01.03.2010
Museum Europäischer Kulturen
Following the death of the German-Argentinian composer and conductor, Mauricio Kagel, the Ibero-American Institute, Hamburger Bahnhof and Museum of European Cultures have each accepted a part of his estate, thanks to the generous donation on the part of his daughters, Deborah and Pamela Kagel.
The Museum of European Cultures has received over 70 exceptional objects relating to the culture of memory. Besides works on paper on political themes, the objects especially represent rituals in the cycle of life, such as weddings and deaths.
Kagel amassed the works together with his wife (artist Ursula Burghardt) during his travels through Europe. An exemplary feature of this facet of Kagel's collection are the many artistic works made from hair, fashioned from the actual hair of deceased people as personal mementos by their loved ones. Other than these works, numerous embroidered pictures also offer the viewer an insight into the ritualistic world of the late 18th and early 19th centuries