VIENNA.- The exhibition Never Final! is dedicated to the significant changes the Museum moderner Kunst underwent when Dieter Ronte was at its helm (from 1979 to 1989). Exemplary insights into the heterogeneity of the collection expansions are presented against the backdrop of the cultural-political parameters and programmatic decisions implemented during the 1980s—a time in which the cornerstones of collaboration with collectors were laid and strategic acquisitions determined the focal points in the museum’s collection for decades to come.
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Never Final! An Institution’s Vision
Never Final! is a formula coined by then-minister of science Hertha Firnberg. It has defined the mumok as a dynamic place of change to this day. Following this objective, this serial project sees itself less as a traditional exhibition and more as a platform for collective research, learning, and investigation. The presentation spaces are consequently structured into a study room with the collection exhibition and archival materials from the 1980s as well as a project space for reciprocal encounters with the mumok collection. Additionally, there will be a comprehensive satellite program of panel discussions and lectures.
The Art: A Selection
The selection of works in the study room shows artworks that arrived at the museum between 1979 and 1989. The hanging is largely modeled on the structure of the holdings. The show starts with an exemplary selection of works that found their way to Vienna as loans from the collection of Peter and Irene Ludwig. They are followed by works from the collection of Wolfgang Hahn acquired the previous year, and purchases by Dieter Ronte from the 1980s.
Placed in the center of the study room are interactively designed pieces of exhibition furniture that invite visitors to settle in and delve into the archival materials and catalogues, correspondences, newspaper articles, and audio and video materials to learn about the history of the museum in the 1980s.
Looking at the historical documents makes it easy to understand how fiercely the collection policies were defended at the time. The material also clearly illustrates that the museum has always seen itself as a living space of debate and reflection.
Historical Classification
April 26, 1979, marked a touchstone for what today is mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien. The collections of the former 20er Haus were expanded by extensive, art-historically significant permanent loans from the Aachen-based collector couple Peter and Irene Ludwig. It was a substantive addition that also engendered an expansion of the museum’s exhibition spaces. 20er Haus was supplemented by the Museum moderner Kunst, which opened at Palais Liechtenstein. With this expansion, the extense networking efforts since the mid- 1970s of Künstlerhaus president Hans Mayr and the strategic diplomacy of Hermann Fillitz (professor of art history at the University of Vienna) bore cultural-political fruit. The close to 200 loans were not only a boon to the extant holdings but introduced new thematic focal points to the collection. Works of Pop Art and Photorealism entered the building, which were yet again augmented by the acquisition of the Wolfgang Hahn collection and its focus on Nouveau Réalisme.
1981 saw another giant leap with the establishment of the Austrian Ludwig Foundation by then-Minister of Science Hertha Firnberg and the Ludwigs. A major portion of what constituted the loans at the time became the property of the foundation and could thus be anchored in the collection as permanent loans. In return, the Republic of Austria committed to making an annual index-linked payment to the foundation, enabling it to acquire important artworks in the following years, the value of which far exceeded the internal acquisition budget.
Artists in the exhibition: Eva Aeppli, Kiyoshi Awazu, Alice Aycock, Robert Bechtle, Joseph Beuys, Christian Boltanski, Marcel Broodthaers, Günter Brus, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Giorgio De Chirico, Inge Dick, Don Eddy, Loys Egg, Richard Estes, Suzan Etkin, VALIE EXPORT, Trude Fleischmann, Helen Frankenthaler, Birgitta Fritz, Gilbert & George,
Nancy Graves, Johannes Itten, Isolde Maria Joham, Hildegard Joos, Martha Jungwirth, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Per Kirkeby, Kurt Kocherscheidt, Brigitte Kowanz, Richard Kriesche, František Kupka, Maria Lassnig, Agnes Martin, Hermann Nitsch, Friederike Pezold, Janis Provisor, Arnulf Rainer, Mimmo Rotella, Niki de Saint Phalle, Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Rudolf Schwarzkogler / Walter Kindler, Daniel Spoerri, Rini Tandon, Sidney Tillim, Oswald Tschirtner, Cy Twombly, Günther Uecker, Ursula, Lois Weinberger
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