Kinetische Objekte

In April 1960 the exhibition Multiplizierte Kunstwerke, die sich bewegen oder bewegen lassen – der Edition MAT Paris (Multiplied works of art that move or can be moved – Edition MAT Paris) opened in the prints and drawing gallery at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld, Germany. This exhibition, which was the sixth in the series of exhibitions promoting the first collection of Edition MAT, proved so popular with the general public that it was extended by two weeks. The media response was equally enthusiastic. A television station from Cologne filmed the opening; a weekly TV news review reported on the exhibition; and the UFA film studio, a German film and television production company, made Kinetische Objekte, which shows the Edition MAT works interspersed with other kinetic artworks in the museum’s collection. The director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Paul Wember, ran one of the most progressive programs in postwar Germany committed to supporting contemporary art. He purchased for the museum a nearly complete set of works from the exhibition.

Installation view of Kinetische Objekte (Kinetic objects), 1960. Dir. Ulrich Wiedmann. Color film with sound, transferred to DVD, 10 min. Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Germany. 

Photo by Joshua White / JWPictures.com