
The Cosmos of Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner is one of the most influential and controversial reformers of the 20th century. In the large special exhibition “The Cosmos of Rudolf Steiner,” the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart presented a comprehensive view of Steiner’s cultural and art-historical impact.
Rudolf Steiner – Alchemy of the Everyday
Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) founded the anthroposophical movement, initiated the Waldorf schools, promoted alternative medicine, argued for sustainable farming, designed exceptional pieces of furniture, and coined a building style that anticipates contemporary architecture. With historical documents, furniture, films, and architectural models from Steiner’s time the exhibition part designed by the Vitra Design Museum showed how deeply Steiner’s approach is rooted and that we find his holistic way of thinking in many areas of society today. The majority of loaned objects came from the Rudolf Steiner Archive and the art collection of the Goetheanum, which provided essential research assistance in preparations for the exhibition.
Rudolf Steiner and Contemporary Art
Rudolf Steiner, an artist himself, impacted artists who were his contemporaries such as Vasily Kandinsky, and his influence can still be felt today: For example, Joseph Beuys studied Steiner’s writings very thoroughly, and we likewise find references to Steiner’s ideas in the work of many recent artists. These contemporary artists do not, however, see themselves as followers of Steiner’s teachings; instead their works are rather to be comprehended as reactions to a globalized, highly technological, and specialized world. This part of the exhibition, developed together with the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, showed works by the contemporary artists Jan Albers, Joseph Beuys, Tony Cragg, Olafur Eliasson, Helmut Federle, Manuel Graf, Katharina Grosse, Anish Kapoor, Kalin Lindena, Simon Dybbroe Møller, Carsten Nicolai, Giuseppe Penone, Bernd Ribbeck and Claudia Wieser.
Curators Markus Brüderlin (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg), Ulrike Groos, Matteo Kries (Vitra Design Museum), Markus Mascher (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg), Simone Schimpf
In cooperation with Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Vitra Design Museum
Sponsored by Kulturstiftung des Bundes, WALA, Weleda, Mahle Stiftung, Iona Stichting und Alison und Peter Klein Stiftung
Further station Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (May 13 – October 3, 2010)
Catalogs and Books
Rudolf Steiner und die Kunst der Gegenwart
Edited by Markus Brüderlin and Ulrike Groos
With texts by Aleida Assmann, Gottfried Boehm, Olaf Breidbach, Bazon Brock, Holger Broeker, Markus Brüderlin, Walter Kugler, Christa Lichtenstern, Veit Loers, Ulrich Loock, Markus Mascher, Peter Meyer-Dohm, Wolfgang Müller-Pietralla, Konrad Schily, Simone Schimpf, Alexandra von Stosch, Barbara Vinken, Julia Voss, Götz W. Werner and Beat Wyss
Hardcover with dust jacket, 224 pages with many images, German
DuMont Buchverlag
ISBN 978-38321-9277-8
29 € (Museum), 39,95 € (Book store)
Andreas Neider, Harald Schukraft: Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart
Published by Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
Hardcover, 168 pages with approx. 100 images, German
Belser Verlag
ISBN 978-3-7630-2585-5
19,90 € (Museum)
Rudolf Steiner. Die Alchemie des Alltags
Edited by Mateo Kries and Alexander von Vegesack
With texts by Julia Althaus, Markus Brüderlin, Reinhold J. Fäth, Manuel Gogos, Mateo Kries, Walter Kugler, Wolfgang Pehnt, Pieter van der Ree, Andreas Ruby, Philip Ursprung and Walter Zumdick
Bound in cloth with dust jacket, 336 pages, German
Vitra Design Museum
ISBN 978-3931936853
79,90 €
You can order the catalog bestellungen [at] kunstmuseum-stuttgart [dot] de (by mail) according to our terms and conditions. After placing your order an invoice will be sent to you. We will ship as soon as we receive your payment. Shipping costs within Germany: 4,90 €