Apr 24, 2007, 17:18 GMT
Kassel, Germany - Technology used to build tomato greenhouses cheaply is being adapted to build the temporary main pavilion for the Documenta 12 art exhibition which opens in Kassel, Germany on June 16, organizers said Tuesday.
At the first media showing of the pavilion where three-quarters of the contemporary art will be displayed, architect Tim Hupe said the sprawling art greenhouse, erected on the front lawn of Kassel's Orangerie palace, was mainly plastic held by tubular frames.
Documenta, held every five years, lasts 100 days and is Europe's principal exhibition to educate the public about contemporary art.
Some of the art will also be displayed in three existing museum buildings in Kassel. The city, north of Frankfurt, and the state of Hesse pay most of the costs of the exhibition, which is expected to attract to half a million visitors.
The roll-call of artists from around the globe invited to exhibit their paintings, sculptures, videos and installations is being kept a secret till the last minute.
At the showing of the exhibition space, which is still full of scaffolding and power tools, artistic director Roger Buergel scolded reporters asking for artists' names, saying: 'Don't be ungrateful for what we have allowed you to see today.'
Unlike a horticultural greenhouse, the Kassel art pavilion will have curtains and a ceiling made of gauze fabric containing thin strips of aluminium to exclude the rays of the sun and protect the art.
After Documenta, the greenhouse will be dismantled and the lawn restored as a public park.
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