Der Pralinenmeister
Hans Haacke
1981
Der Pralinenmeister
Der Pralinenmeister
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Hans Haacke made institutional critique a central premise of his work. In many of his investigative projects – including Framing and Being Framed (1975), The Good Will Umbrella (1977), and Mobil Observations (1986) – he ...
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Der Pralinenmeister
Hans Haacke
1981
Cologne: Galerie Paul Maenz
Unpaginated [12 pages]
21 × 14.8 cm

Hans Haacke made institutional critique a central premise of his work. In many of his investigative projects – including Framing and Being Framed (1975), The Good Will Umbrella (1977), and Mobil Observations (1986) – he exposes the contradictions of a system in which corporate interests are legitimized through cultural patronage. Der Pralinenmeister (The Chocolate Master) follows the same logic of public exposure by targeting one of the most influential art collectors of the late twentieth century: Peter Ludwig.


 


Originally conceived for the West Art exhibition in Cologne in 1981 – but never shown there –  the project was first presented by Paul Maenz as a series of seven diptychs. Together, they revealed the stark contrast between the public glamour of art collecting and the corporate practices that underpin it, including labor exploitation, tax evasion, and the monopolization of cultural influence. Through meticulous research, Haacke demystifies Peter Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Museum, exposing the economic and political interests behind his public image as a cultural benefactor. The project was subsequently expanded into a second edition published by Art Metropole in 1982.


 


For decades, the project and its publication remained taboo in Cologne. The silence was broken in 2016, when the Ludwig Museum marked its fortieth anniversary through a group show (Wir nennen es Ludwig / We Call it Ludwig) questioning the mythology it had built around itself. Director Yilmaz Dziewior and the museum’s curatorial team invited 25 artists and collectives – including Ai Weiwei, Maria Eichhorn, the Guerrilla Girls, Candida Höfer, Alexandra Pirici & Manuel Pelmuș, and Rosemarie Trockel – to explore less-known aspects of the hosting institution. The group show marked a poetic and political turning point in the museum’s narrative. On this occasion, Haacke’s 1981 project resurfaced in Cologne after 35 years of absence.


 


Der Pralinenmeister is accompanied in the Metabooks collection by other investigative projects by Haacke, including Framing and Being Framed, Mobil Oil, and The Good Will Umbrella, which similarly reveal the social and political implications of corporate power and cultural patronage.

Cologne: Galerie Paul Maenz
Unpaginated [12 pages]
21 × 14.8 cm

Hans Haacke made institutional critique a central premise of his work. In many of his investigative projects – including Framing and Being Framed (1975), The Good Will Umbrella (1977), and Mobil Observations (1986) – he exposes the contradictions of a system in which corporate interests are legitimized through cultural patronage. Der Pralinenmeister (The Chocolate Master) follows the same logic of public exposure by targeting one of the most influential art collectors of the late twentieth century: Peter Ludwig.

 

Originally conceived for the West Art exhibition in Cologne in 1981 – but never shown there –  the project was first presented by Paul Maenz as a series of seven diptychs. Together, they revealed the stark contrast between the public glamour of art collecting and the corporate practices that underpin it, including labor exploitation, tax evasion, and the monopolization of cultural influence. Through meticulous research, Haacke demystifies Peter Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Museum, exposing the economic and political interests behind his public image as a cultural benefactor. The project was subsequently expanded into a second edition published by Art Metropole in 1982.

 

For decades, the project and its publication remained taboo in Cologne. The silence was broken in 2016, when the Ludwig Museum marked its fortieth anniversary through a group show (Wir nennen es Ludwig / We Call it Ludwig) questioning the mythology it had built around itself. Director Yilmaz Dziewior and the museum’s curatorial team invited 25 artists and collectives – including Ai Weiwei, Maria Eichhorn, the Guerrilla Girls, Candida Höfer, Alexandra Pirici & Manuel Pelmuș, and Rosemarie Trockel – to explore less-known aspects of the hosting institution. The group show marked a poetic and political turning point in the museum’s narrative. On this occasion, Haacke’s 1981 project resurfaced in Cologne after 35 years of absence.

 

Der Pralinenmeister is accompanied in the Metabooks collection by other investigative projects by Haacke, including Framing and Being Framed, Mobil Oil, and The Good Will Umbrella, which similarly reveal the social and political implications of corporate power and cultural patronage.

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Hans Haacke made institutional critique a central premise of his work. In many of his investigative projects – including Framing and Being Framed (1975), The Good Will Umbrella (1977), and Mobil Observations (1986) – he exposes the contradictions of a system in which corporate interests are legitimized through cultural patronage. Der Pralinenmeister (The Chocolate Master) follows the same logic of public exposure by targeting one of the most influential art collectors of the late twentieth century: Peter Ludwig.

 

Originally conceived for the West Art exhibition in Cologne in 1981 – but never shown there –  the project was first presented by Paul Maenz as a series of seven diptychs. Together, they revealed the stark contrast between the public glamour of art collecting and the corporate practices that underpin it, including labor exploitation, tax evasion, and the monopolization of cultural influence. Through meticulous research, Haacke demystifies Peter Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Museum, exposing the economic and political interests behind his public image as a cultural benefactor. The project was subsequently expanded into a second edition published by Art Metropole in 1982.

 

For decades, the project and its publication remained taboo in Cologne. The silence was broken in 2016, when the Ludwig Museum marked its fortieth anniversary through a group show (Wir nennen es Ludwig / We Call it Ludwig) questioning the mythology it had built around itself. Director Yilmaz Dziewior and the museum’s curatorial team invited 25 artists and collectives – including Ai Weiwei, Maria Eichhorn, the Guerrilla Girls, Candida Höfer, Alexandra Pirici & Manuel Pelmuș, and Rosemarie Trockel – to explore less-known aspects of the hosting institution. The group show marked a poetic and political turning point in the museum’s narrative. On this occasion, Haacke’s 1981 project resurfaced in Cologne after 35 years of absence.

 

Der Pralinenmeister is accompanied in the Metabooks collection by other investigative projects by Haacke, including Framing and Being Framed, Mobil Oil, and The Good Will Umbrella, which similarly reveal the social and political implications of corporate power and cultural patronage.

Cologne: Galerie Paul Maenz
Unpaginated [12 pages]
21 × 14.8 cm

Hans Haacke made institutional critique a central premise of his work. In many of his investigative projects – including Framing and Being Framed (1975), The Good Will Umbrella (1977), and Mobil Observations (1986) – he exposes the contradictions of a system in which corporate interests are legitimized through cultural patronage. Der Pralinenmeister (The Chocolate Master) follows the same logic of public exposure by targeting one of the most influential art collectors of the late twentieth century: Peter Ludwig.

 

Originally conceived for the West Art exhibition in Cologne in 1981 – but never shown there –  the project was first presented by Paul Maenz as a series of seven diptychs. Together, they revealed the stark contrast between the public glamour of art collecting and the corporate practices that underpin it, including labor exploitation, tax evasion, and the monopolization of cultural influence. Through meticulous research, Haacke demystifies Peter Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Museum, exposing the economic and political interests behind his public image as a cultural benefactor. The project was subsequently expanded into a second edition published by Art Metropole in 1982.

 

For decades, the project and its publication remained taboo in Cologne. The silence was broken in 2016, when the Ludwig Museum marked its fortieth anniversary through a group show (Wir nennen es Ludwig / We Call it Ludwig) questioning the mythology it had built around itself. Director Yilmaz Dziewior and the museum’s curatorial team invited 25 artists and collectives – including Ai Weiwei, Maria Eichhorn, the Guerrilla Girls, Candida Höfer, Alexandra Pirici & Manuel Pelmuș, and Rosemarie Trockel – to explore less-known aspects of the hosting institution. The group show marked a poetic and political turning point in the museum’s narrative. On this occasion, Haacke’s 1981 project resurfaced in Cologne after 35 years of absence.

 

Der Pralinenmeister is accompanied in the Metabooks collection by other investigative projects by Haacke, including Framing and Being Framed, Mobil Oil, and The Good Will Umbrella, which similarly reveal the social and political implications of corporate power and cultural patronage.

MORE BOOKS

Hans Haacke made institutional critique a central premise of his work. In many of his investigative projects – including Framing and Being Framed (1975), The Good Will Umbrella (1977), and Mobil Observations (1986) – he exposes the contradictions of a system in which corporate interests are legitimized through cultural patronage. Der Pralinenmeister (The Chocolate Master) follows the same logic of public exposure by targeting one of the most influential art collectors of the late twentieth century: Peter Ludwig.

 

Originally conceived for the West Art exhibition in Cologne in 1981 – but never shown there –  the project was first presented by Paul Maenz as a series of seven diptychs. Together, they revealed the stark contrast between the public glamour of art collecting and the corporate practices that underpin it, including labor exploitation, tax evasion, and the monopolization of cultural influence. Through meticulous research, Haacke demystifies Peter Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Museum, exposing the economic and political interests behind his public image as a cultural benefactor. The project was subsequently expanded into a second edition published by Art Metropole in 1982.

 

For decades, the project and its publication remained taboo in Cologne. The silence was broken in 2016, when the Ludwig Museum marked its fortieth anniversary through a group show (Wir nennen es Ludwig / We Call it Ludwig) questioning the mythology it had built around itself. Director Yilmaz Dziewior and the museum’s curatorial team invited 25 artists and collectives – including Ai Weiwei, Maria Eichhorn, the Guerrilla Girls, Candida Höfer, Alexandra Pirici & Manuel Pelmuș, and Rosemarie Trockel – to explore less-known aspects of the hosting institution. The group show marked a poetic and political turning point in the museum’s narrative. On this occasion, Haacke’s 1981 project resurfaced in Cologne after 35 years of absence.

 

Der Pralinenmeister is accompanied in the Metabooks collection by other investigative projects by Haacke, including Framing and Being Framed, Mobil Oil, and The Good Will Umbrella, which similarly reveal the social and political implications of corporate power and cultural patronage.

MORE BOOKS