There’s a big thing going around these days: The dOCUMENTA (13) exhibition in Kassel, Germany. From mid-June until mid-September, 100 days to be precise. Lower East went there and we were really impressed, almost blown away. Art all over Kassel! We managed to see maybe one-tenth of the exhibitions, most likely less. We had some very good recommendations on what to explore from people, who had already been there – and by checking the comprehensive programme we found even more must-see artists and exhibitions.

The next days we will post some of our great experiences at dOCUMENTA (13).
If you have two or three days in your ‘bank’ and have the chance, then go there!
More info at d13.documenta.de

Two very big ‘things’ at dOCUMENTA (13) was Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller’s “for a thousand years“ and “Alter Bahnhof Video Walk“. One taking place in a forested area of the Karlsaue Park and the other one at the old train station in the middle of Kassel. Both very fantastic and touching experiences.

In for a thousand years “the audience is invited to sit in the forest as a complex audio composition unfolds, creating a unique experience that progresses within a spherical sound field created by more than thirty speakers positioned in the natural setting. The sounds move the audience from one scene to another as if in a dream.“ (text from the dOCUMENTA catalog).

“Alter Bahnhof Video Walk invites visitors to Kassel’s Hauptbahnhof to take a walk through the old train station. Equipped with portable media players that can be borrowed at the station, or provided with downloads for personal media devices, participants are guided through the station by image and sound. The events unfolding on the small screen, previously filmed by the artists, show the exact location in which participants are located, and play back its sounds. As visitors follow the moving images (and try to frame them as if they were the camera operator) a strange confusion of realities past and present occurs, which deepens their experience of their surroundings.“ (text from the dOCUMENTA catalog).