Uwe M. Schneede
E-mail: uwe.schneede(at)hamburg.de
Uwe M. Schneede studied art history in Kiel. He was an assistant
curator at the Düsseldorf Kunsthalle and then of the Kunstvereine
in Hamburg and Stuttgart. Between 1985 and 1990 Schneede taught modern
art history at Munich university. From 1991 to 2006 he served as the
director of the Kunsthalle in Hamburg. Select Publications: Joseph
Beuys. Die Aktionen (Ostfildern 1994); Die Geschichte der Kunst im 20.
Jahrhundert (München 2001); Die Kunst des Surrealismus
(München 2006); Max Beckmann. Maler seiner Zeit (München
2009; forthcoming).
The Office As the Transition from Fiction to Practice
At that point in time when modern artists organized their own
exhibitions and took it upon themselves to advertise their work, the
office entered the studio. The first example was Marinetti’s office in
Milan’s Via Senato where many public activities by the Futurists were
planned. It was followed by the Surrealists’ Office for Surrealist Research
in rue Grenelle in Paris, which served as a “trading zone” for the
artists and the public. Finally, Beuys opened a public office in
Düsseldorf’s Andreasstraße. However, it was artists such as Raimund
Kummer, Hermann Pitz, Stephan Huber and Olaf Metzel who turned the
office into a theme in art by founding the group “Office Berlin” (Büro
Berlin) in 1980.