After decades of prominent display at the Theater Aachen, a bust of renowned conductor Herbert von Karajan has recently been removed from the venue's art collection. The sculpture is now on display at the Centre Charlemagne as part of an exhibition, but only half of it is visible to visitors. This partial presentation has generated intense criticism from various quarters.
For approximately 40 years, Karajan's likeness held a prominent position in the theater's foyer, serving as a tribute to the former General Music Director of Aachen. However, by the end of 2023, the bust of Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) had been banished from the theater's art collection, marking the end of an era for the controversial musical figure's presence in the venue.
The sculpture, now described as a "corpus delicti" or evidence of wrongdoing, has found a new temporary home at the Centre Charlemagne, where it has been deliberately repositioned. Currently, only the back of Karajan's head is visible to exhibition visitors, a curatorial decision that has been described as the bust being "submerged" or partially hidden from view.
This artistic choice to display only half of the bust has not been well received by all observers. The partial concealment of the controversial conductor's image appears to be a compromise between completely removing the artwork and maintaining its full display, but this middle-ground approach has generated significant backlash from critics and visitors alike.
The photograph credited to Andreas Schmitter and Matthias Hinrichs shows the stark contrast between the bust's former prominent placement in the theater foyer and its current partial display at the Centre Charlemagne. The image captures both the historical significance of the piece and the contemporary debate surrounding how cultural institutions should handle artworks connected to controversial figures from the past.
