Vibrating Pictures Noisy Sculptures 1958–63A Homage to Paul Wember–Haus Esters
Around 1960 a focus was established in the collection at the Kunstmuseen Krefeld that stands out by virtue of its diversity and quality: the kinetic art collection. The exhibition Vibrating Pictures Noisy Sculptures presents a wide range of extraordinary objects which even today, 50 years on, surprise by the richness of the ideas and the love of experimentation that shaped them. The boundaries between the genres in the visual arts seem to have been broken down once and for all. Movement, light and sound were no longer simply simulated by painting or sculpture, but introduced into the works as real physical elements. On show will be vibrating pictures, three-dimensional light pieces, rotating objects, sound sculptures, interactive works and other kinetic objects created by at that time young unknowns in Paris, Düsseldorf and Milan, including Jean Tinguely, Jesus Raphael Soto, Victor Vasarely, Bruno Munari, Yaakov Agam, Heinz Mack, Günther Uecker and Dieter Roth.
The exhibition Vibrating Pictures Noisy Sculptures 1958-1963 is dedicated to Paul Wember, that great champion of contemporary art whose renown extended well beyond the borders of Germany. As director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld (1947-1975) he flew in the face of considerable resistance in the 1950s and early 1960s when he showed avant-garde artists.
The show is augmented by a selection of photographic documents covering the twenty-eight years over which Paul Wember mounted his fascinating exhibitions in Krefeld, beginning in 1947 at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum and later continuing with great acclaim in Museum Haus Lange.
In February 2013 a publication on the Krefeld museum director Paul Wember will be brought out to mark his 100th birthday. It contains among other items a chronology of the exhibitions, a selection of primary texts, and contributions by Sylvia Martin, Sabine Röder and Bernward Wember.