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A. Zeese:
"Strategic networks: The architects and artists collective as a nucleus of Modernism. From the Nazarenzes to Team X.";
Vortrag: Teamwork. The art of joining, KÉK: Kortárs építészeti központ, Budapest (Hungarian Centre for Contemporary Architecture); 10.12.2019 - 11.12.2019.

Reflecting the aspect of teamwork in artistic life, one hypothesis directly came to my mind: Is Modernism
in its widest sense a product of teamwork? And, in fact, could the Modern Movement of the 1920s emerge
only by the help of groups working, thinking and publishing together?
Indeed, there is strong evidence for such a perception - not only in architecture, but also and above all in
painting, sculpture and literature. Starting with the Nazarenes, young artists having a similar novel
approach to art, the phenomenon of joining forces can be traced as an incubator of innovation since the
beginning of the 19th century - not to mention earlier enterprises since the Renaissance.
The paper will discuss artistic networks as a central precondition for the birth of Modernism using the
example of associations, societies and groups in Vienna, Berlin and London. Thereby, the main focus will be
laid on groups of architects of the 1920s and 1930s such as the "Ring", the "Kollektiv für sozialistisches
Bauen" (Berlin) and the "MARS Group" (London) - all of them, again, being part of international
collaborations such as CIAM.
The analysis of these groups, at least, will result in three propositions highlighting the recurring strategic
nature of artistic networks. In fact, most of them were marked by a twofold character securing mutual
affirmation against the mainstream on the one hand and attempting a prospective takeover of the artistic
scene on the other. To achieve this, it will become transparent that reciprocal support, artisanal exchange,
theorizing and promotion mostly served as the principal means

Teanwork, Künstlergruppe, Architektengruppe, Kollektiv für sozialistisches Bauen, Ring, MARS Group, Team X