Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum
Past exhibition
In 1968, German filmmaker Gerry Schum (1938–1973) establishes the Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum together with artist Ursula Wevers (1943). This ‘television gallery’ is not a physical space, but consists of broadcasts on German channels featuring film and video work by contemporary artists. It is a radically new way of reaching a wide audience directly in the living room and bypassing traditional art institutions, a tendency that becomes more widespread in the 1960s. The two broadcasts of the Fernsehgalerie are presented at the museum: Land Art and Identifications.
Television as an artistic medium
With his Fernsehgalerie, Schum offers young artists the chance to experiment with moving images, which is often not possible for them due to the high cost of the necessary equipment. The gallery's broadcasts are called Fernsehausstellungen (television exhibitions). Working closely with Schum, the cameraman and producer, the invited artists make autonomous works of art, created especially for television and existing only during the broadcast. This use of television as an artistic medium makes Schum a true pioneer.
Fernsehausstellung I & II
The first Fernsehausstellung by Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum is broadcast on 15 April 1969. Land Art presents the works of eight artists, including Dennis Oppenheim, Robert Smithson and Jan Dibbets. The broadcast features eight artistic interventions in the surrounding landscape, such as the Dutch coast and an American desert. The second Fernsehausstellung takes place on 30 November 1970. Called Identifications, it features work by 20 artists. The focus here is on performing an act. Reiner Ruthenbeck crumples black paper, Ulrich Rückriem unstacks blocks of stone and Mario Merz draws a spiral. In this way, Schum emphasises the unity between the artists and their work. In both broadcasts, Schum’s clean, simple camerawork is an essential part of the end result. Both were ultimately broadcast only once on German television.
Gerry Schum, Invitation LAND ART, Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum, Berlin, 1969, foto via AdA Invitations
