Exhibition "Geniale Dilletanten" at the MKG Hamburg

The MKG museum in Hamburg is showcasing “Brilliant Dilletantes” (Geniale Dilletanten), the deliberately misspelled title with the explanatory subtitle “Subculture in Germany in the 1980s”. An overview of the alternative artistic scene based on the DIY principle.



Until 30 April 2016, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MKG: Museum of Arts and Tradecrafts) in Hamburg is showcasing more than 250 exhibits, including paintings, objects representing art, design and fashion, records, music cassettes, “sound stations”, music, magazines & fanzines, posters, and short films that tell the story of the colourful universe of the 1980s.



“Brilliant Dilletantes. Subculture in Germany in the 1980s” is a wide-ranging programme, particularly for those who personally experienced the creative roar of those years where the only rule was to be different, provocative and to protest against the mainstream culture. Basically, years when artists and musicians did not seek popularity at any cost but really wanted to make radical break.  



At the time there was no Internet where they could attract attention without taking risks, so they organised their own do-it-yourself experiences (remember the slogan “Hilf' dir selbst sonst hilft dir keiner” - “Take care of yourself, because no one else will”?) based on the purest, most genre-crossing experimentation, before this became a buzzword, from the fine arts academies to the city suburbs.



Designed by the Goethe-Institut as a touring exhibition, “Brilliant Dilletantes” has been substantially enlarged for its presentation at the MKG. At the heart of the exhibition is music, with eight bands born during the time of the Federal Republic in the late '70s, including “Einstürzende Neubauten” (collapsing new buildings), “Die tödliche Doris” (deadly doris), “Der Plan”, “F.S.K”, “Palais Schaumburg”, “D.A.F”, “Mania D.” and the East Berlin band project “Ornament und Verbrechen” (ornament and crime).



In the visual arts, we can see representatives of the “Junge Wilden” (wild youth) whose paintings combined large sizes with spontaneous artistic gestures during joint music and art performances, described also as neo-expressive art and in very great demand on the art market.



Design also went through a radical change of approach through “Neues deutsches Design” (new German design): a new generation of designers, some of whom were from different professional backgrounds such as stage design, performance art or music experimented with unusual materials, forms and combinations. 



Hamburg played a very important part in all this 1980s subculture, which flourished here thanks to the creative underground of the city itself. The MKG in Hamburg is therefore the perfect place to see this exhibition. Because, really, when you think about it, surely we are all “Brilliant Dilletantes” - just a bit, at least. 

Christiane Bürklein

Mostra “Brilliant Dilletantes. Subculture in Germany in the 1980s”
al MKG Amburgo, Germania, http://www.mkg-hamburg.de/en
dal 23 gennaio al 30 aprile 2016.
Curatrice della mostra: Mathilde Weh, sezione Belli Arti del Goethe-Institut
Idea e concept: Mathilde Weh e Leonhard Emmerling
Curatore tappa Amburgo: Dennis Conrad
Immagini: della mostra: Michaela Hille MKG Hamburg