On the occasion of Robert Schumann’s 200th birthday in 2010, the Kunstsammlungen Zwickau invited me to create an exhibition dealing with the reception of Robert Schumann and his music in the visual arts from the 19th to the 21st century. The director of the museum, Petra Lewey, wanted an exhibition that would not only “attempt to approach the composer on a theoretical level, i.e., a cultural-historical overview of his reception, but would also use contemporary strategies in the visual arts to allow visitors to experience Robert Schumann and his music – both visually and emotionally – in a new way.”

For Seit ich ihn gesehen – Reflexionen zu Robert Schumann in der Kunst (Since I First Saw Him – Reflections on Robert Schumann in the Arts), I brought together some 250 very heterogeneous artefacts, including artworks from various collections as well as widely varying interpretations of Schumann and his work from the worlds of art, literature, film, design, and merchandising. I organized them into seven thematically related areas, often juxtaposing them with my own works created for the exhibition. It was important to me not only to document Schumann’s impact on the art world, but also to trace the path of his influence to the present.

I worked with various people (including music historians, collectors, young musicians, music enthusiasts, school children, students) to create a series of new artworks for the exhibition. I created several photo and video works, including eight music videos for love songs by Schumann (produced in collaboration with students from the Clara Wieck Gymnasium in Zwickau), as well as various installations, a poster competition (a fictional image campaign for Robert Schumann), and interactive digital works (including a collection of YouTube videos of people from around the world playing Schumann’s music). Several of these works were acquired by the Robert Schumann Haus in Zwickau after the exhibition and are now on permanent display there.

A dynamic program of events offered museum visitors many opportunities to participate, such as the Tango Schumann workshop led by London performance artist Anthony Howell and South African dancer Lindi Köpke.