MARCEL DUCHAMP – LE MYSTÈRE DE MUNICH

MARCEL DUCHAMP – LE MYSTÈRE DE MUNICH
A sculpture by Rudolf Herz in front of the Alte Pinakothek
Press preview: 21.06.2012, 11.00 a.m.
Opening: 21.06.2012, 07.00 p.m.
Exhibition duration: 22.06.-30.09.2012
http://www.pinakothek.de

The young and by then totally unknown French artist Marcel Duchamp arrived in Munich on 21 June 1912 and lived in Barer Straße 65 for three months. This short stay in Munich exactly 100 years ago led to a lasting change of the conception of art with the 25-year old, who should soon revolutionise Modernism as a whole. It was in Munich where he developed his first considerations concerning the »Great Glass« and the upheaval, that led from the traditional oil painting to the ready-mades and thus to the revolution of any previous perceptions of art, already became apparent. Until today Duchamp’s works and ideas have inspired new generations of artists. Marcel Duchamp later explained: »My stay in Munich was the scene of my complete liberation«.

Thus any knowledge of Duchamp’s time in Munich is of utmost importance.
In this context the Architekturmuseum shows a sculpture by Rudolf Herz on the south lawn in front of the Alte Pinakothek in close proximity to Duchamp’s place of residence. Herz, concept artist and media researcher, is recreating Duchamp’s Munich flat in a reinforced concrete outdoor sculpture at a length of 17 and a height of 7 metres. The 1:1 reconstruction of the flat, in which Duchamp had rented a 10 m2 room that he also used as a studio, will be tilted by 90 degrees and thus made visible to public view. Herz closes in on Duchamp’s stay in a »criminalistic investigation«, relying on sources unkown so far which provide new and surprising insights.

Realisation of the sculpture: Architect Peter Ottmann
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive publication (Moser Verlag München), 59,00 €.