Bauhaus and documenta are two globally successful cultural brands that stand for a cosmopolitan, innovative, and modern Germany. Created against a backdrop of civil rupture, they both exemplify the emancipatory power of art and culture. Considering them in tandem reveals their similarities and differences, which to some extent are complimentary: articles of mass production and everyday use versus encounters with unique artworks, the idea of universalism on one hand and a diversity of experiences on the other, the design of consumer goods contrasted with the criticism of capitalist consumption. Through critical essays and selected original material, the publication addresses fundamental yet often overlooked dimensions of these two cultural brands, which are currently the subject of a controversial debate. The book will be released for the exhibition of the same name in the Neue Galerie Kassel, May 24 to September 8, 2019.

With texts by Gerda Breuer, Bazon Brock, Kathryn M. Floyd, Andreas Gardt, Walter Grasskamp, Martin Groh, Birgit Jooss, Christiane Keim, Harald Kimpel, Gila Kolb, Julia Meer, Philipp Oswalt, Anna Rühl, Nora Sternfeld, Daniela Stöppel, Annette Tietenberg, Fred Turner, Daniel Tyradellis, Wolfgang Ullrich, and Frank Werner, among others.