documenta X - the book

For the first time in the history of documenta, the companion publication attempts to go beyond a survey and interpretation of the exhibited works of art to document and analyze the cultural development of the western world from 1945 to 1997 in a rich selection of paintings, photos, plans, sketches, maps, essays, quotations, discussions, poems, philosophical essays and manifestos. The book unites the diverse forms of expression in an impressive collage. The artists of documenta X are introduced in a number of artist's inserts. A provocative, enlivening and thoroughly current reader and reference work for anyone interested in the art and culture of our times. (German edition available ISBN 3-89322-909-4) Conversations with: Benjamin Buchloh, New York; Andreas Branzi, Milan; Etienne Balibar, Paris; Jacques Rancière, Paris; Gayatri Spivak, New York Original contributions by: Peter Bürger, Bremen; Daniel Defert, Paris; Fabrizio Gallanti, Genoa; Serge Gruzinski, Paris; David Harvey, Baltimore; Masao Miyoshi, San Diego; Peter Noller and Klaus Ronneburger, Frankfurt; Hans-Joachim Ruckhaeberle, Berlin; Saskia Sassen, New York; Gayatri Spivak, New York; Paul Sztulman, Paris, and others documenta Since 1955, the documenta exhibition in Kassel, Germany, has served as the world's most important forum for contemporary art. This year's series of interlocking exhibitions, conferences, performances, lectures, and - notably - publications will be the tenth documenta and the last of this century. Organized by the respected French curator Catherine David, documenta X is conceived as a manifestation culturelle including a program entitled "100 Days - 100 Guests" that will host an exceptional group of international figures. Acknowledging both the significance of its position at the end of the century and the dramatic aesthetic, technological, and political challenges facing culture in the future, Catherine David has carefully structured the programming for documenta X around two themes: first, a critical reflection on the development of culture since 1945, and, second, an interdisciplinary dialogue about the need for new categories of critical and political discourse. The question where culture stands today in the world serves as the focal intersection of these two organizing themes. Each previous documenta has had a profound impact on the art world: documenta X promises to serve as a genuinely international forum for artists, writers, and thinkers from all disciplines.