Rows of Cabbage, 2007

This edition refers to Lawrence Weiner’s large-scale installation on the Haus der Kunst’s frieze that reads ROWS OF CABBAGES MARKED WITH RED INK AND BURIED TOMORROW/REIHEN VON KOHL MARKIERT MIT ROTER TINTE UND MORGEN VERGRABEN. Commissioned by Adolf Hitler in 1933, the museum was the first in a series of buildings intended to promote National Socialist ideals. Installing his work in this city and institution challenged Weiner not only to mark the building’s political history and its ties to the destruction of avant-garde culture but also to subvert the hidden agenda of the commission – using art to fulfill Germany’s reconciliatory memory culture. His enigmatic, almost grotesque statement functioned like an oracle, drawing viewers into its riddle. As in all his work, Weiner’s language granted agency, encouraging audiences to confront responsibility and gradually dismantle their initial, collective repressive incomprehension.