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Spiegel-Kantine, Verner Panton, Hamburg, 1969, MK&G
Tour
2nd floor
Besides special exhibitions and changing presentations of objects from the East Asia, Photography and New Media, Graphics and Poster Collection, this floor is also home to a striking document of the recent past: part of the legendary canteen created by Danish designer Verner Panton for the Spiegel-Verlag publishing house in the 1960s.
Favourite objects
Glasschale, China, Qianlong-Ära, 1736 - 1795, MK&G/Jörg Arend
Chinese glass bowl
Balanced in shape, pleasant in colour - this is how this glass bowl presents itself. It is only at second glance that you can recognise three figures in monk's attire with nimbuses between medallions of flames, carved into the glass and seated in the lotus position. The attributes in their hands refer to the Buddhist tradition cultivated in Tibet and Nepal. The medallions are inscriptions praising Allah. A mark engraved on the underside reveals that the bowl was made during the reign of Emperor Qianlong between 1735 and 1796. At this time, the Chinese could already look back on a glass-making tradition of over 2500 years. Only a few decades before this bowl was made, glass workshops had also been established at the imperial court in Beijing, which influenced each other with the neighbouring workshops for porcelain, lacquer and enamel work. It is therefore not surprising that the 18th century was the heyday of monochrome glass in China. Yellow is always the colour of the emperor and his family. The decoration refers to the attitude of the emperors of the Qing dynasty, who saw themselves as rulers of many peoples and many religions in Asia and endeavoured to give equal status to the different faiths. Not only materiality, manufacturing technique, decoration and dating are exciting, but objects are also always an expression of cultural-historical developments. They have many different facets - so it's always worth taking a second look!
Frank Hildebrandt, Head of Collection and Curator of the Ancient Art and Antiquities Collection
Glasuntersatz KAYSERZINN 4173, J. P. Kayser Sohn,1893-1903, Krefeld, Foto: MK&G/Roman Mishchuck
Pewter glass coaster
At first glance, this pewter coaster looks inconspicuous. Its small size with a diameter of just 10.5 cm and the matt pewter patina don't exactly catch the eye. But on closer inspection, the flat relief catches the eye: a fish. Fitting for an object on which liquids are placed. Up to this point, you could have detached your gaze and turned your attention to other objects in the exhibition "Tin. From the mine to the museum" exhibition. However, somehow you can't let go of the fish. The next time you look into this miniature pond, you notice the shallow ripples that the fish makes on the surface of the water. But wait, is that even a view into a pond? Isn't the fish swimming upside down? With the abundance of Art Nouveau pewter with playful nature motifs, the pewter minerals and also the historical photographs of mines, it is the small glass base that I liked the most when preparing the exhibition. The pewter doesn't look rigid and solid, but liquid and almost invites you to put your finger in the water.
Thorben Frieling, Project Assistant Applied Arts and Design Collecion
Gesatteltes Kamel, Nordchina, Tang-Dynastie, frühes 8. Jh., Foto: MK&G/Maria Thrun
Saddled camel
It is ready to set off, saddled and loaded: The camel made of fired and painted clay was created in the 8th century in northern China, presumably as a burial gift, modelled on one of its real counterparts. These roamed the inhospitable steppes and deserts of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and north-west China as beasts of burden with caravans. They withstood enormous fluctuations in temperature, went several days without water and sometimes made do with thorny undergrowth as food. Last but not least, they served as a source of milk and meat, and the wool and leather were used to make clothing and blankets. Low in consumption, high in performance: these characteristics were already appreciated back then, as the realistic depiction of the camel shows the appreciation for the frugal workhorse. The realistic design of not only the animal but also the luggage on its back, the bales of cloth and water bottles is astonishing. They are protected by ominous demon masks. And what does the little monkey on the saddle mean? Was it placed there as a symbol of long life or good luck, was it perhaps part of the caravan's stock of goods or was it the camel owner's travelling pet? We don't know, but it adds an endearing touch to the object.
Ulrike Blauth, Communication
Kanne in Form eines Schriftzeichens, China, Kangxi-Ära (1662-1722), Foto: MK&G/Tobias Eckmann
Jug in the shape of a character
When you see the porcelain lidded jug for the first time, its unusual shape immediately catches the eye. In its flat and wide design with several openings, it takes on the shape of the character fú 福. The character, which stands for happiness, is created by separating different areas with bars so that the "writing" of the character can be traced from the lid. Created during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1662-1722), the jug is characterised by its green colour scheme, which is complemented by flowers and butterflies. Two leaf-shaped cartouches depict scenes with Daoist deities. The god of long life, Shoulao, can be seen being handed a large peach, a symbol of long life, by a boy. The bat is also a symbol of good fortune due to its pronunciation, fú 福, which is the same as fortune. However, it is not so much this recurring symbolism of luck and long life that fascinates me about this object, but its technical realisation. I enjoy imagining how the water flows through the jug and how the calligraphic writing is modelled by the flow of the water. The braided handle and spout not only emphasise the play with the material, but also the dynamic and flowing character of the jug.
Tobias Eckmann, East Asia and Islamic Art Collection
Stuhl SOLID, Heinz Landes (*1961), Deutschland, Pforzheim, 1985, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024, Foto: MK&G/Maria Thrun, Jörg Arend
Chair SOLID / Heinz Landes
Every time I walk past this chair, I have to pull myself together not to try it out for a moment. What is it like to sit on these six bent iron rods stuck in a piece of concrete? Can a chair like this be comfortable? It certainly doesn't look like it. Perhaps the designer Heinz H. Landes was not interested in comfort, but in balancing the boundaries between art and design. He says of his furniture: "They were created out of a love of the primitive and brutal, they cause some whingeing bruises, but that's okay." The "Solid" cantilever chair, of which only around 30 were produced in the 1980s, is considered an important example of New German Design. This constructive criticism of industrial design, which was defined by the Bauhaus school for decades, is literally cast in concrete here. The brute execution makes it look like a found object from a large construction site and yet the construction appears airy in the room. The quality of solidity that gave the chair its name is suddenly called into question, even though it was one of the very first pieces of furniture to use concrete as a material. An ironic trick, I think, this idea of a chair.
Dominik Nürenberg, Communication
Bildteppich „Mädchen mit blauer Schale“, Johanna Schütz-Wolff, Schwabendorf bei Marburg, 1929, Foto: MK&G / Alisa Reutova
Tapestry / Johanna Schütz-Wolf
My gaze often lingers on this tapestry as I pass by, because the motif and its realisation never fail to impress me. A girl is picking a flower. A small blue bowl stands next to her on the floor. The action is largely framed by a black surface, with a house recognisable in the section on the right. This tapestry was created by the artist Johanna Schütz-Wolff in 1929, who saw weaving not as a craft but as the basis of her creative expression. For her, the creative process begins with the handling of material and technique without any prior design. By alternating warp and weft in the textile weave, the designer creates different structures and plasticity, thereby creating the spatiality of the scene. The colours are restrained: black and shades of grey dominate, accents are set by the primary colours red, yellow and blue as well as some green. What particularly fascinates me about this tapestry is precisely this tension between the reduction of stylistic devices and the expressiveness of the depiction, which leaves room for interpretation. Everything in this scene seems to be suspended: the blue bowl standing on the ground appears to be unbalanced by the line below it, which looks like an edge. Is the girl with the cheeky bobbed hairdo actually picking the single flower or is she still hesitating? Is she looking at me or rather into the distance?
Ulrike Blauth, Communications Department
Wiggle Side Chair, Design: Frank Gehry, New York (USA), 1969–1972, Ausführung: Easy Edges (1972), Foto: MK&G/Jörg Arend
Wiggle Side Chair / Frank Gehry
This special chair by Frank Gehry gives the word "corrugated cardboard" a completely different meaning! The "Wiggle Side Chair" is part of the "Easy Edges" series, which the architect and designer created in cardboard in 1969-1972 and which is still being produced today. Before I came across the "Wiggle Side Chair", I associated the name Frank Gehry with something completely different: the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The museum is perhaps one of the most famous buildings that he designed as an architect. The huge museum building is characterised by a curved façade clad in metal panels. The whole complex is reminiscent of a monumental, dazzling sculpture. The Wiggle Side Chair also has the appearance of a sculpture full of fascinating tension, only in a slightly smaller format. The brown cardboard looks as if it has softened and laid down in these waves, which are so unusual for the material. The small gaps between the individual sheets give the impression that the chair springs when you sit on it. I haven't been able to test it yet, but the Wiggle Side Chair is certainly quite stable, contrary to what its shape and name might suggest.
Hannah Neufang, Working Student Communications
Zusammengerollter Nadelfilz, der oben und unten von Stahlbändern zusammengehalten wird.
Felt stool / Frank Schreiner
I had to look twice at this stool: in 1992, Frank Schreiner, who is considered one of the representatives of New German Design, produced the "Felt stool" under the name Stiletto Studios. It is made of thick, rolled-up needle felt held together at the top and bottom by steel bands. The steel bands form an exciting contrast to the rough texture of the felt. Both the machine-made needle felt and the steel band speak of industry and craftsmanship, although the roll appears barely worked. The use of objects that are hardly manipulated by the respective artists, so-called readymades, has been encouraging people to question what they see since the early 20th century. In 1983, Stiletto Studios made a similar reference to design classics such as the "Wire Chair" by Charles and Ray Eames or the "Diamond Chair" by Harry Bertoia with a bent, metal shopping trolley, the "Consumer's Rest Lounge Chair". The "Felt Stool" also succeeds in provoking thought. Because if it wasn't called that, I'm not so sure I would have recognised it as a stool.
Hannah Neufang, Working Student Communication
Knotted Chair, Entwurf: Marcel Wanders (* 1963), Niederlande, 1995–1996, Ausführung Cappellini (1997), Foto: MK&G, Jörg Arend
Knotted Chair / Marcel Wanders
As a child, I was a big fan of the WDR television programme "Wissen macht Ah!". No matter where and with whom I was travelling, my curiosity about my surroundings seemed insatiable. Fortunately, I was able to retain this interest in adulthood. Now I work in a museum, virtually at the source of all the stories and narratives behind the objects. One of them that fascinated me most recently was the one about the making of the Knotted Chair by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. The complex net structure combines several aspects that inspire me: for the knotting technique, he draws on the knowledge of many decades and combines this with the use of innovative high-tech materials. The aramid fibre appears delicate, but its carbon core makes it enormously resilient. After knotting, the structure is soaked in epoxy resin and suspended to harden. Gravity finally gives the chair its characteristic parabolic shape of seat and backrest - pretty cool, isn't it?
Berit Reutershan, Project Assistant Collection Applied Arts and Design
Gustav Heinrich Wolff (1886–1934), Pferd, sich beißend, Berlin 1922, Foto: MK&G
Bronze figure horse
As a teenager I had a brief horse-girl phase. These sublime animals fascinate me to this day. What I like about the bronze figure "Horse, biting itself" by Gustav Heinrich Wolff (1886-1934) is the casualness of the movement. This specific moment, the agile turn that contrasts with the abstracted figure - for me, this is the beauty of this small sculpture. It is also reminiscent of the blue, red or yellow horses by Franz Marc, one of the most important German Expressionists and a contemporary of Gustav Heinrich Wolff, whose paintings seem like precisely composed studies of movement. Gustav Heinrich Wolff's horse is exhibited on the 2nd floor. The MK&G houses the artist's largest coherent body of work with drawings, sculptures and prints. In 1937, 17 of Wolff's works were removed from the collection by the National Socialists as "degenerate art"; 20 years later, the museum showed the artist's first retrospective.
Gudrun Herz, Press Officer
Ein Herz für Kinderarbeit–H&M, Dies Irae, 2016, Foto: MK&G
Poster against child labour
Wherever I travel, I see advertisements in the city. At every stop there is an advertisement for something life-changing. Actually, I ignore most of these banners, but sometimes I stumble across one because it is different and get stuck in my mind. The poster "A heart for child labour - H&M" by Dies Irae always gets me stuck. This anonymous artists' collective puts up posters with socially critical themes, especially in advertising boxes at bus stops. This is how the poster in the exhibition "audio-graphic" originally hung in public space and hopefully inspired people not only to be intoxicated by advertising messages through this adbusting, but also to think about relevant questions to our society. Posters can not only be huge advertising media, but can also make individuals think and discuss, for which I greatly appreciate this poster.
Katharina Müller, Management Graphics and Poster Collection
Alexander Schönauer, Salzgefäß, Hamburg, 1902, MK&G
Salt Vessel Octopus
The silver salt vessel by Alexander Schönauer from 1902 reminds me that before the advent of the salt shaker, it was common to grab the spice from a bowl with one's fingers. This is also referred to by the indication "a pinch of salt", which means the amount that can be grasped between thumb and forefinger. The groping tentacles of the octopus entwining Schönauer's bowl make me think of the fingers of a hand reaching into a mass of countless granules and feeling their structure. It is not only linguistically a short way from grasping to grasping. New tools, such as the salt shaker, always change the way we experience and understand our environment. They mediate between us and the environment and influence how our body relates to the matter around us. The octopus, as a creature whose thinking and sensory apparatus is very different from mine, stands for me as a symbol of the fact that the world is perceived very differently. It invites me to physically grasp the materiality that surrounds me, keeping in mind how much my experience is shaped by my perceptual apparatus as well as the things in my environment.
Anna Gröger, Working Student Applied Arts and Design Collection
Handtasche „Minaudière“, USA (?), 1920er, 1930er oder 1950er Jahre, Sammlung Anne Lühn, MK&G
Minaudière
Small but delicate is this egg: a so-called minaudière, a handbag in micro format, just about the size of a goose egg. It dangles casually from the wrist by its leather loop. The egg itself is cast in metal and gold-plated, with the appearance of a flatterer of the hand. When opened, it reveals two halves: one is closed by the mirror, the other by two small lids. There might just be room for a piece of chewing gum. As faithful companions, handbags keep our essentials (wallet, keys, mobile phone), but also odd and useless things. But who carries such a bag without a real storage function? The egg-shaped bag is said to have come from the possession of Queen Nariman of Egypt (1933-2005) before the design collector Anne Lühn acquired it. A queen does not need her bag as a utilitarian object to equip herself for every occasion. She has staff for that. The accessory as a status symbol? These kinds of tiny bags were popular accessories in the first half of the 20th century. Today, too, they are increasingly seen on the catwalks. In the exhibition "Dressed", the golden egg can be seen with other bags in a showcase. Anne Lühn's collection shows her penchant for design with humour and a certain twist. An eggcellent collection!
Maria Stabel, Fashion and Textiles Collection
Ein Paar Genien, China, Kangxi-Arä (1662–1722), Porzellan, MK&G
Lucky genies
Bad mood? Not with these two little guys, as they embody only good things: they bestow blessings and harmony on bridal couples, ensure happiness and a long life. They are portraits of Chinese guardian spirits, created in the era of Emperor Kangxi, between 1662 and 1722. They are made of the finest porcelain with enamel colours. They belong to the so-called famille verte, a type of porcelain named after the predominant green colour. Their robes, jackets over long robes, are colourfully decorated with lucky flowers, mainly lotus, and butterflies. Their hairstyles, with knotted mop of hair on their shaved skulls, were top fashion in the Qing era, but could hold their own in the hipster scene today. Their smiles with parted lips reveal moving tongues. In their hands they hold Lingzhi tinder sponges, which have always been used as medicinal mushrooms in China and are therefore considered symbols of immortality. Even the base plates of the figures stand for well-being: Their shape resembles silver ingots, which have been the most stable means of payment in China for centuries.
Ulrike Blauth, Marketing
Armband, Naum Slutzky, Hamburg, 1931, Messing verchromt, MK&G
Bracelet
This bracelet from 1931 is displayed in one of the historic wooden showcases of the "Hamburger Moderne". How novel and progressive it appears in its high-gloss finish and cool aesthetics! Eight rectangular metal plates are movably joined together by wires and tubes - resulting in a prism-shaped structure with a button closure. Decorated with a punched hole pattern, it is reminiscent of a lantern and yet designed as a piece of jewellery. The goldsmith and lighting architect Naum Slutzky, who was born in Kiev and lived in Hamburg from 1924 to 1933, designed this bracelet and made it from chrome-plated brass parts using a simple assembly technique. As an extravagant accessory, it is aimed at the modern woman of the 1930s who stands for technical progress and social change and recognises the ignoble avant-garde jewellery in its own beauty. For me, the bracelet, along with all the other Slutzky works, is a fine example of the special creativity of the artist, who worked for the Wiener Werkstätte and the Weimar Bauhaus before his time in Hamburg. With his designs, he questioned traditional ways of designing and making jewellery and showed new ways.
Susanne Sauerbrunn, Digital Inventorisation
Abbildung: Paul Theisen, Fons Hickmann m23
The new house font SCTO
LK: I think it's good.
JM: Really? Why?
LK: The whole corporate design is much fresher. In the past, I didn't really want to go to MK&G because it looked so stuffy.
JM: But isn't the new house font, SCTO, somehow anachronistic? It is the "white cube" among typefaces. Its simple forms claim a neutrality that does not exist. And today in particular, there are justified demands that museums not present themselves as neutral, objective, unquestionable institutions.
LK: Yes, but it is just as unrealistic to claim that the whole museum speaks with ONE voice. That is precisely why the SCTO is supported by other writings.
JM: So that the MK&G's polyphony and creative joy becomes clear?
LK: Exactly. Very striking typefaces, in fact. The SCTO, on the other hand, is pleasantly restrained, almost unnoticeable.
JM: Which is great, so as not to draw attention away from the exhibits and the content of the texts.
LK: And the logo is very present on all media, so the museum shows itself as the sender.
JM: How right you are. Love at second sight.
Conversation between Lucia Köhn and Julia Meer, Graphics and Posters Collection
Teller mit Pfirsichen und Fledermäusen, China, Yongzheng-Ära (1723–35), Porzellan, Aufglasurfarben der famille rose, MK&G, Public Domain
Plate with peaches and bats
Eight peaches and five red bats are dynamically distributed over this plate. To discover them all, you have to turn it over and you can immediately admire the imperial mark "Da Qing Yongzheng Nian Zhi", "made in the Yongzheng era of the great Qing dynasty". The playful distribution of the motif and bright colour nuances on porcelain are characteristic of the Yongzheng era. The ripe fruits not only look appetising, but also symbolise long life as peaches of immortality. The fact that there are eight of them increases the desired longevity to infinity; after all, "ba" for eight sounds very similar to "fa" for success in Chinese. Bats are also regarded as a symbol of good luck in China because they sound like "fu" for blessing. Their red colour stands for abundance and happiness in life. The number five also refers to the five blessings: wealth, happiness, longevity, bliss and prosperity. So much colourful happiness is simply contagious. For me, at any rate, this favourite object is always a source of good humour.
Wibke Schrape, Curator, Head of the East Asia and Islamic Art Collection
Victor Vasarely, Plakat für Galerie Le Point Cardinal, 1964, © VG Bild-Kunst 2021
Poster for Le Point Cardinal Gallery
Victor Vasarely (1906-1997) is considered the founder of Op Art. His colourful illusions challenge our eyes, our brains: flickering forms, hypnotic images, pulsating patterns. In doing so, he makes use of medical and mathematical insights into perception and decisively shapes the dazzling era of the 1960s and 1970s. I particularly like his works in the transition from the representational to the abstract, like this one. Almost quietly, Vasarely dissolves our learned systems of signs and habits of seeing that lie like stencils on the world. Every day we have to deal with a flood of images, texts and information. Have to filter, focus, be efficient, need order and structure. In this image, too, our eye searches for familiarity, wants to interpret, understand. In vain. Yet liberating. Behind the individual forms, signs and colours, everything unspeakable and unintentional appears. A vast expanse opens up. You can't take your eyes off it, you look, come to rest, your thoughts wander.
Michaela Hille, Press Officer
Kanne in Bambusform, China, Kangxi-Ära (1662-1722), Porzellan mit Aufglasurfarben auf unglasiertem Scherben, Schenkung Harold und Ingeborg Hartog, MK&G
Jug in bamboo form
This jug in its nature-inspired form already fascinated me on my first tour of the exhibition "Made in China! Porcelain" exhibition. All its components - body, handle, spout and lid - are designed in the shape of a bamboo trunk. Even the lid is adorned with a short curved bamboo pole as a small handle. I imagine pouring tea with this pot. The feel must be very close to that of a bamboo. The colours also match the bamboo shape. The ceramist has painted the unglazed porcelain body with onglaze colours, which makes the colours stronger and more vibrant. Three colours - sancai in Chinese - were used for this glaze application: Yellow-Brown, Green and Blue, aptly named "Egg and Spinach" in English. The twelve bamboo stems of the vessel body vary in these colours and the individual sections show plants and birds drawn with fine black lines. Symbolically, the bamboo stands for long life and steadfastness, as it grows and flowers even in winter.
Katja Weingartshofer, Volunteer Education Department
Virgil Solis, Doppelpokal, Kupferstich, Nürnberg, um 1560, MK&G, Public Domain
Ornamental engraving of a double goblet
An engraving by the Nuremberg goldsmith Virgil Solis (1514 - 1562) dating from around 1560 is currently on display in the exhibition "Function and Diversity". The sheet shows a double goblet - a vessel that has an unusual shape - two goblets similar in form with the rims of the lips placed on top of each other so that the upper one serves as a lid for the lower one. The making of a goblet was one of the requirements of the master craftsman in many goldsmith's guilds, it was ascribed a role in wedding customs and often served as a representative gift. My attention is drawn not only to the simple, harmonious form of the goblet, which reveals the fine goldsmithing techniques and ornamental forms of the 16th century, but also to the function of the printed leaf itself. During the Renaissance, it served as a model for craftsmen and conveyed the most up-to-date stylistic forms. Later, in the 19th century, as a so-called ornamental engraving, it became the object of study and collection of many European schools of arts and crafts and museums. The founding director Justus Brinckmann created an imposing collection of the ornamental patterns, which still forms a valuable basis for museum work today.
Dr Joanna Kłysz-Hackbarth, Graphics and Posters Collection
Cocktailkleid, Yohji Yamamoto, Tokio, Herbst/Winter 1990/91, MK&G
Cocktail dress
This bright red dress with the asymmetrical hoop skirt is one of my personal favourites, because despite the signal colour and the unusual silhouette, it has a timeless elegance. It has features of the classic cocktail dress, such as a figure-hugging sleeveless bodice and a half-length skirt, and is undoubtedly in place for all social occasions that don't call for a long evening dress. Yohji Yamamoto spices up this type of western women's wardrobe with another quote from fashion history: the hoop skirt. By shifting the shapes, however, this one leaves the strict symmetry of the body axes. The result is a garment with a dynamic effect, as if caught by a gust of wind. In an interview in 1990, Yamamoto formulated his claim that his designs had to be wearable; only the use of them made prêt-à-porter clothes complete. They are not pure objects of art. With this dress, a donation from a private collection, the claim is fulfilled; it is extravagant and wearable at the same time.
Angelika Riley, former Curator Fashion and Textiles
2nd floor impressions
Benjamin Unterluggauer, Sitzmöbel „Rollercoaster“, 2023, Foto: Henning Rogge
Spiegel-Kantine, Verner Panton, Hamburg, 1969, MK&G
Green Street Stuhl, Entwurf: Gaetano Pesce, New York, 1987, Ausführung: Vitra GmbH, Schenkung: Dieter Paul & Kristian Templin, Hamburg / Swing Stuhl, Entwurf: Jutta & Herbert Ohl, Ulm, 1982, Ausführung: Rosenthal-Porzellan AG
Salzgefäss, Alexander Schönauer, Hamburg, 1902, Silber, MK&G, Foto: Henning Rogge
Entwurf für das Titelblatt von DER SPIEGEL, Heft Nr. 32, August 1988, MK&G
From Concept to Cover
Designs for DER SPIEGEL
“The wastebasket is a designer's best friend”, as the saying goes. Or: “Design is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration”. Both quips are particularly true in regard to weekly magazines. In a very short period of time, covers must be created that catch the eye, capture a concept and boost sales. From the 1990s, screen, mouse and software enter the picture - but most of the featured designs hail from the pre-digital era, when images were the result of drawing, painting, cutting and gluing. With a presentation of designs for the German news journal DER SPIEGEL, we offer insights into this inventive and sweat-fuelled process on the 2nd floor (next to the Spiegel-Canteen).
