- documenta archiv
The documenta archiv receives the important estate of the photographer Monika Nikolic. Nikolic achieved international fame through her architectural photographs and as a chronicler of the documenta. The acquisition was made possible by the active commitment of the Kassel documenta forum, the support of the Kasseler Sparkasse and private foundations.
The press event took place on September 20, 2024 in the event hall of the Fridericianum.
The speakers were:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoffmann, Managing Director of documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH
Volker Schäfer and Horst Schween, documenta forum Kassel
Ingo Buchholz, Chairman of the Board of the Kasseler Sparkasse
Saskia Mattern, Deputy Director documenta archiv
About the photographic estate of Monika Nikolic in the documenta archiv
The photographer Monika Nikolic (1943-2024) was one of the defining faces of Kassel's cultural scene. For more than four decades, the trained architect accompanied the documenta exhibitions with her camera. Her radiant photographs of the poppy field on Friedrichsplatz during documenta 12 have become deeply engraved in the city's visual memory. In Kassel, Nikolic encountered the inspiring and experimental environment of Floris M. Neusüss' fotoforum and soon became a co-founder of the Kassel chapter of the Deutscher Werkbund. She became internationally renowned for her technically refined architectural photographs and her special eye for objects and spaces. It is therefore an extraordinary stroke of luck for Kassel that the photographic estate of the artist, who died unexpectedly in February, has been acquired for the documenta archiv. The acquisition was made possible by the efforts of the documenta forum, the support of the Kassel Sparkasse and the generosity of private donors.
"It fills me with particular joy that it has been possible to secure the work of the important documenta chronicler Monika Nikolic for the documenta archiv thanks to the city's commitment," says Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoffmann, Managing Director of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH, and expresses his sincere thanks to all those involved and sponsors.
"From the very beginning, it was a matter of course for us to support the documenta archiv in acquiring the estate," emphasizes Volker Schäfer, Chairman of the documenta forum, and Horst Schween, Treasurer of the documenta forum, recalls the intensive conversations and encounters with the photographer, who traced the aura of the documenta artworks in the urban space in an inimitable way.
Ingo Buchholz, CEO of Kasseler Sparkasse, adds: "As Kasseler Sparkasse, it is important to us to support the documenta archiv in acquiring the estate. This photographic legacy not only ensures the preservation of an important cultural heritage, but also strengthens our regional identity and enriches our cultural life in Kassel."
"Our visual memory of the documenta exhibitions would be incomplete without Monika Nikolic's brilliant photographs," emphasizes Dr. Birgitta Coers, Director of the documenta archiv, "we are preserving a piece of Kassel's art and photographic history with her work and see it as our duty to keep her legacy alive. With this in mind, I would like to express my sincere thanks, also on behalf of the documenta archiv, for the broad support without which the work would have been lost."
About Monika Nikolic
Born in Vienna on August 8, 1943
Studied architecture in Graz and Stuttgart
Married the architect Vladimir Nikolic in 1966
Contact with Annemarie and Lucius Burckhardt, joint founding of the Kassel chapter of the Deutscher Werkbund at the end of the 1970s
1982 Guest studies in photography at the Kunsthochschule Kassel with Floris M. Neusüss and Gunter Rambow
From 1982 freelance work as a photographer with a focus on architectural photography and exhibition documentation
Photographic documentation and collaboration on various projects by Annemarie and Lucius Burckhardt at the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Landscape Planning: including, among others "0m Spaziergang: Der Beginn der Landschaft" (1985) with the French artists Paul-Armand Gette (participant in documenta 6) and Bernard Lassus, "Ljubljana - die Stadt als Spaziergang" (1986), "Die Fahrt nach Tahiti" (1988) in the Kassel Dönche as well as in the context of projects for the Bundesgartenschau (1981) and the residential development documenta urbana in the south of Kassel (1982)
documenta photography: systematic documentation of the documenta exhibitions between 1982 and 1997 and from 2007 to 2017
Passed away in Kassel on February 12, 2024
July 2024: Tribute to her life's work in the exhibition: "IN MEMORIAM Monika Nikolic. Photography on Architecture and documenta" at the Kasseler Architekturzentrum im Kulturbahnhof e.V. - KAZimKUBA; organized in collaboration with ARTvanced
