FRANKFURT MMK
INTRO
The first name to mention in the context of the collection of Date Paintings at Frankfurt is Kasper König, the artist's great friend and collaborator. As Wikipedia tells us:
'He founded Portikus, an exhibition hall for contemporary art in Frankfurt, in 1987. He taught as professor at the Städelschule in Frankfurt from 1988 to 2000, heading it as its rector from 1989.'
The 1989 exhibition at Portikus juxtaposing 24 of On Kawara's Date Paintings (one from each year, 1966 to 1989) with the same number of works produced by other artists who had some connection with Portikus. The show was translated into the English title 'Again and Against'.
Cover of On Kawara: Again and Against, published by Portikus, Frankfurt.
The 24th Date was 24. APR.1989. Which was made two days before the exhibition closed on April 26,1989 and was not present at the show. It was paired with a work by Ernst Caramelle. His Wallpainting was made specifically for the exhibition and was destroyed at the end of it. I suppose it's possible that Wallpainting was removed to make way for 24 APR. 1989 for two days, but I don't think that happened. I suspect the Date Painting was not shown at all and the pairing was a notional one. In either case, this seems to have been the most intriguing of the 24 juxtapositions.
Image from On Kawara: Again and Against, published by Portikus, Frankfurt.
Wallpainting seems to suggest a blank, dark painting with a wide, light, grey frame, resting in a window recess in the gallery wall. It almost implies a Date Painting in the recess. How tantalising.
This 24th Date Painting stayed in Frankfurt, though the show went on to Chicago, Nagoya and Sydney. In this final venue a 24th Date actually made an appearance, though it was not 24. APR. 1989. And the 24 artworks shown in juxtaposition with On Kawara's Date Paintings were different at each venue.
But let's not abandon Frankfurt.
1) 1991 (Date Paintings 1966 - 1990)
A similar collection - but just of Date Paintings, with no juxtapositions with works by other artists - was established at Frankfurt Museum fur Moderne Kunst in 1991. It was On Kawara himself who was responsible for the choice of Date Paintings to represent each year from 1966, and he chose a different set to those in 'Again and Against'. A relatively modest book recording the collection exists:
Cover of On Kawara, published by MMK Frankfurt.
This book includes 24, APR,1989…
Image from On Kawara, published by MMK Frankfurt.
…but otherwise all but two of the Date Paintings for the museum's collection were different selections from those included in the 'Again and Against' Dates shown at Portikus. In other words, On Kawara had started again, choosing different Dates than the ones Kasper König had curated, presumably because Frankfurt MMK were acquiring them.
Mario Kramer was Head of Collection at MMK for thirty-odd years, since 1991, and he has written to tell me:
'In the run-up to the museum’s opening, Kasper König was in very close contact with Jean-Christophe Ammann, the first director. They arrived in Frankfurt at the same time, after all. And they even lived in the same building in Frankfurt. It cannot be ruled out that König played a key role here. After all, he had been very close friends with On Kawara since 1966, when he was living in New York. He had given On Kawara a very prominent place in his 1981 exhibition ‘Westkunst’. Finally, in 1989, he organised an exhibition in Frankfurt at the Portikus exhibition hall featuring On Kawara, with works from 1966 to 1988 – in other words, a very similar concept. For us at the museum, however, On Kawara’s painting ‘SEP.18,1981’ was also a perfect starting point, as it had already been acquired for the MMK collection by the first interim director, Peter Iden, in 1982.'
In short, Kasper König's arrival in Frankfurt stimulated interest in On Kawara. But it was an interest that had already been kindled several years earlier, through Peter Iden. Perhaps Iden had been impressed by one of the shows of On Kawara's work put on by Konrad Fischer in Dusseldorf. Though Fischer himself was very influenced by König.
A bit circular all that. Over to On Kawara to take things further…
The chosen 24 Dates, plus the one included for 1990 (JAN. 30, 1990) were acquired by Frankfurt, I think, and they make up the bulk of the present day collection. Let me set them out for you, dear reader, with a bit of colour coding, size info, and preliminary context thrown in:
24.APR.1989…..B The painting made in Frankfurt at the time of 'Again and Against'.
MAY 11,1988…..C
14 AUG.1987…..B
JUNE 1, 1986….B
17 JUL.1985…...D
NOV.9,1984…….E The largest painting and the most German (see below).
MAY 2, 1983……B
OCT.25,1982……A
SEPT.18.1981…..D The painting bought by MMK several years prior to the 1991 exhibition and acquisition.
JAN.5,1980……..B
JUNE 28,1979….B
MAR.10,1978…..C
NOV.23,1977…...D
6 JULI 1976…….B
DEC.8,1975…….D
15 OKT.1974……B Included in 'Again and Against'.
APR.12,1973…...B
JULY 26,1972….D
MAR.3.1971……D
31AOUT 1970….B Included in 'Again and Against'.
DEC.16,1969…..B
9 AGO.68………A
MAR.17,1967….C
FEBRUARY 7,1966….A'
Going through the Dates (they are of various sizes: 3 x A or A'; 11 x B; 3 x C; 6 x D; 1 x E) one can see they have been sensitively chosen.
- The 1966 Date is one of the four in total where the month was fully written out.
- The 1968 Date was made in Mexico, shortly after On Kawara had begun 'I GOT UP', 'I WENT' and 'I MET'.
- The 1973 Date was made when On Kawara was artist-in-residence at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Kasper König was then working.
- The 1974 Date was made in Bern where Kawara had his first comprehensive, international show, curated by König.
- The 1976 Date was made in Berlin, where Kawara was on a year-long residency.
- The November 1977 and March 1978 Dates are both red, which was the case with most of the Dates made while Hiroko was pregnant with Akito.
- The 1979 Date was made at 140 Greene Street where the Kawaras had a loft that the family would own for the rest of the artist's life and on to the present day.
- The 1985 and 1987 Dates were made in Japan where On and family spent summers so that their two children could get a Japanese education as well as a New York one. And so on.
Thanks to Mario Kramer for pointing out to me that November 9 is a most significant date in German history. It is known in Germany as the Schicksalstag or 'Day of Destiny' because it marks a cluster of pivotal moments in modern Germany. Let's go through them…
- November 9, 1918. (End of Monarchy): Amid defeat in World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, ending the German Empire and leading to the declaration of the democratic Weimar Republic.
- November 9, 1923. (The Beer Hall Putsch): Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party launched an initial, failed coup attempt in Munich to overthrow the Weimar democracy.
- November 9, 1938. (Kristallnacht / Reichspogromnacht): The Nazi regime orchestrated a pogrom against Jewish people, destroying thousands of businesses and hundreds of synagogues, marking a horrific escalation toward the Holocaust.
- November 9, 1989. (Fall of the Berlin Wall): Peaceful protesters and citizens breached the border, leading to the opening of the Berlin Wall and paving the way for German reunification.
The Date Painting, NOV. 9, 1984, has to imply all the above through its precision, its ambiguity and its restraint. Significantly, it is the largest Date Painting in the room.
It has been pointed out to me by Nadine Hahn, currently the Head of Digital Matter and Archive at MMK, that the gallery has diagrams drawn by On Kawara giving instructions as to how the paintings should hang in the gallery. The size, colour and the place where the painting was made (if not New York) are all indicated. As here:
On Kawara. Gallery plan. Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
A diagram of the entire set up for the triangular room on the third floor of MMK was created. I should say that the bottom wall has two six-metre sections while the top wall is a total of seven metres long. A sawn-off triangular hall, then.
On Kawara. Gallery plan. Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
The Dates start with 1966, '67 and '68 in the bottom left corner, then go clockwise round the room ending with 1987, '88 and '89 in the bottom right corner. That is the set up that is captured by the installation shots in the book called On Kawara that MMK Frankfurt published in 1991. Though the book also contains a separate illustration of the 1990 Date that was added to the collection.
As well as the colour and size of each year's date, there is an additional symbol, circled, placed beside eight of the Dates. These are, from bottom left, clockwise: S, P, F, G, G, E, E, G. All but one would appear to be references to the language that the Date is rendered in. In other words, Spanish, French, German and Esperanto. While the P is a reference (I suggest) to the 'Pair' of pictures made in 1969. The 'F' for French is interesting in that it is a Date that On Kawara made while in Quebec in 1970. Although On Kawara did visit France briefly in 1973 and again in 1977, and had bought a flat in Paris by 1993, this early use of French language in a Date Painting may have been important to him and suited his aesthetic purpose, specifically the linguistic balance of the room.
Actually, to stand in this virtual room is quite an experience for me. How can I put this across? Well, I am staring at 9 AGO, 1968. On Kawara was in Mexico and had been there long enough to come up with his 'I GOT UP', 'I WENT' and 'I MET' daily practices. He was sending out two 'I GOT UP' postcards every day and one of these was going to Kasper König who was living in New York with his wife Ilka. Every day for a year or so Kasper got a postcard telling him when his star artist got out of bed. Kasper would have imagined his friend Date Painting in Mexico City. He would be in awe of the plan for Hiroko to join On and for them both to travel up and down South America, while On Dated.
I now turn round and am taking in the whole room. All the way up the left-hand wall - 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 - On Kawara was getting up, sending postcards (every day) and Date Painting (some days). My eye rests on APR.12, 1973. Kasper had been getting 'I GOT UP' cards when On and Hiroko were travelling from On's Swedish residency down through the west of Africa. Such colours on the picture sides! But by this day in April of 1973, Kawara was Date Painting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where König was working for the School of Art. By this time it must have been obvious to them both that the project underway, On's Date Painting and the meticulous recording of his daily practices, was nothing less than incredible.
The next painting, 15 OKT. 1974, was produced in gentile Bern because Kawara's international solo show 'One Year's Production' was up and running there. Kasper König had been in detailed communication with the director at Bern for months, so that all the Date Paintings from 1973 would be displayed to best effect. All the 'I WENT' maps for the 365 days, and all the 'I MET' Lists for a year, also. Plus as many of the postcards that had been successfully borrowed back from their recipients.
I turn my head a bit further, quickly passing over the red canvases on the back wall that meant so much to the artist, so that I am looking at a black one: JUNE 28, 1979. That painting was done shortly before the 'I GOT UP' and 'I WENT' and 'I MET' all stopped. Suddenly stopped. After the most incredible effort to keep the daily practice going for eleven years. König was living in Munich by then, had left New York in an attempt to save his marriage. Some of the names cropping up on the same 'I MET' list could have caused Kasper embarrassment. Plus, On had developed the habit of sending postcards to women linked with his friend, after all the artist became their friend also. From On Kawara in New York to Edda Kohl in Munich. From On Kawara in Munich to Anna Astner in New York. But hang on, I've seen photos of JUNE 28, 1979 being painted in On Kawara's studio at 140 Greene Street. The painting propped up on a table on which lie, as well as painting paraphernalia, On's glasses, his ashtray, his keys and his reserve of unwritten postcards.
I emerge from the triangular room. Although it is a space that I feel I would be able to dip into again. Just as On Kawara must have reckoned he could do whenever he was in Frankfurt.
On Kawara provided two diagrams of the possible set up in the triangular room upon the 1990 addition to the collection. This second diagram (below) pushes the 1966, ''67 and '68 Dates clockwise round the room so that they are found at the beginning of the long wall on the left.
That wall on the left now has eight paintings on it rather than seven, and so does the wall on the right. Which means that there are only five paintings on the wall at the bottom of the diagram, ending with 1989 and the new painting, JAN 30, 1990. An elegant solution?
On Kawara. Gallery plan. Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
Actually, I thought there was an error in the above diagram. The 1967 Date was represented by a red dot rather than a blue one. But when I noticed a second supposed error, that the Double Date was marked as 1968 instead of 1969, I realised that in this second diagram, the artist was considering using alternative Dates. That is a red Date Painting from 1967, and a pair of Dates from 1968 (there are five to choose from).
The alternative '1990' diagram (see below, diagram 3) in certain respects keeps things the way they were to start with. But again positions an eighth Date on the left wall, an eight on the right wall, meaning only three (as opposed to four) on the top wall. So that the room ends with 1988, '89 and '90 in the bottom right corner.
On Kawara. Gallery plan. Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
What would have been obvious to On Kawara - and Kasper König - about this layout, is that it retains the pre-eminent position (in my opinion) of the red Dates made in 1977 and 1978. The ones painted red in order to bring health to pregnant Hiroko and her baby-to-be.
If On Kawara had wanted to push the personal even further, he might have selected a December Date from 1976, instead of a July one, as it was in December of 1976 that 'I WENT' and 'I MET' reveal that On Kawara went with Hiroko Hiraoka to a private hospital and Hiroko was seen by a gynaecologist. In order to clear the way for the happy event that the red Dates symbolise, I presume.
Having said that, Hiroko was in the hospital from December 27, 1976, to January 10, 1977, followed by a fortnight's convalescence at home, and the artist didn't make a Date Painting in that whole period. His wife's health being on his mind, one assumes.
In any case, although On Kawara was driven to express certain aspects of his life in his work. He was also a very private individual and was not in the habit of pointing out the intimate nature of what he was sometimes doing.
On Kawara. Gallery plan. Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
I wonder if diagram three was actually manifested in the gallery. (I was hoping to get this information from MMK, and now I have it. It was the first diagram that was adhered to. And the 1990 Date painting, together with JUNE 6, 1991 were shown outside the triangular room.) It's the first of those three diagrams of the triangular room that's commemorated in the book On Kawara, published in 1991 by Frankfurt MMK. And, as we'll see, it's the first of the diagrams that was used when the Date Paintings were hung continuously from 1991 to 2004, and intermittently after that.
I think this is the place to slip a bonus item into this text. It's a photo of On Kawara (on the left; back view, of course) when the paintings were being put up on the walls of the Frankfurt gallery in April of 1991. Mario Kramer has provided the snapshot, that's him holding the Date Painting in place on the wall, while the artist oversees the operation. The painting in question is a small, blue one: OCT. 25, 1982.
On Kawara, Erich Gantzert-Castrillo, Jean-Christophe Ammann, Mario Kramer and Ben Kuckei. Photo by Rudolf Nagel, 1991. Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
Mario: "Any special significance to this one, On?" (As if Frankfurt's Head of Collection would have asked such a direct question!)
On: "The significance is that in this very moment you are holding it, Mario, and I am looking at it… We are still alive."
Mario has been in touch to say that at the moment the photo was taken, a discussion was happening about the height at which the paintings should be hung. And when all the paintings were finally hung, the decision was made to hang them another 5 centimetres higher. Back then, everyone was still very unfamiliar with the dimensions and proportions of the new museum.
2) 2002 (Date Paintings 1966-1990)
In 2002, Frankfurt MMK celebrated its first ten years of existence by producing a 540-page tome, Zehn Jahre, Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, edited by Andrea Bee. A huge book made with top quality paper. I have just bought a copy. The German bookseller must have felt sorry for me (living in the UK, where our main gallery, The Tate, declined the opportunity to invest in On Kawara), so little was I charged for the book itself and for postage.
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
It's almost a surprise that On Kawara's work is not on the cover, because his presence subtly dominates the book.
The gallery has distinctive architecture…
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
The fact that the room in which the On Kawaras were hung on the third floor was said to be triangular in shape makes sense to me now.
On Kawara is the only artist pictured in the front (essay) section of the book. Ironic, given he is the one artist that insisted that he not be photographed so as not to distract from the work. 
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
Of course, the photograph was taken from the rear, so that would explain why the photographer got away with it.
And a second reason why this photograph was used is because it features four members of the MMK team, including the director, Jean-Christophe Ammann, and Mario Kramer, Head of Collection, who has been generously assisting me in my research.
Below is the classic Kawara set up. It shows the Dates on the walls in the exact way that On Kawara had suggested.
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK and One Million Years Foundation.
That was the set up in Frankfurt MMK for many years.
In 1994, as part of 'Scene Change 5', there was a significant show of completely different On Kawara work, titled 'On Kawara: 1952-1956: Tokyo'. On that occasion, the 1990 and 1991 Dates were hung in the first room of this exhibition of early work. Elsewhere in the gallery, as usual, could be found the 1966 - 1989 Date Paintings.
Then in 1997, as part of 'Scene Change 11', the Date Paintings were shown in dialogue with work by Barnett Newman. This shot shows the short, 'freestanding' wall with its four Dates (two of them red).
'Scene Change 11'. On Kawara Date Paintings and 1997 Barnett Newman, Here III, 1965/66 (loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art New York).
Also in this iteration of the collection was a major Joseph Beuys installation (Lightning with Stag Caught in its Glare), some Alex Katz portraits, several Warhols and a Francis Bacon. How crucial to have been in Frankfurt on business anytime from January 31 to May 4, 1997!
The 1966-1989 Date Paintings never moved, I must emphasise. For the second half of 1998 as part of 'Scene Change 14', their dialogue was with a Giacometti:
'Scene Change 14'. On Kawara Date Paintings and Alberto Giacometti, L’homme qui marche, 1960 (loan from the former Dresdner Bank, Frankfurt am Main)
The conjunction brings to mind a vision of Kasper König entering the triangular room on one of many occasions during the 1990s. It's always the same set-up, he is pleased to see, but the aspect that he focuses on is different every time.
9 AGO 68 was a favourite Date of Kasper's. So he stares at it with his back to the rest of the room's treasures. But only after walking straight up to it from the other end of the room. It coincides with the time he was getting a postcard every single day from Mexico City, telling him On Kawara's getting up time. Kasper König had been absolutely certain that On Kawara was getting up each day exactly as it said on the postcard, and doing the most original work. Lliving the most focused life. Extraordinary.
At some stage in this decade, König published a book called On Kawara: horizontality/verticality. Every double-page consisted of an 'I WENT' map on the left, and the same day's 'I GOT UP' postcard (both sides reproduced) on the right.
Having said that, the book begins with another back shot of On Kawara. Actually, this 'I WENT'/'I GOT UP' book was published a year before the Frankfurt volume, so the motif of the back-view of the artist may have been decided on by On Kawara and Kasper König in discussion. 
Don't ask me which of the two male figures is On Kawara. Maybe the other is Kasper König!
The Kawara Dates were on their own during 'Scene Change 15' and '16', but in dialogue with work by Roni Horn as part of '17' (February to September 2000):
'Scene Change 17'. On Kawara Date Paintings and Roni Horn, Untitled, 1997 (loan by the artist)
The Kawaras were shown with a piece by Felix Gonzalez-Torres in late 2000, early 2001. It's called Portrait of Dad and consists of a grid of individually wrapped sweets. The total weight of the sweets represents the weight of an average man, and the sweets don't have to be laid out as a grid, its up to the curator, which in this case was Mario Kramer. I remember taking one from a heaped pile in London around the same time. Gonzales-Torres died of an AIDS-related illness in 1995, so this was a gift from the dead. A meditation on loss, grief and impermanence.
MUSEUM MMK, © The Felix Gonzalez - Torres Foundation, © On Kawara, photo: Axel Schneider
The Kawaras were again juxtaposed with other work for 'Scene Change 19' (March to September 2001). By this time the museum had invested in some striking Andreas Gursky photographs, that I remember seeing in London around this time. But the dialogue in the Frankfurt room was with Afghan rugs. 
'Scene Change 19'. On Kawara Date Paintings and Afghan pictorial rugs (loan from a private collection).
All of the designs on the rugs depict weapons of war, such as tanks, bombs, and Kalashnikov rifles. Which brings to mind all the mentions of war that On Kawara had a tendency to highlight in his 'I READ' file, and in the part of the newspaper used to line each Date Painting's box.
For Scene Change 20 (September 2001 to March 2002), the Date Paintings were in dialogue with work by Peter Fischli and David Weiss. 
'Scene Change 20'. On Kawara Date Paintings and Peter Fishli and David Weiss, Plötzlich diese Übersicht (suddenly this overview), 1981(loan by the artists)
Lightning with Stag in its Glare was back on display at this time and I would have liked to see 'Lightning with Date Paintings in its glare'. But one can't have everything. Claes Oldenburg’s Bed Room Ensemble, James Turrell’s Twilight Arc, Mario Merz’ Igloo, Lothar Baumgarten’s Frankfurter Brief and Bill Viola’s Stopping Mind are also part of the permanent collection.
I note in passing that the photographer has in each case (with the exception of the Giacometti) been looking at the stand-alone wall with the four dates from 1976 to 1979. Perhaps because of the photogenic red backgrounds. Or because of the angle that the light falls into the museum from above.
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
Sunset over Frankfurt MMK is how the book ends. Well, not quite. A photo of a One Million Years volume has pride of place at the back of the tome. 
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
Mario Kramer has told me that during Udo Kittelmann’s tenure as director (2002-2008) a smoking room was set up in consultation with On Kawara. It was located directly behind the freestanding wall in the triangular room. There, visitors could listen to the audio recording of the One Million Years work. The last and the next million years, read out one year at time by a male and female voice, alternating.
I say again that the freestanding wall is the wall with the red 1977 and 1978 Date Paintings. I picture On Kawara standing behind the wall, smoking, remembering the anxiety he had felt for his pregnant wife and their first baby.
Million Years Past is dedicated 'For all those who have lived and died'. Million Years Future is dedicated 'For the last one'. It's not what the artist actually states, but I'm happy to assume that On Kawara was smoking for the whole of humanity: past, present and future.
3) 2014 (Date Paintings 1992-2000)
What happened in Frankfurt between 2002 and 2014? I don't know. The 1966-1989 Date paintings didn't move until 2004. They made way for an exhibition of work, THE BRUTAL TRUTH by Elaine Sturtevant that the entire museum was dedicated to. Then again in 2008 the Date Paintings temporarily made way for a career retrospective of Takashi Murakami.
And then in 2014, the year of On Kawara's death, the following Dates were given to Frankfurt by One Million Years Foundation, the trust that On Kawara set up to deal with his estate. (Kasper König had left Frankfurt for Cologne in 2000, which might explain in part why the Frankfurt collection was not added to until the year of the artist's demise. It also might partly explain why in 2004 it became possible to take the 1966-1989 Dates off the wall!)
I feel sure that On Kawara would have made a point of personally choosing these Dates knowing that his time was about to run out and that the collection of Date Paintings at Frankfurt was so important to him. I feel he would have valued the opportunity to curate the set-up there in 1991. I feel he would have been deeply appreciative of the substantial, grey-covered Zehn Jahre book.
And so payback time:
AUG.28,1992…A…..2014/58 Gift of OMYF………Painted in Vancouver.
FEB.14,1993….A…..2014/54 Gift of OMYF
16 MAY. 94…… A…..2014/55 Gift of OMYF…S…Painted in Madrid on the same day he made a size B.
10 AVR.1995….B…..2014/56 Gift of OMYF….F…Painted in Paris.
DEC.31,1996….A….2014/57 Gift of OMYF………Eleven Dates were painted in this month.
JULY 1, 1997… B…..2014/58 Gift of OMYF
SEPT.7,1998…..?…..2014/59 Gift of OMYF
APR.19, 1999…B…..2014/60 Gift of OMYF
8 JAN. 2000…..A…..2014/61 Gift of OMYF…E….Painted in Taipei, Taiwan. Ah, the new century, the new millennium, the new numbers 2 and 0.
No 'G' for German in the additions to the Frankfurt collection. And yet this was a decade where On Kawara had many German dealings thanks to Kasper König living in Frankfurt. A single Date Painting was made in Frankfurt in each of 1993, 1994 and 1996. Dates were also made in Hamburg, Aachen and Dusseldorf. And no less than 17 were made in Cologne in the late summer of 1995, thanks to a Udo Kittellmann curatorial initiative.
Since the year of On Kawara's death, Frankfurt, Germany, has had a splendid collection of Dates from the inception of the Today series to the end of the Twentieth Century. Though it has to be said that the additional Dates taking the collection from 1992 to 2000 are all size 'A' or 'B' (though the size of SEPT. 7,1998 is omitted from the MMK database).
But I need to say little more here. The gift of the nine Dates went with the acquisition of one of On Kawara's 100-year calendars. This one:
Reproduced thanks to the understanding of the One Million Years Foundation
That's the twelve months of the year (January to December) going from left to right. And it's the 100 years (1900 to 1999) going from top to bottom of the spreadsheet. That space is divided into three nearly equal thirds. First, before On Kawara was born in December 1932. Second, 1933-1966, On Kawara's pre-Date Painting life. Third, 1966-1999, which is when the dark circles were added each time he painted a Date.
The artist could have made the work overtly site-specific by making the dots that represented a Date Painting owned by Frankfurt a different colour, say purple. In which case there would have been a single purple dot on each row from 1966 to 1999, the bottom third of the grid. But he didn't do that.
The negotiation (if that's the right word; this was not primarily a business transaction) went on until only a few days before the artist's death. In early summer, Mario Kramer visited On Kawara's studio at 140 Greene Street as he had done, spring and autumn, of most years of the previous thirty, 1983 to 2013.
As on every other occasion, there was On Kawara's desk, on which he had long painted, in front of built-in cupboards which contained all the Date Paintings that hadn't ended up being housed elsewhere. Perhaps about 2000 canvases. His life's work, effectively.
Reproduced thanks to the understanding of the One Million Years Foundation
Always, I have been told by Mario, there would be on display in the studio a single Date Painting, the most recently completed, on the wall opposite the desk. Which On Kawara could see if he looked up from his desk and stared straight ahead. But on this final visit, On Kawara wasn't at his desk and there was a blank canvas on the wall. A deep-edged, size 'B', white primed canvas. In other words, the artist had come to accept that he was no longer able to do what he had done so meticulously, so philosophically, throughout his life from the age of 33 onwards. The day was still there to be painted. But he couldn't do it. 'I AM STILL ALIVE' may have sounded a bit hollow, this late in the game.
On Kawara considered the plan that Mario Kramer put before him, knowing that he would never again be in Frankfurt to see it made manifest. But he approved it. Of course he did! I picture the artist smiling his satisfaction. Though I know that Mario Kramer felt other emotions. Let me take the liberty of quoting his email to me: 'On my very last visit there was an empty painting on the wall, which was very moving for me. More I can’t say, sorry. The situation was very intimate and emotional.'
Let's step back from the personal. Frankfurt MMK: twinned with the sixth floor of 140 Greene Street. As envisaged by Kasper König. (The personal is unavoidable.)
4) 2019 (Date Paintings 1966-2000)
After On Kawara's death on July 10, 2014, the extra nine paintings went into the ownership of Frankfurt MMK. They were displayed in Frankfurt according to the agreed plan and On Kawara's family (wife, son and daughter, I assume) were in attendance.
The 36 Dates (1966-1989 + 1990 and 1991 + 1992-2000) weren't shown again in Frankfurt until the show 'MUSEUM' which opened in 2019. It was not possible to reinstall the 2014 set-up because the original space was not available. There was a complex installation curated by Anne Imhof at that point. That is, a suite of rooms on the same floor but at the other end of the building.
On Kawara, 36 Date Paintings from the Today Series, 1966–2000, MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST, © On Kawara, Foto: Fabian Frinzel
The above image says to me: "Everything begins with On Kawara's love for - and loyalty to - Hiroko Hiraoka." 
On Kawara, 36 Date Paintings from the Today Series, 1966–2000, MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST, © On Kawara, Foto: Fabian Frinzel
The above image says to me: "Ah, my old friend the Double Date day."
On Kawara, 36 Date Paintings from the Today Series, 1966–2000, MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST, © On Kawara, Foto: Fabian Frinzel
The above image places emphasis on the previously mentioned 'German' Date: NOV. 9, 1984. The Kaiser, Hitler, the Holocaust and the Berlin Wall, all coming and going, rising and falling, in the viewer's mind while considering this large, near-black Date Painting. Once again, less is more.
Do I mean that? Less (formally) is more (by association).
And then a terrible thing happened. There was a fire at Frankfurt MMK in the summer of 2019, and the Date Paintings had to be rescued by firemen. How heroic is this next image? The firemen's black gauntlets (see them swinging on waistband hooks) having been replaced by white cotton gloves in response to the delicacy of the assignment:
Reproduced with the forbearance - I hope - of the photographer: Dominik Dresel
But then I imagine the firemen knew the Date Paintings from long acquaintance.
These paintings are invaluable community assets and have been since 1991 when On Kawara decided exactly which personally sacred paintings should hang on which socially sacred bit of wall. Each one represents our shared time together. Our shared time alive.
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
Do you sense, in the above image, the people of Frankfurt smoking behind the freestanding wall? Smoking as they listen to a musical version of Million Years Future and as they thank God for the city's collection of Date Paintings.
Courtesy of Frankfurt MMK.
The paintings remain at MMK. A World Heritage Site if ever there was one. Blow that horn!
So head to Frankfurt, people of Europe wanting to see a superb collection of On Kawara Dates in the footsteps of the artist himself.
But wait! Don't book your expensive plane ticket just yet…
5) 2026 (Date Paintings 1966-1990; 1991; 1992-2000)
The main Frankfurt MMK building has been closed for two years and remains so at the moment.
I don't think major structural changes are being made, but, amongst other essential upgrades, the fire-proofing of the building is being improved. As one might expect given what happened in 2019. This seems wise: I'm all too aware of the devastation inflicted on the cultural landscape of Scotland by the Glasgow School of Art building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, having been destroyed by fire twice in a decade.
MacBeth (first time): "A sprinkler, a sprinkler, my kingdom for a sprinkler."
Sprinklers were fitted but not switched on.
MacBeth (second time): "A sprinkler, a sprinkler, my kingdom for a working sprinkler."
Maybe by the time Frankfurt MMK re-opens, a decision will have been made as to what to do about the curation of the impeccable collection of On Kawara Date Paintings. Here are my thoughts…
On Kawara took a great deal of care in designing the set-up for the 1966-1989 Dates. That space can be used (I assume) in exactly the way as it was in the first thirteen years of Frankfurt MMK.
As for the nine gifted in 2014, in my opinion there is not enough to be gained by adding these to the original collection in order to give a 1966-2000 run of Dates, as the whole won't smoothly fit on the walls of the Triangular Hall.
These nine Dates were given by On Kawara at the very end of his life, overseeing the operation from his studio at 140 Greene Street. These could be shown in a separate room. Or in the middle of the Triangular Hall held together by a specially designed display unit. Perhaps the curation of the additional nine Dates could be handed over to a different curator each iteration.
Actually, one has to take into account German history. The Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and German reunification was achieved in 1990. By adding the extra nine Dates to the original batch, the emphasis is put on continuity of German civilisation. So maybe there is much to be gained by displaying 1966-2000 as a single run… I dare say I'm just beginning to catch up with the thinking behind the scheme of curation that Mario Kramer presented to On Kawara in New York in summer 2014.
On Kawara 1966-2000. Germany 1966-2000. Much to ponder. Much to celebrate.
Anyway, no point in me (or anyone else in Europe) heading off to Frankfurt for an art/travel vacation until the main gallery reopens.
Meanwhile, everyone in America must be asking: "What about us?"
Their answer can be read on the next page.
