Collaboration Peter Hill and J.J. Voss (Photographer)
S U P E R F I C T I O N S
Dr Willi Bongard
German art academic. In recent years there have been two
yardsticks against which nascent futurologists have measured themselves. One
is Dr Willi Bongard in Germany whose 'Top 100' contemporary artists was published
in a broadsheet called art aktuell from 1971 until his tragic death in a car
crash in 1985. (see Artscribe, Nov-Dec 1990, p 67).
The other is Dr Harald Fraem of
The Museum of Contemporary Ideas whose 'Top 100 Art Words and Phrases' is published annually.
(see Flash Art, No 159, Summer 1991, p153 The Stastistics of Artspeak )
Dr Willi Bongard had a pseudo-scientific formula for ranking contemporary artists.
He awarded points ranging from two to sixteen for certain achievements ranging from
a review in the magazine Artforum to being purchased by the Saatchi collection or
invited to exhibit at either the documenta or the Venice Biennale.
