Introduction
Throughout its two-century history, art history has been an intricate but often shaky enterprise. Art history has always been obsessed with establishing and preserving modernity.
Documenta II and its Impact
Documenta II, on the other hand, altered critical and curatorial trends of contemporary art by exploring avant-garde art in the field. Documenta II undoubtedly increased the popularity of Asian, African, and other musicians. Furthermore, one of the changes was the appointment of Okwui Enwezor (Ogbechie 81).
Although Documenta II never focused on creating the narrative of modern art based on identity politics, rather it ensured that the assessment of contemporary worldwide culture should take into consideration non-western artists and included them in the exhibition. The objective of the worldwide exhibition was to bring into perspective changes that reflected fresh, creative techniques within the contemporary worldwide public realm (Ogbechie 82).
Exhibitions as Forums for Identifying Opportunities
The introduction of Documenta II provided a platform upon which exhibitions were used as forums for identifying present and future opportunities in modern art. In addition, due to Documenta II the edge was depicted by videos, films, and digital installation that posed questions regarding the nature of modern reality. Furthermore, Documenta II emphasized the common abyss between the west and other regions across the world by way of intertextualizing juxtapositions of pieces such as the New Building for Berlin by Isa Genzken and Isek Kingelez's Ville fantome.
The artists created a future vision for two cities, however, they could separate-Berlin survived Cold War partitioning while Kingelez pursued utopia, which can be related to the collapsing Zaire (Ogbechie 85).
Critique of Western Ethnocentrism
By and large, Documenta II criticized western ethnocentrism while opposing its expanding influence. Specifically, Documenta II artworks demonstrated that systems of oppressions can adversely affect self-determination. While the global exhibition of modern art might have proliferated, the several areas of artistic practices are unequal. Nonetheless, despite attempts to rethink modern art, Documenta II was not successful in disrupting the west move for worldwide coordination.
Work Cited
Ogbechie, Sylvester Okwunodu. "Ordering the Universe: Documenta II and the Apotheosis of the Occidental gaze." Art Journal 64.1 (2005): 80-89.
