitation. Noteworthy pieces featured Jun Yang's video on name transformation and Antal Lakner's fictional submarine, but it was unfavorably compared to Dokumenta 11.
Key facts
- Manifesta 4 took place from May 25 to August 25, 2002 in Frankfurt, Germany.
- The exhibition was curated by Iara Boubnova, Nuria Enguita Mayo, and Stéphanie Moisdon Trembley.
- Over 70 artists from more than 30 countries participated, including about 20 from Eastern Europe.
- Christoph Büchel auctioned his Manifesta invitation on eBay for $15,099 to Sal Randolph.
- Andreja Kuluncic's project "Artists from..." displayed artist incomes and national averages on billboards.
- Dirk Fleischmann ran a bistro at Frankensteiner Hof where artists shared profits from drink and snack sales.
- The exhibition was criticized for being overwhelming and lacking focus compared to Dokumenta 11.
- Video programs included works by Erzen Shkololli featuring Albanian singer Shkurte Fejza performing "Hey Europe".
Entities
Artists
- Antje Weitzel
- Iara Boubnova
- Nuria Enguita Mayo
- Stéphanie Moisdon Trembley
- Mathieu Mercier
- Andreja Kuluncic
- Lise Harlev
- Christoph Büchel
- Sal Randolph
- Dirk Fleischmann
- Jun Yang
- Pierre Bismuth
- Laura Stasíulytë
- Nomeda Urbonas
- Gediminas Urbonas
- Kalin Serapionov
- Antal Lakner
- Pia Rönicke
- Zlatan Filipovic
- Jeanne Faust
- Esra Ersen
- Artur Żmijewski
- Erzen Shkololli
- Shkurte Fejza
- Lyudmila Gorlova
- Halil Altindere
- Daniel García Andújar
- Ibon Aranberri
- Olivier Bardin
- Yael Bartana
- Massimo Bartolini
- Elisabetta Benassi
- Marc Bijl
- Bleda y Rosa
- Lionel Bovier
- Luchezar Boyadjiev
- Fernando Bryce
- Gerard Byrne
- Roberto Cuoghi
- Jonas Dahlberg
- Kathy Deepwell
- Dagmar Demming
- Branislav Dimitrijevic
- Jon Mikel Euba
- João Fernandes
- Christoph Fink
- Andreas Fogarasi
- Luke Fowler
- Andrea Geyer
- Alonso Gil
- Davide Grassi
- Pia Greschner
- Igor Grubic
- Anna Gudmundsdottir
- Alban Hajdinaj
- Jens Hoffmann
- Natascha Sadr Haghighian
- Tino Sehgal
- Takehito Koganezawa
- Franck Larcade
- Anton Litvin
- Gintaras Makarevicius
- Ján Mancuska
- Líga Marcinkevica
- Suzana Milevska
- Gianni Motti
- Ivan Moudov
- Oliver Musovik
- Nina Fischer
- Maroan el Sani
- Olivier Nottellet
- Maria Papadimitriou
- Florian Pumhösl
- Tobias Putrih
- Hedwig Saxenhuber
- Hans Schabus
- Bruno Serralongue
- Sancho Silva
- Monika Sosnowska
- Mika Taanila
- Jasper van den Brink
- Edin Vejselovic
- Måns Wrange
- Haegue Yang
- Axel Lapp
- Laura Stasíulytė
- RADEK
- Hans-Bernhard Nordhoff
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
- Manifesta
- Frankfurter Kunstverein
- Portikus
- Städelsches Kulturinstitut Frankfurt
- Institute for Contemporary Art in Sofia
- Tapiés Foundation
- Bureau des Video
- Dokumenta
- Schirn Kunsthalle
- Construction & Deconstruction Institute
- Institut für Kulturanthropologie und Europäische Ethnologie
- Revolver Archiv für aktuelle Kunst
- Walt Disney
Locations
- Frankfurt
- Germany
- Berlin
- Kassel
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
- Rotterdam
- Netherlands
- Luxembourg
- Sofia
- Bulgaria
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Paris
- France
- New York
- United States
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Austria
- China
- Lithuania
- Bosnia and Hercegovina
- Turkey
- Poland
- Latvia
- Russia
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Warsaw
- Istanbul
- Romania
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Vienna
- Tel-Aviv
- Israel
- Peru
- Sweden
- San Sebastian
- Basque region
- Venice
Sources
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —