documenta 5 was the fifth edition of

documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

, a

quinquennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

contemporary

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...

. It was held between 30 June and 8 October 1972 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

, West Germany. The artistic director was

Harald Szeemann Harald Szeemann (11 June 1933 – 18 February 2005) was a Swiss curator, artist, and art history, art historian. Having curated more than 200 exhibitions, many of which have been characterized as groundbreaking, Szeemann is said to have helped red ...

. The title of the exhibition was: Befragung der Realität – Bildwelten heute / Questioning Reality – Pictorial worlds today.Ausstellungskatalog: documenta 5. Befragung der Realität – Bildwelten heute. Katalog (als Aktenordner) Band 1: (Material); Band 2: (Exponatliste); Kassel 1972 Szeemann's curation is known for establishing a model for future

art biennial In the art world, a biennale ( , ; ), is a large-scale international contemporary art exhibition. The term was popularised by the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895, but the concept of such a large scale, and intentionally internationa ...

events, with a central, thematic curatorial idea.

Participants

References

{{Authority control Documenta 1972 in West Germany 1972 in art