Grabenkunst / Trench Art (2019 –
„Warrior“, 2024, polystyrene head, barbed wire, syringe needles, tubes and packaging, spruce wood, helmet with brain relief made of newspaper collage, skin and bone glue, barbed wire, glass display case, approx. 45 x 30 x 30 cm.
About trench art
„When looking at a vase that one of the countless, nameless soldiers of the First World War had driven out of the cartouche of an artillery shell – probably during breaks in the firing – it struck me that these works of art were not intended to express the war, not to create awareness of it, but to make it forgotten. Because the reality in which they were created was inescapable and art was a means of escape. For us artists today, who live in a time that is being driven deeper into the Third World War every day by society’s loss of reality and the profit interests of a few. The reverse principle applies: we must wake people up, explain this machine to them, show them how to stop it or at least rekindle in them a sense of pain, empathy or a certain rebelliousness towards authority while we still can. Because that is possible – especially through art. But in order to be effective in this way, we have to step out of the ivory tower of the academic art world and take up themes and forms that are generally considered „undesirable“ and „politically incorrect“, are not eligible for state funding programs and do NOT „fit the sofa“. Issues that play a role in people’s everyday lives must become „art-worthy“ and we are called upon to provide content and arguments that hardly ever happen in the media: To give real controversies a space and to shape this space in such a way that it gains charisma and appeal. It goes without saying that, unlike in recent decades, we have to acquire education in as many areas as possible that goes far beyond what the state-accredited media sell us as such. In this respect, we artists really are like front-line soldiers and our workshops, exhibitions, concerts, readings and plays etc. are the trenches and positions on the eternal battlefield of war and peace in which we accumulate spirit and create awareness in order to counter the madness.“
(Simon Rosenthal)
„What we know about our society, indeed about the world we live in, we know through the mass media. This applies not only to our knowledge of society and history, but also to our knowledge of nature. (…) On the other hand, we know so much about the mass media that we cannot trust these sources. We defend ourselves with a suspicion of manipulation, but this does not lead to practical consequences, since the knowledge taken from the mass media forms a self-reinforcing structure of its own accord.
(Niklas Luhmann)
„Heavy Weapons / K18 / Das Rheinmetall (Hommage a Uecker)“, 2023 – 24, Relief print of a K-18 grenade from German production, WW II in newspaper collage, skin and bone glue, illuminated frame, 150 x 110 cm.
„There’s a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it’s not about who’s got the most bullets. It’s about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think… it’s all about the information!“
(Phil Alden Robinson)
Left: „Heavy Weapons / K18 / Das Rheinmetall (Hommage an Uecker)“, 2023 – 24, relief print of a K-18 grenade from German production, WW II in newspaper collage, skin and bone glue, illuminated frame, 150 x 110 cm.
Center: „Warrior“ 2024, polystyrene head, barbed wire, hypodermic needles, shell casings and packaging, spruce wood, helmet with brain relief made of newspaper collage, hide and bone glue, barbed wire, glass display case, approx. 45 x 30 x 30 cm.
Right: „Wind Chime“ 2023-24 spruce wood, tension straps, hemp rope, newspaper collage, acrylic emulsion, plastic skull, original artillery ammunition cartridges from the Second World War, original Wehrmacht helmet from the Kursk Bulge (trench find with bullet holes), wind machine, flags.
„Wind chime“ is activated via the work „Our Best Friends and Allies / Laptop from Hell“, below
„You, man at the machine / and man in the workshop, / if they order you tomorrow / to stop making water pipes / and cooking pots, / but steel helmets and machine guns, / then there’s only one thing to do: say NO!“
(Wolfgang Borchert)
„Your Golden Heart, Germany – Be Wary!“, 2019 – 2020, Batik in cotton, spruce wood wrought iron, 270 x 180 cm
„Dass Menschen in Schuld geraten, ist schlimm; aber sich schuldig zu fühlen und nicht an Vergebung glauben zu können – das ist die Hölle.“
(Eugen Drewermann)
„Our Best Friends and Allies – Laptop From Hell“ 2023-24,
Military crate, German Wehrmacht, stainless steel, glass, industrial buttons, 3-D engraving, in-glass engraving, rotary motors / electrics, 16Gb memory, sound card with loudspeaker and music box, sound card with the audio book „Laptop From Hell“ (M. Devine), which can be listened to with the headphones, gamepad.
The red push-button above the keyboard can be used to activate the „Wind chime“ (above).
„In almost all areas of our lives, whether in politics or in economics, in our social behavior or in our ethical thinking, we are dominated by a relatively small number of people (…) who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. They are the ones who pull the strings, who control the public mind, who harness old social forces and devise new ways of shackling and directing the world.“
(Edward Bernais)
„Our Best Friends and Allies – Laptop From Hell“ 2023-24, military crate, German Wehrmacht, stainless steel, glass, industrial buttons, 3-D engraving, in-glass engraving, rotary motors / electrics, 16Gb memory, sound card with loudspeaker and music box, sound card with the audio book „Laptop From Hell“ (M. Devine), which can be listened to with the headphones, gamepad.
Right: Military box for mine fuses, German Wehrmacht, tropical wood veneer, approx. 25 x 16 x 9 cm, for transporting the glass holograms
„Wer Schweigt, Stimmt zu / NPC“, 2023-2024,light box, one-way mirror, LED strip, UV light, UV paint, varnish, electrics, switched on via a proximity sensor, 120 x 110 x 18 cm
„The greatest damage is caused by the silent majority, which only wants to survive, submits and goes along with everything.“
(attributed to Sophie Scholl)
„A heart for farmers (Left: Art. No. 1524, Right: Art. No. 2024)“
Simon Rosenthal & Eisenfeustel, 2024, wood, wrought iron, approx. 165 x 50 x 12 cm, Limited Edition (19 pieces)
„What have you done? This isn’t a toy!
Where you took it from, take it back
the farmer is not a toy, what comes to your mind?
You shall fulfill my commandment immediately and without grumbling;
for if it were not for the farmer, you would have no bread;
the tribe of giants sprout from peasants‘ march,
the farmer is not a toy, God be against us„
(From: „The giant toy“, Alsatian legend)
„A heart for farmers (Left: Art. No. 1524, Right: Art. No. 2024)“
Simon Rosenthal & Eisenfeustel, 2024, wood, wrought iron, approx. 165 x 50 x 12 cm, Limited Edition (19 pieces)
„From Law to Lawn (bazookas to leaf blowers!)“, 2024, spruce wood, iron fittings, original US Army bazooka, gas heater blower, approx. 130 x 120 x 45 cm.
Right: „Czech hedgehog“, 2023, wood, rust, approx. 90 x 90 x 90 cm.
„The IV. Force“, 2024, light box, UV light, newspaper collage, skin and bone glue, UV paint, varnish, 200 x 150 x 20 cm, is switched on via a motion sensor
„Some of the few things that give me hope is that I found out that every war in the last 50 years was a direct result of media lies. The media could have prevented every one of those wars if they had just investigated deeply enough. And they could have stopped every one of those wars if they hadn’t just limited themselves to spreading official government propaganda.“ This shows the power of the media. If they wanted to, it could have been very different!“
(Julian Assange)
Front: „Illuminated object“, 2023 – 24, mixed media, 82.5 x 80 x 80 cm
„Arsenal / Hommage a Uecker“, relief impressions of large-caliber ammunition, firearms and a syringe in newspaper collage. Skin and bone glue, 205 x 173 x 14 cm
„Gepard / Hommage a Uecker,“ (special edition, 1 piece) 2023-24, light box, relief print of a cheetah cartridge, newspaper collage, skin and bone glue, approx. 80 x 60 x 15 cm. The work is also available as a limited edition (68 pieces), without special frame (see below).
„Operation Z“ (Bozetto),2022, pine wood, newspaper collage, hide and bone glue, Black 2.0, c.a. 35 x 25 x 20 cm
“ Advertising pillar“ (Bozetto), 2023, newspaper collage, print of a cheetah cartridge ca 40 x 45 x 32 cm
„Crossing“ (Bozetto), 2023, newspaper collage, print of a cheetah cartridge ca 40 x 45 x 32 cm
„Arrangement“, 2023, original embossed vase („trench art“) from the cartouche of a FLAK cartridge, WW I, harness sponges, wood, gold bronze, approx. 45 x 6 x 6 cm
***************Limited Editions*****************
„Gepard / Hommage a Uecker,“ (Limited Edition / 68 pieces), 2023-24, relief print of a cheetah cartridge, newspaper collage, skin and bone glue, approx. 80 x 60 x 15 cm.
Works from this edition are available at Galerie Schmidt. To go to the gallery’s webshop, click on the image of the work.
„With Kiesewetter into the steel storm“, fictional book cover, (limited edition / 68 pieces), 2024, digital collage as gallery print, 40×30 cm
„Hat / `Cause you said the brains I had went to my head“ (Limited Edition / 68 pieces), 2023, photo as gallery print, 40×30 cm
„On heaven’s door / An old hat with new braids“, 2024, (Limited Edition / 68 pcs.), Galleryprint, 40 x 30 cm and, (Limited Edition /19 pcs.), Galleryprint, 80 x 60 cm
„Worldwar III, Baby (Yeeeeeehaaaa!)“(Limited Edition / 68 pieces), 2023, photo as gallery print, 40×30 cm
