In 1971 and 1972 the American artist Paul Thek started participating in the plays Robert Wilson made in Europe in these years. About this collaboration very little is known. In the literature about Thek it is little more than a footnote. But it seems meeting Wilson was much more important for Thek.Thek visited Deafman Glance in Paris in 1971 and was astonished: he recognized the symbols Wilson used. They were sometimes surprisingly close to the symbols he used in his own installations and paintings. By starting to work with Wilson, Thek seems to have been influenced by the rich ideas of the plays.
In this interview with Wilson, Tempel will talk about these ideas, the symbolic meaning of the objects, the role literature, art and scientific publications played. Thek was not afraid to be inspired by mythologies, the Bible and popular literature. This all resulted in a very personal use of objects, and given them a unique symbolic meaning. In this, he can be compared to the work of Vincent van Gogh.
Tempel will also discuss the attraction that Europe had on American artist. By going to the old continent the American artists seemed to gain something, but at the same time the lost (partly) the connection with their home country. This resulted in a paradox. By looking into these questions Tempel will hope to bring more insight into the work of Thek and Wilson, but also to explain more about the working progress of artists in these days in the early Seventies.
About Benno Tempel
Benno Tempel (1972, born in The Netherlands) is an art historian who has worked in museums since two decades.
He studied art history in Amsterdam and specialized in late 19th Century and early 20th Century art. This resulted in articles and publications about impressionism and 20th C. avant garde.
Tempel worked as a curator in different museums and exhibition institutes. He organized exhibitions in the Kunsthal Rotterdam, the famous building by Rem Koolhaas, about numerous subjects like design, fashion, art and theater. In the Van Gogh Museum he worked as collection curator and later as exhibition curator, where he organized exhibitions among others about Barcelona around 1900 and Max Beckmann during World War II.
Since 2009 Tempel is general director of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. The Gemeentemuseum is the second art museum of the Netherlands, with a collection of more than 150.000 art works. The museum is housed in one of the most beautiful buildings of the country, an art deco building from 1935 by the architect H.P. Berlage. The Gemeentemuseum houses the largest collection of works by Piet Mondrian, a large art department, fashion, applied arts and musical instruments. Photomuseum Den Haag and GEM, Museum for Contemporary Art are part of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag . Benno Tempel is also director of Museum Escher in the Palace.
The Scaler Summer Lecture Series at The Watermill Center is possible thanks to the generous support of the Scaler Foundation.
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