Things We Leave Behind

The estate had already been part of the museum’s collection for just under ten years and had since passed through many hands. However, no one had yet assessed and catalogued the entire estate. An assortment of boxes was stored in our depository, binders with photos on our servers documented the collection, hundreds of documents shed light on its history and the bureaucratic processes which accompanied it. Although a lot had been done already, the actual museological processing of the objects hadn’t yet begun. We still had to meticulously index the individual works in the museum database, conduct a new conservatorial assessment, determine the appropriate storage conditions for the objects, and take professional photos of each one.

The Bauhaus-Archiv is currently closed, which means that many of our activities are happening behind the scenes. That said, many activities at museums – even when they are open – are always invisible to the visiting public. For example, many people have no idea what museologists, conservators and archivists do every day. We want to make these processes visible in the exhibition Unpacking Jak R. Maier. The visitors can discover and explore the estate together with us and draw their own conclusions. During the exhibition, we want to let them experience the different steps of processing an estate and thereby make the inner workings of the museum transparent.

The estate of Jak R. Maier also confronted us with these questions. Maier’s earliest works in our collection date to the 1960s. These are his artistic studies. Maier painted and produced graphic works and prints. But above all, he produced metal sculptures. He photographically documented his designs, his finished works and working processes. Jak R. Maier wanted to be seen. He didn’t want to be forgotten. He was a talented artist. During his lifetime, his works were exhibited and some of his sculptures were installed in public space. He taught at an art academy and shared his knowledge. But if you searched for his name today, you would hardly find any information, no entries in artist directories, hardly a trace of his work in art archives. That is why the exhibition was important to us, so that we remember Jak R. Maier and generate a new visibility for this (almost) forgotten artist.

During our meetings and while examining the objects, we often discussed our own estates and how we personally approached this topic. We discovered how universal and yet how personal such questions are. We all own things which mean something to us or have inherent value. But what happens to these things when we no longer exist? Do we leave them to someone, and if so, will others value them like we do? How many of us have already considered such questions? Or are we too uncomfortable talking about our mortality even though death awaits us all? We often try to suppress the thought that we too will die someday. Discussing the topic, however, can be healthy.

With the exhibition Unpacking Jak R. Maier we would like to inspire our visitors to become acquainted with Jak R. and Marianne Maier and engage with various aspects of the exhibition.