N 2007, the National Museum in Warsaw exhibited the part of its collec

Part I  ·  Moving People
number of etchings were shown at a joint art exhibition in Sofia. The size of 
the graphic prints in the exhibition halls grew bigger.
On the international scene, at the Biennial in San Paolo, Panayotov re-
ceived a diploma for 
Head, done with a litho-etching technique. He also par-
ticipated in the international graphic arts biennials in Ljubljana (1963, 1967) 
and Krakow (1966, 1968). Stoev was a regular participant in the biennials 
in Ljubljana (1963, 1965, 1967) and Krakow (1966, 1968). Skorchev first ap-
peared on the international scene a bit later, in 1969, and in 1970 he was 
awarded a gold medal at the Second International Graphic Arts Biennial in 
Florence.
The graphic art works of the above-mentioned artists from Bulgar-
ia excluded mimetic representation, but not figurative representation. They 
seemed not to have felt the need to radicalize the abstraction. In graphic art 
the impact of the gesture, of the body, the creation of the print as an object 
was different from that in painting. The creation of the matrix and the mak-
ing of the print were analytical activities, divided in stages and abstracted as 
gestures from the surface, created as a result, of the graphic sheet.
In Panayotov’s landscapes and “terrains,” done as intaglio prints in 1965–
66
714
 (and later as series of variations), the print creates a texture, complex 
color spots, and intense forms. The graphic work has a strong impact with 
its rhythm, with the deep black and dazzling white cuts, with the tension 
between the neutral sheet and the repeatedly corroded plate, which trans-
forms the paper. His works show figurative elements, but the materiality of 
the prints has been abstracted from them. The eyes are tempted to get a close-
up. The tactile sensations, caused by the color, spot and texture, lead us to 
become “optically unaware.”
715
 The dramaticism of the image lies in the re-
lationship/clash of the positive/negative; in the harmony/juxtaposition of 
forms, lines, and colors; in the preservation/deletion of traces. There is no his-
tory, subject or detail that is susceptible to a verbal narrative. There is a clear 
horizon and substances reminding us of rocky surfaces and soil. Orange-red 
inks erupt like lava. It is not the object but the spot that matters, with its col-
714  Two of them, done as color etching and aquatint, were presented at the International Graphic Arts Bienni-
al in Ljubljana in 1967, and another one at the International Graphic Arts Biennial in Krakow in 1968.
715  The term was used by Walter Benjamin in “The Work of Art in the Age of Technological Reproduction” 
(1936). 
or, texture, and relations. The stimuli, as before, in the early works of the art-
ist, boil down to impressions and states caused by the tangible reality, but 
they seem to have been mapped by the print in color, light, and tactility. “The 
graphic moment” turns into one of meaning.
Is the question of the essence of the print, of the figurative and the ab-
stract, of materiality and meaning an aspect of the modernist paradigm? Are 
these problems universal, deprived of social and local dimensions? Is it suffi-
cient to interpret Panayotov’s works or those by any of the above-mentioned 
Bulgarian artists in the common European perspective, or in the cultural 
context of the society of that time in Bulgaria—communist/socialist? I am 
aware of the “dual” presence of the works—in the closed locality and in the 
open environment of the international biennials. Can we then consider a du-
ality of meanings?
The modernist paradigm—transforming the form and the work’s mate-
riality itself into meaning—began to be perceived as conservative and even 
retrograde in Western Europe and the United States in the 1960s. In Bul-
garia, as elsewhere in the “socialist camp,” the study of one’s own expressive 
means—of graphic or any other arts—at the end of the 1950s and 1960s, as 
mentioned at the beginning, had not only artistic but also political dimen-
sions. However, the political aspect is situational and today it is difficult to 
give an account of how and why the complication of the print techniques, the 
denial of the narrative, and the interest in abstraction were perceived as an 
emancipation from ideological power.
716
 The missing art of the resistance was 
compensated for by universal and antinarrative images.
The founding of the International Graphic Arts Biennial in Varna in 1981 
confirmed the role of this kind of forum in the contacts of the Bulgarian art 
milieu abroad during the early period of almost complete isolation. The Bi-
ennial in Varna became possible due to the contacts and long-standing ex-
perience of the Bulgarian artists from graphic arts biennials in Europe and 
elsewhere. Although it was a bit late with regard to the common interest in 
graphic arts, later than its peak, and away from the contacts between the al-
716  I cannot retain myself from recalling the famous lines of Jaroslav Hašek, the name of the political party 
founded by his character, the Good Soldier Švejk: “The Party of Moderate Progress within the Bounds of 
the Law.” This expression became a folklore refrain in Bulgaria as well as a humorous explanation of any 
nonradical attempt at emancipation from the constraints of ideological dogma.

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Part I  ·  Moving People
ternative art milieus in the communist countries, the Graphic Arts Biennial 
in Varna was the first and only forum in Bulgaria from the time of the rule of 
the Communist Party that presented a wide range of artistic tendencies and 
artists from Cuba to Japan, without proclaimed thematic and form and style 
restrictions.
717
717  The other international forum from this period was the Engaged Painting Biennial in Sofia.
R
 
ostock’s Kunsthalle, a 1969 building in the international style, has been 
preserved in almost all details until today and—as will be shown—can be 
seen as the most important representational remnant of the Biennale der 
Ostseeländer
 (Biennial of the neighboring countries of the Baltic Sea).
Kunsthalle Rostock owes its existence to this GDR international arts ex-
hibition, which has temporarily also been called the Biennale der Ostseesta-
aten (Biennial of the neighboring states of the Baltic Sea)
. The exhibition was 
the cultural core of the Ostseewoche
. Between 1965 “and 1989 it showed ex-
hibits from all neighboring countries of the Baltic Sea. Themed “
Die Ostsee 
muss ein Meer des Friedens sein” (The Baltic Sea has to be a sea of peace), the 
festival week (Ostseewoche) that had taken place since 1958 united cultural 
events as well as sports, sciences, and political activities and advertised inter-
national cooperation in the Baltic Sea area.
It is remarkable that although the Biennale der Ostseeländer has been 
cited repeatedly in recent research, there is hardly any connected research to 
be found. Existing material for this topic can be roughly divided into two 
Elke Neumann
25
The Biennale der Ostseeländer:  
The GDR’s Main International Arts Exhibition

334
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2. The Moscow Underground Art Scene…
Part I  ·  Moving People
parts. There is a very big stack of files from the archive of the Kunsthalle 
Rostock, which is mainly held at the Archiv der Hansestadt Rostock (AHR) 
and at the Landesarchiv Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Greifswald. The pri-
mary sources are very heterogeneous. Besides unpublished archive material 
there are a number of contemporary publications that focus on the political 
importance of the Ostseewoche. One example is the brochure 
Ostsee—Meer 
des Friedens by Gerhard Reintanz (1960). Other central sources are the cata-
logs of all thirteen 
Biennalen, which are accessible in original versions. Little 
research has been carried out using these materials regarding the Biennale 
der Ostseeländer, even though they have been used in part for a small num-
ber of essays on the Kunsthalle in 
Ein Rückblick: 25 Jahre Kunsthalle Ros-
tock from 1994.
718
 They were also the basis for my own research in 2007 for 
the Magisterarbeit “Die Biennale der Ostseeländer in Rostock 1965–1969. 
Eine Rekonstruktion mit politischen Dimensionen.”
719
 This article scruti-
nizes the first three 
Biennalen and outlined their organizational and institu-
tional structure. The reconstruction of the exhibition showed the possibili-
ties that were hiding within this material and that will now be investigated 
for the doctoral dissertation with the title: “Art for Politics—Political Art? 
The Biennale der Ostseeländer
—The GDR’s Main International Arts Exhi-
bition and Its Dimensions for External and Cultural Policy.”
Considering the Baltic Sea as a connection—as the 
Ostseewochen between 
1958 and 1974 did—the stretch of water connected seven countries: the GDR, 
Poland, the USSR, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and the Federal Republic of 
Germany. However, during the Biennale der Ostseeländer these countries 
were also joined by Norway and Iceland, which was due to the strong connec-
tions between the Scandinavian countries.
The Baltic Sea neighbors represented different political concepts and forms 
of government; their borders were not only territorial but also of immense po-
litical importance. Because of the developments during the Cold War, postwar 
politics up until the late 1960s mainly focused on external policy. The dissocia-
tion of the political systems was increased by the Federal Republic’s Hallstein 
Doctrine, which isolated the GDR politically for many years. Hence, in its ear-
ly years the Biennale
 took place in a country, which for many of the participat-
ing states was actually nonexistent. On the other side the GDR increased its 
efforts to establish itself internationally and aim for friendly relations as a ba-
sis of future acknowledgement. Due to the worsening economic conditions in 
the GDR, it was especially difficult to maintain initial economic contacts with 
nonsocialist countries. This is why friendly relations in scientific and cultural 
fields grew more important. The Ostseewoche tried to offer several points of 
interest and to create links abroad through various cultural forms. However, 
it was not only the foreign political aims that were crucial; the importance for 
domestic policy cannot be underestimated. According to Lu Seegers: 
718  Angela Hofmann, ed., 
Ein Rückblick. 25 Jahre Kunsthalle Rostock. Bestandskatalog Malerei (Rostock: Kun-
sthalle, 1994).
719  Elke Neumann, “Die Biennale der Ostseeländer in Rostock 1965–1969. Eine Rekonstruktion mit poli-
tischen Dimensionen” (Magisterarbeit, TU Berlin, Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, 2007).
Figure 25.1. 
Hubert Link, Rostock, Opening Biennale der Ostseestaaten, July 1969, 
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H0706-0001-016.

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2. The Moscow Underground Art Scene…
Part I  ·  Moving People
In addition to the general foreign policy goals of the Ostseewoche, its suc-
cessful completion under the leadership of the SED not only consolidat-
ed the young republic, but also strengthened the general awareness of the 
GDR people of their state and the identification of the citizen with the 
“fatherland GDR.”
720
The Ostseewoche—and with it the Biennale—were important symbols 
for the achievements of the young socialist republic. Contemporarily, Ros-
tock was beyond the cultural centers of the GDR. Still, the city offered all the 
necessary conditions for establishing an exhibition of this size. Rostock’s de-
velopment toward a major city following socialist ideals
721
 and its infrastruc-
tural formation
722
 offered an excellent framework for events during the Ost-
seewoche. In addition to strivings for external recognition, the theme of the 
Ostseewoche was the goal of peace in the Baltic Sea region. This peace pol-
icy was heavily promoted and—despite international skepticism toward the 
USSR and its political brother the GDR—it resonated with the Zeitgeist.
Of all the cultural events during the Ostseewoche, only the pop music 
festival and the theater festival in Rostock caught the public’s eye, thanks to 
their size and internationality. The Biennale der Ostseeländer was the most 
important event for cultural exchange in the area of fine arts with the Baltic 
Sea neighbors.
Bildende Kunst an der Ostsee, the exhibition which has been part of the 
cultural program of the Ostseewoche
 since 1960, was the origin of the Bien-
nale der Ostseeländer,
 which was opened for the first time in 1965. This in-
ternational arts exhibition moved into the government’s focus and was offi-
cially upgraded following a 
Beschluss des Ministerrates from 28 May 1964. It 
720  Lu Seegers, “Die Zukunft unserer Stadt ist bereits projektiert. Die 750-Jahrfeier Rostocks im Rahmen der 
Ostseewoche 1968,” in 
Inszenierte Einigkeit. Herrschaftsrepräsentationen in DDR-Städten, ed. Adelheid 
von Saldern (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2003), 68.
721  Due to the law for the buildup of the GDR’s cities and the capital Berlin (
Aufbaugesetz) dating from 6 Sep-
tember 1950, Rostock received the status of 
Aufbaugebiet and with this came special support for rebuilding 
the city. The law “
Gesetz über die weitere Demokratisierung des Aufbaus und der Arbeitsweise der staatlichen 
Organe in den Ländern der DDR” from 23 July 1952 marked the reformation of the GDR’s five counties 
into fourteen boroughs. This made Rostock the capital of the corresponding borough.
722  The city’s harbor was built as the country’s only overseas port from 1957. This supported Rostock’s growth 
and was not only accompanied by a reformation of domestic housing, but also by 
Gesellschaftsbauten as the 
restaurant Teepott (1968), the multipurpose hall Lütten Klein (1968) and the Kunsthalle (1969), the GDR’s 
first newly built museum.
was supposed to grow by “1965 into a representative Biennial for realistic art 
of the neighboring states of the Baltic Sea with an international jury under 
the political and artistic responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and the or-
ganizational accountability of the borough.”
723
The targets set by the 
Ministerratsbeschluss for the conception of the Bien-
nale der Ostseeländer can be summed up in three major points:
A representative international jury should work on the realization of the 
Biennale. It was an aim to present “all realistic movements from Baltic Sea 
countries” and the 
Ministerrat insisted on an appropriate spatial setting. The 
lack of adequate rooms in Rostock led to plans for the GDR’s first newly built 
museum as early as 1964, following these targets.
Also, the parameter that an “international jury under the political and 
artistic responsibility of the Ministry for Culture” should work on the ex-
hibition could be fulfilled. Even though from today’s perspective we cannot 
know whether the initial plan was to leave decisions about single exhibits to 
the members of the committee, as became usual procedure in later years. The 
primary sources have not offered any explicit insight into this issue yet. Prac-
tically, during the first three 
Biennalen the choice of the exhibits was made 
by the members of the committee of each country, which gave them a great 
deal of freedom. This freedom to show artistic variety was practiced during 
all three 
Biennalen, even though the initial concept had a different objective. 
The July 1964 decision of the committee of the Biennale der Ostseeländer 
stated in Article 1: “The committee members are committed to acquiring the 
best artists to participate in the Biennial. The Biennial should become a cen-
tral exhibition of the most interesting artworks, in particular of the realistic 
movements in the states around the Baltic Sea.”
724
The 
Ministerrat’s decision also stated that it “ist Vorsorge zu treffen, die 
Biennale zu einer Ausstellung aller realistischen Strömungen in den Ost-
seeländern zu gestalten.”
725
 Following this, realistic movements were shown 
in all of the exhibitions, however they were not the only exhibits.
Comparing the Biennale
 to Dresden’s Deutsche Kunstausstellung, it is 
clear that the former was less than half as big as the latter, even when taking 
723  Beschluss des Ministerrates no. 16/16/64 (28 May 1964).
724  Hansestadt Rostock Archive Bestand 2.1.13.4 Band 157. Beschlussprotokoll Kühlungsborn (8 July 1964): 2.
725  Beschluss des Ministerrates no. 16/16/64 (28 May 1964).

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the numbers of artists exhibited during the 1960s into consideration. Still, 
the Biennale der Ostseeländer
 showed artists and pieces of art that were never 
exhibited in Dresden. It displayed works from the 
Ostblock as well as from the 
capitalist countries neighboring the Baltic Sea, thus offering a unique view of 
contemporary art. Despite the predominant realism, the proven part of ab-
stract pieces underlines the Biennale’s special role. The collections curated by 
the participating countries brought a greater variety of art to Rostock than 
would have been tolerated by a national jury.
After a start with difficult surroundings and immense efforts in the rooms 
of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Biennale der Ostseeländer was soon 
moved and found a new home with international appeal in the newly opened 
Kunsthalle
 (1969).
Besides the spatial situation, the hosts were also looking for a profession-
al approach in other areas. The high quality of the catalogs, which were diffi-
cult to produce, underlined the exhibition’s importance. The invitations sent 
to the guests and the central role of the committee, which hosted representa-
tives of each of the neighboring countries, complied with international con-
ventions, even though the costs were immense. However, despite the inter-
national level of the exhibition, the Biennale only slowly gained appreciation 
and support from the neighboring countries’ official institutions, which was 
mainly due to the political situation.
The year 1969, the opening year of Rostock’s Kunsthalle, was a milestone 
in the exhibition’s history. The spatial changes and the integration of the Bi-
ennale der Ostseeländer into an institution had been planned since 1964 and 
meant an important professionalization, which improved the exhibition’s im-
age. The influence on the collections should not be underestimated since the 
Kunsthalle being the GDR’s first newly built museum raised interest even 
across borders. Moving into the Kunsthalle, a building dedicated to the Bien-
nale, the exhibition overcame the status of being a 
Sonderausstellung. For ex-
ample, the new building made it possible to show pieces of work by single art-
ists in special exhibitions even after the Biennale.
Due to the large number of artists
726
—435—involved in the first three ex-
hibitions until 1969, the central aspect of the artists’ networking and the re-
ception of single exhibits has not been researched extensively. One example 
of the artistic positions to be found at the Biennale der Ostseeländer and its 
connected political specialities is the artist Dieter Roth (1930–1998).
According to the catalog of the 3rd Biennale der Ostseestaaten
: “Diet-
er Rot, born in Reykavik in 1930,” contributed six graphics to Iceland’s col-
lection: 
Fortsetzungsgeschichte (1968), Thomkinspatent (1968), Reliefbüste des 
Dichters (1968), Landschaft (1968), Sonnenuntergang (1968), and Insel (1968). 
The description of the working techniques
727
—
Siebdruck und Kakao (silk-
screen and cacao),
 Sieb druck und Schimmel (silkscreen and mold), Schokolad-
en-Grafik (chocolate graphic), Käse-Grafik (cheese graphic) and Wurst-Grafik 
(sausage graphic)
—do demand attention, however.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hanover-born artist whose full 
name was Karl-Dietrich Roth did also take part in the 1969 documenta 4 in 
Kassel. He also won the 
Kunstpreis of the city of Iserlohn the same year. The 
controversial action and object artist was one of the most exciting figures in 
the Federal Republic’s art scene in the late 1960s. Besides graphics and heaps 
(
Haufen) from different kinds of material, he also made books and space in-
726  For the First Biennale, 174 artists handed in their work. For the Second Biennale, 128 artists found their 
way into the catalog. In 1969, 133 artists took part in the Third Biennale
.
727  As stated in 
Katalog 3. Biennale der Ostseestaaten (1969).
Figure 25.2. 
Tom Maercker, Kunsthalle Rostock.

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2. The Moscow Underground Art Scene…
Part I  ·  Moving People
stallations. Roth’s graphic work, which was part of the Icelandic collection 
for Rostock, was “confiding” compared with other pieces of his—for exam-
ple the thirty-seven cheese-filled suitcases, which were displayed in May 1969 
during the 
Staple Cheese (A Race) exhibition in Eugenia Butler’s Los Ange-
les gallery.
Still, Roth crossed borders and with the help of his work showed his 
unique artistic expression in the GDR. From Roth’s involvement in the Third 
Biennale der Ostseeländer
 as part of his chosen home country Iceland’s col-
lection, it can be concluded that he was not primarily interested in the politi-
cal message of the exhibition. He was not following the political left scene of 
West Germany’s artists and still this exhibition in the GDR seemed to have 
held some appeal for him.
Especially during the first years, the Federal Republic of Germany did of 
course play a special role. Official artists’ movements were under no circum-
stances to be encouraged to take part in the Biennale der Ostseeländer. With-
out exception, the representatives on the committee were artists who acted as 
friends of artists or groups of artists who were involved in the Biennale. Still, 
it was especially the attendance of artists from the Federal Republic that was 
of enormous importance and that was picked up by the media of the time. 
Ostsee-Zeitung: Which thoughts move an artist of the Federal Republic 
of Germany to get involved in the 3rd Biennale der Ostseestaaten? Carlo 
Schellemann: Twelve artists of the FRG are participating in this Biennial, 
all more or less part of the artists’ group “tendenzen” and all of them see 
it as a personal commitment. Each of the twelve artists told me that they 
want to contribute their works to the Biennial as a part of the struggle for 
the acceptance of the German Democratic Republic.
728
Competition with the Federal Republic of Germany mainly focused on 
direct rivalry between the Ostseewoche and the Kieler Woche, which as well 
as being an archetype was a constant rival. It was the establishment of a Bien-
nale—in its form an exhibition with a long tradition and still unique for the 
GDR—that was remarkable. The same goes for comparisons with Kassel’s 
728 
Ostsee-Zeitung 24 (7 May 1969): 7.
documenta, which took place for the first time in 1955 and which focused on 
exhibiting abstract painting from the 1920s and 1930s—Kassel was located 
rather at the periphery of the Federal Republic’s art scene. The Biennale’s or-
ganizers repeatedly feared West German imitators: “Im weiteren Verlauf des 
Gesprächs . . . erfuhren wir, dass die westdeutschen documenta-Veranstalter 
eine große ‘Baltische Ausstellung’ in Kiel vorbe reiten, die eine Gegenausstel-
lung zur Rostocker Biennale darstellt.”
729
As the GDR’s biggest international exhibition, the Biennale der Ost-
seeländer became a point of contact for both cultural and external policy 
interests. For the East German artists, taking part in the Biennale der Ost-
seeländer was an award for staying true to cultural politics or for showing 
their artistic position and their sympathy for the GDR. The tension that lay 
within the exhibition showed especially in the search for unusual pieces that 
would grab attention and that would carry a completely new discourse across 
borders, like the works of Dieter Roth. Despite the organizers’ explicitly ar-
ticulated wish to exhibit realistic pieces of art, the tolerance that was pro-
claimed for the sake of external policy managed to build an openness for 
artistic positions that would not have been able to stand according to the po-
sitions of the GDR’s cultural policy hardliners.
729  AHR Bestand 2.1.13.4 Band 108, “Bericht der Dienstreise des Kollegen Zimmermann nach Kopenhagen 
vom 27.2. bis 4.3. 1969.”

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343