Lothar Baumgarten. Culture Nature

In the spaces of the GAM Video Library, a Homage to Lothar Baumgarten takes shape as part of TERZA RISONANZA. The artist, who died in 2018, was celebrated for his ability to intertwine aesthetic inquiry with profound anthropological and ecological reflection.
Lothar Baumgarten was one of the most important figures in conceptual art in the second half of the 20th century. Through photographs, films, drawings, and installations, the artist sought to bring to light alternative forms of knowledge, often marginalized or at risk of disappearing, and to reflect on the effects that Western colonialism had on their representation.

The exhibition pays tribute to Baumgarten, focusing in particular on the photographic dimension of his research, covering a period from the late 1960s to his last works. The Culture–Nature series (1968–1972) documents a collection of ephemeral sculptures, created and abandoned in natural environments, in direct dialogue with the landscape that the artist recreates outdoors: in his garden, in parks, or on the outskirts of Düsseldorf.

An example of ephemeral sculpture is Arché, which is displayed at the beginning of the exhibition. The installation, covered with macaw feathers, represents a Shapono, a traditional dwelling structure of the Yãnomãmɨ, an indigenous group that inhabits the rainforests of the Amazon. These early works represent the artist's fascination with that indigenous culture, prior to his trip to Venezuela.

The exhibition features two wall paintings from the River Pieces series (1977–1985), composed of the names of Latin American rivers transcribed into indigenous languages, whose colors are inspired by the feathers of birds that inhabit those places. Through these works, Baumgarten aims to restore visibility and dignity to oral traditions threatened by cultural homogenization, emphasizing the fragility and richness of unwritten languages.

The exhibition is completed by his film, Señores Naturales Yãnomãmɨ (1979 - 2018), which documents, in six chapters, his journey to Venezuela, in the area between the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, where he lived together with the Yãnomãmɨ.

Lothar Baumgarten (Rheinsberg 1944, Berlin 2018).... read the rest of the article»