The Art Newspaper

“Specialisation is a problem of our time”

The Moderna Museet’s new director, Daniel Birnbaum, on tearing down the walls between art, literature and philosophy

By Clemens Bomsdorf. Museums, Issue 217, October 2010
Published online: 07 October 2010

Polymath Birnbaum and, right, his new home from home

Daniel Birnbaum, who was born and grew up in Stockholm, returns next month as the Moderna Museet’s new director. He leaves the Städelschule in Frankfurt, which he has directed—along with its Portikus exhibition space—since 2001, while co-curating biennials around the world, most notably Venice in 2009. A curator-philosopher—his study of otherness in the writings of Edmund Husserl was republished in 2008 in an edition that included art by Olafur Eliasson—Birnbaum reveals how he will fill the late Pontus Hultén’s shoes, the director who first brought the Swedish national modern art museum to international attention.

The Art Newspaper: Why move back to Stockholm? You must have received tempting offers to direct elsewhere?

Daniel Birnbaum: A few institutions have approached me in recent times [but] heading the Moderna Museet was very tempting. It is one of the most elegant museums in the world. Take its location or the quality of its collection—Moderna’s collection is not huge, but consists of important works. The museum does not have just any Matisse, but the Moroccan Landscape [1911-13].

TAN: It was said that you were the government’s first choice. Does that mean there was a “Birnbaum bonus”—could you negotiate an increased budget?

DB: No, the museum is already well positioned with regards to finance. Of course, you could always spend more, but Moderna can create exhibitions of the highest international level.

TAN: The Moderna Museet became internationally fam­ous under Pontus Hultén, who organised shows with Niki de Saint Phalle and Andy Warhol, among others. Do you want to restore the museum to that league?

DB: That period was special. Shortly after the war Sweden was probably the richest and most progressive country in the world. You cannot change the whole international situation to get those conditions again. Of course, I want to make Moderna heard and seen. My predecessor Lars Nittve did so, getting a lot of attention with his show “Implosion” in 1987.

TAN: You are interested not only in visual art, but also in literature and philosophy. Will we see more interdisciplinary projects at Moderna Museet?

DB: Specialisation is a problem of our time. There are many artists who work in different fields. A big museum such as the Moderna can tear down the walls between art and literature, for example, and I want to try such things.

TAN: American art is one of your areas of focus and you have spent almost a decade working in Germany. Will artists from the those countries play a more important role?

DB: The links to the States are already quite strong; it is not by accident that Robert Rausch­enberg designed the museum’s logo. When it comes to Ger­many things are different. Important artists such as Richter or Beuys are represented in the collection but considering the geographical proximity of Sweden and Germany and the importance Germany’s economy has for Sweden, the ties are not as close as one could expect in its cultural life. I would like to show more German art. Like almost all big, European museums, Moderna is Eurocentric. We all know there are important artists in China, India and the Middle East—showing them more is something that we should be working on. Hultén raised money for acquiring American art for Moderna. A similar project focusing on China or India would make the collection more relevant for the 21st century.

TAN: What kind of exhibitions are you planning?

DB: We are thinking about a show on performance and painting. [In 1998] Paul Schimmel organised “Out of Action” in Los Angeles, [however], ours should be less historical. In Venice I showed the Japanese group Gutai, which I could well imagine bringing together with [the] Zero [foundation] from Düsseldorf. And in 2011 it is 40 years since the fifth Situationist International meeting took place in Gothenburg. That would be a good reason for an exhibition looking into its legacy.

TAN: Under Lars Nittve, the Moderna expanded, opening a branch in Malmö, Sweden’s second city. Would you like to open one in, say, Gothenburg?

DB: I’d rather choose New Delhi…No, I do not have any plans like that. I am happy with Malmö. It has an excellent space and its main exhibition room with its high ceilings [allows] productions that would be more difficult in Stockholm.

TAN: What about organising a show with works from one private collection?

DB: There is no such tradition at Moderna and I do not think we need it. It is different when it comes to single works borrowed from a collector. Private collectors are important and so are their spaces. As in Berlin, in Stockholm collectors added to the art scene of the city. Stockholm would be different without the Bonniers Konsthall, Jarla Partilager and Magasin 3.

TAN: Publically funded art institutions in Sweden now have to pay exhibiting artists. No other country in European has done this. Do you support this policy?

DB: Paying is a way of honouring. In Venice nobody says “no” when asked to exhibit despite no money being paid, but a participation in the Biennale increases the artist’s market value and pays off in this way. For those who are already very present in the market, the same holds when participating in a show at Moderna. But then there are those interesting artists, who do almost un­sellable works: for them such a fee might be a necessity. In addition, everybody else gets paid—the curator, the guards, the craftsmen and the director. So, it is a bit strange when only the artist doesn’t.

TAN: Sweden’s state-run museums used to be free, but now they charge? Should free entry be reintroduced?

DB: Moderna is aiming at attracting a huge [audience] and it is a matter of fact that more people come to exhibitions when entrance is free. But that also means reduced income, so a solution has to be found. In my view, the collection of a state-funded museum belongs to the public and therefore the collection, at least, should be able to be entered without paying.

TAN: How long do you expect to stay at the Moderna?

DB: The contract is for six years and can be extended. Six years is the time span you need to make changes in a museum.

TAN: While director of the Städelschule, you co-curated Venice, the first Olafur Eliasson retrospective and many other exhibitions. Will you continue to curate?

DB: I expect to curate only a little [if at all] outside Moderna Museet. The picture might be different when it comes to being a member of a jury, as this is less time-consuming. My hope is to find more time again to write.