Paul Horn - Erkenne dich felbft
4.05 - 30.07.2022
Opening: 4.05.2022 at 5 pm
Paul Horn knows no bounds when it comes to the materials of his artworks - he uses water cycles that feed plants or change the indoor climate, surprising paintings, breathing objects, bathroom mirrors that reflect an old couple while encouraging viewers to take selfies.
Always surprising and very much on the pulse of current issues. The artist thus comes (unnoticed) very close to the viewers of his works. The virality of the (hidden) actualities does not leave us cold. And already one is part of Paul Horn's artworks: be it through the selfie trap, or as a playful user of the oversized buggy, where young and old queue up to be able to drive quite happily as well - and thus makes visible the social problem of refusing to grow up. In addition, or rather in connection with it, Paul Horn has been preoccupied for decades with the subject of climate change / global warming, which in his work also includes the dramatic depiction of natural disasters. In his work, everything is connected, even the (kitschy) paintings that show beautiful large owls, which all hold little human beings in their beaks - they move the feeling of being human to the realization that we are only a small part of nature and the world. That makes one concerned.
The work of "tilting pipes" is based on an ornamental fountain element of the Japanese Zen garden, the Shishi-Odoshi.
The original design consists of a bamboo tube that slowly fills with water until the center of gravity tilts and the tube deflates. When tilted back, this results in a loud noise, a sort of "klock", because there is a larger stone under the end of the tube. Bamboo canes are hollow plants divided into segments that make a nice sound. The purpose of the construction is originally to drive away game and birds that like to eat the tops of bonsai conifers and shrubs. In our culture, this kind of noisy scarecrow is known as klapotetz or klopotec. Although bamboo is very resistant to water I wanted to make the construction more complex and durable. So I used aluminum tubes with ball bearings and cushioned the tilting back of the tube. The focus is on the splashing of the water, not the "klock". The principle of using water for mechanical elements existed before the invention of water-powered mills. So-called "water scoops" or monjolos (Japan, Portugal, Brazil), simple levers very similar to the shishi-odoshi, filled with flowing water from nearby rivers, but unlike mills, they did not allow rotating but only linear movements and were used for crushing stones, grain, as hammers, and the like.
Paul Horn: "BITTE WARTEN"2022, Mixed media (pump, relays, hoses, aluminum tubes, ball bearings, tripods, tank, bowls), variable mass
Tuesday - Friday 2 - 6 pmSaturday 1 - 3 pm