(Sonja Eismann)

Visibility

Who is visible? Who remains invisible? These questions not only determine who is made socially and politically relevant, but also who is given power – and with it money, opportunities for agency, fame, and much more. In modern art collections, such as that of the Brücke Museum, one population group in particular is made visible, and consequently their view of the world: white, Western, and – in this case – dead men. They portray people who are not white or male: as objects in their works. The perspectives of people who diverge from this category (or are read as divergent) – such as women, Black people, or individuals with disabilities – are still rarely seen in museums and public collections. And if they are, they are often exoticised as “the other”, even here. On the one hand, this is a way of fetishising the particularity of their situation, and on the other hand, it is used to demonstrate how cosmopolitan and receptive mostly white institutions are to diverse perspectives. More →