Imagine opening a book right in the middle, without having read the introduction. Are you going to understand the plot? Will you keep on reading or gravitate towards the beginning? And what if the beginning is only visible in-between the lines? 

The current exhibition “The Story That Never Ends” at ZKM in Karlsruhe, given its name, deals with several stories. Chiefly, those told by media art from the 1950s up until now. Throughout two atriums, pieces from the museum’s collection, founded by Heinrich Klotz, are on display. 

Almost right in the center of the second atrium towers a white box. It’s not just any box, it is in fact a version of the “House within a House” from the Deutsches Architekturmuseum, the other museum previously founded by Klotz—though without the characteristic gabled roof. Inside one will find a rotating light installation attached to the ceiling. From the “Klotz-Tapes,” which are stored at ZKM, we know that the “House within a House” at some point was called a “Lighthouse.” Whether this connection was intentional or by chance remains unclear, but it draws back to the theme of the show in a cunning way: The “white box” references as a starting point the in-house archive—its founder—without naming him, raising the question of who understands such a citation right away. Do you need to have read about Klotz to understand the story? 

The first time I paid a visit, two friends who also study architecture accompanied me. When leaving, we all agreed that it was an interesting show. Then after some time, I asked one of them, if she felt like something was missing. Immediately her remark was an unclear starting point to contextualize the content of the archive. Although recognizing the “House within a House,” she was not aware of the (possible) reference to Heinrich Klotz. Reading up, this perhaps reveals the true quality of the exhibition: The resulting desire to investigate the beginnings yourself, to fill missing gaps in a story that caught your attention.

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