"Mittelrhein Museum Koblenz" - August-September 2015
Mary Bauermeister - Da capo-Werke aus 60 Jahren(Mary Bauermeister - Da capo – works from 60 years)
Joint Project "Kulturerbe" (Cultural Heritage)
Rosemarie Bassi (by now my gallerist) and Mary Bauermeister have known each other for decades. Rosemarie Bassi was the first gallery owner in Germany to host an exhibition with works of Mary Bauermeister.
They are also personally very close.
On August 26, 2016, Rosemarie Bassi and I visited Mary Bauermeister, who was preparing "Da capo", a major exhibition in the Mittelrheinmuseum Koblenz.
Concurrent with this retrospective, Rosemarie Bassi hosts "accompagnata", a comprehensive exhibition of works by Mary Bauermeister in her Remagen gallery.
There was a press conference with several reporters, filmed by a cameraman. I enjoyed the positive atmosphere and was fascinated to watch the relaxed conversations with the reporters, the friendly atmosphere between Rosemarie Bassi and Mary Bauermeister, the installation team, the discussions about optimal hanging in the black light room, and how nicely I was included in the ideas for her project "Kulturerbe" (Cultural Heritage), that she wants to implement together with other artists.
I showed Mary Bauermeister the painting of a Neanderthal man that she had requested earlier. She said Super – please have it laminated – we'll put it on the floor.
And she asked me to create a praying woman and other works for the project – this request was the initial spark.
For the project Kulturerbe, I also took up my two themes again: Trees and Bags:
Trees have accompanied man for 300 million years:
- We use the wood to make fire. It provided warmth for cave dwellers and is burnt in fireplaces even today.
- Wood was and still is used to make tools and furniture.
- Wood is turned into paper. Paper was and still is used for writing and printing,
- We mine peat and coal – formed millions of years ago from plants and trees. Transformed by heat and water, these residues accompany all mankind. Formed millions of years ago, they are used by mankind today.
Man is accompanied not only by trees but also by bags. I have filled the bags with pieces of wood, trees drawn on brown paper, fir cones, paper snips.
QR-Code – cuneiform script / hieroglyphs
Time arc: an ancient technique applied to hi-tech code from my 2014 project "Verschlüsselter Alltag" (Encoded Everyday Life)
Cuneiform script and QR codes are symbols resembling a secret code. You need access to the key to read them.
Ink on canvas 30 x 30 cm each
"Kunst auf dem Campus – Unterwegs" (Art on Campus – On the move) June 18 – 21, 2015
Exhibition at the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in Rheinbach, Kunstforum ´99 e.V. RheinbachI was delighted to be able to present my bags on the theme "Unterwegs" (On the move) in Rheinbach.
The jury included:
- Judith Andreae, Galerie Judith Andreae, Bonn-Bad Godesberg
- Eva Maria Hermanns, Künstlerin, Kuratorin Kunstforum Eifel Schleiden-Gemünd
- Dr. Christoph Schreier, stellvertretender Direktor des Kunstmuseums Bonn
Prof. Dr. Gerd Wiendieck, president of the Kunstforum, told me that visitors had rummaged in the bags - another sign that my implementation of the theme had aroused interest.
Rheinbacher.de
Bonner Generalanzeiger
wir Menschen sind unterwegs ...
WOHIN?
Wir sind
UNTERWEGS ... AUF DER SUCHE
... um uns selbst zu finden und andere zu erkennen
... um unsere Ziele zu fokussieren und zu erreichen
… um Lebensunterhalt und Existenz zu sichern.
UNTERWEGS sind wir auch ... auf REISEN ...
… um neue Welten zu entdecken und Kraft zu schöpfen
für neue Unternehmungen.
UNTERWEGS UM DIE FREIHEIT ZU FINDEN
… um unabhängig zu sein, uns frei zu fühlen.
DABEI SIND WIR UNTERWEGS
zu Fuß, zu Land, zu Wasser und im Weltraum
und bedienen uns unterschiedlichster Beförderungsmittel.
UNSERE TASCHEN FÜR
UNTERWEGS
SIND SCHON GEPACKT
und wir tragen sie mit uns.
UNTERWEGS
SIND WIR ABER
VOR ALLEM IM GEISTE!
"Frauen in Krieg und Frieden 15-45-15" (Women in War and Peace 15-45-15) - 2015
his is the first exhibition to focus on women's activities in war time and their opposition to war. The exhibition runs from April 19 to November 1, 2015.
Please see also to publication on press portal for press releases and news
"Pressekonferenz 15-45-15" (Press Conference 15-45-15) - 2015
"Hoheitsgebiete"
In war, women had to assume tasks and do work usually performed by men. I picked the symbol of the bag to document the role of women. Women have a special relationship to handbags – bags are part of the female identity.
The feminist Susan B. Anthony (1820 - 1906) saw the bag on a woman's arm as a symbol of freedom and power – everything in this bag was in her territory.
During war, women took over the men's territories.
My bag exhibits contain objects documenting the high workload and the dangerous and strenuous work done by women, e.g.:
- Providing food and care for the family by working in the fields, collecting and canning food, cooking, ironing, sowing, knitting
- Work as "Trümmerfrauen", ie. clearing away the debris in bomb-ravaged German cities
- Work in armament industry, munitions factories and on the home front
- Nursing the sick at home and in military hospitals in war zones close to the front
- Women in peace movements, such as Bertha von Suttner
- Women as spies, such as Mata Hari
- Women as journalists and photographers; they documented both the front and the home front in photographs, also alongside fighting men
- Women in art
After the end of the war, the women were morally appealed to and obliged to cede their new role to the returning men and to return to their traditional role of housewife and mother.
The exhibition was set up in the days preceding the press conference.
"Dialog", Initiative Kunst Hennef - 2015
A report on the exhibition was published in the Bonner Generalanzeiger , Rhein-Sieg-Ausgabe.
My 2015 catalog is available!
The 40-page catalog presents a cross-section of my works and activities in recent years.
I will be happy to ship the catalog to anybody who is interested. Costs including packaging and shipping are €15,50. Binding orders can be placed via my contact page.
"Exhibition at Frauenmuseum Bonn" - 2014
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The Frauenmuseum Bonn (Women's Museum in Bonn) honors Gabriele Münter with the exhibition "Die Blaue Reiterin und ihr Freundeskreis". held from December 14, 2014 to March 8, 2015 at Frauenmuseum Bonn, Im Krausfeld 10. Additional information can be found at my diary 2014. |