In this rare interview, Kurt Wyss discusses his memories and one-of-a-kind archive

Meet the photographer who has shot Art Basel every year since 1970

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Basel-based photographer Kurt&nbsp;Wyss has covered Art Basel since its inception. His archive documents each Basel edition since 1970 and constitutes a unique visual testimony of its first five decades.


	Clément Dirié: This year, Art Basel celebrates its 50th anniversary. What were you doing in 1970? Do you remember the fair’s first editions?


	Kurt Wyss: Of course! In the early 1970s, I was the picture&nbsp;editor for the Basel daily newspaper National-Zeitung. I later became editor and photographer of the Basler Zeitung. A lot of things were improvised during the first editions of Art Basel, which was just called ‘Art’ back then. This is the name featured on the first catalog cover, designed by the artist Herbert Leupin. I wish all the covers had been designed by an artist: It would have been an amazing artistic archive! I will never forget the water sculptures by Jean Tinguely presented during the&nbsp;first edition by&nbsp;the Basel-based gallerist Felix Handschin in a small complex next to Riehenstrasse. Because the water could not run off, the complex was completely flooded by the&nbsp;third day.


	CD: You are a real Baseler. Can you tell me about the fair’s genesis and the three gallerists behind it: Ernst Beyeler, Trudl Bruckner, and Balz Hilt?


	KW: The Basel gallerists were organized in the Galeristen-Verein association. At the end of the 1960s, they were regularly thinking about setting up a joint exhibition, and they organized various projects, but always with a local or regional ambition. That changed when the Schweizer Mustermesse became involved in the project and made its know-how available. Emil Bammater, the first director of Art Basel, visited galleries all over Europe to inform them about the planned art fair and invite them to participate. Ernst Beyeler used his contacts with American galleries for the same purpose. Balz Hilt and Trudl Bruckner also motivated their colleagues. I knew the three of them.

CD: You were close to many artists, including Jean Dubuffet and Jean Tinguely, photographing their work and taking their portraits. Do you remember any anecdotes about their stay in Basel?KW: The 1970 edition was visited by many artists. I remember meeting them there: Eva Aeppli,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8847/Niki-de-Saint-Phalle" target="_blank">Niki de Saint Phalle</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10294/Jean-Tinguely" target="_blank">Jean Tinguely</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8585/Mark-Tobey" target="_blank">Mark Tobey</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/11480/Henry-Moore" target="_blank">Henry Moore</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6734/Jean-Dubuffet" target="_blank">Jean Dubuffet</a>, and many local artists. My wife and I met the Israeli artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/30238/Yaacov-Agam" target="_blank">Yaacov Agam</a>. My wife was pregnant and Agam predicted we would get a boy. The day after the fair closed, on June 18, our daughter Sara was born. Like Art Basel, she celebrated her 50th birthday this year&nbsp;–&nbsp;in a limited way because of the COVID-19-related health measures.CD: You have attended every single&nbsp;edition of Art Basel since 1970 and photographed them all. You exhibited your works in 1979 in the booth of the Basel-based Galerie Liatowitsch. What are the best moments you remember?KW: Marcel Liatowitsch liked my portraits of artists very much. My first gallery exhibition was with him. For the 1979 edition, his booth was dedicated to pattern art. At very short notice, due to a last-minute cancellation, the fair offered him an additional space in the newly created sector for photography. My portraits were shown there in a 'one-man show’ and thus found a much larger audience than before in the gallery. My wife looked after the booth and was a bit disappointed about the lack of sales. That changed in the last half-hour when she sold five photographs.CD: How would you describe the evolution of Art Basel? You have a particular point of view, which is the one of a photojournalist, of a newspaper photographer.KW: Basel was not a cosmopolitan city, but it has become something of a cosmopolitan city over the years. Art Basel has remained an exclusive event, but also managed to create relationships with the city and its population, in particular thanks to the Unlimited and Parcours sectors. In addition, satellite fairs were created, such as Liste, VOLTA, Design Miami, and many more. All of this has added a lot to Basel.

Top image:&nbsp;Kurt Wyss' photographs at the booth of&nbsp;Galerie Liatowitsch, Art Basel, 1979.&nbsp;Photo: Kurt Wyss.