HA Schult Picture Boxes
HA Schult's are closer to theatrical, even operatic. His expressive imagery always possesses an intensity, an urgenca that demands to be heeded. Indeed, it is with our own excesses that HA Schult boldly confront us. He has made a biting commentary on the indulgent aspects of western society. He calls our attention to our own conspicuous consumption, obsessively returning to the metaphor of garbage, refuse dumps, and debris.
HA Schult's picture boxes give the viewer a slice of his vision of the world. Never static, this vision is multi-dimensional; it is often turbulent, even apocalyptic. These picture boxes are laden with images, episodes, and drama. The artist has described them as "film freeze without people".
His current picture boxes deal with contemporary issues while paying homage to the past. In Romantic Street, he contrasts the old world with the new, as a quaint old German street in picturesque Heidelberg confronts a dynamic panorama of New York City. Another picture box nostalgically features old Hollywood actors and actresses. Paradise Island shows the Bahamas' luxurious holiday playground where pink American Cadillacs frolic decadently in the winter sunshine. There are references to Robert Delaunay's Paris and to Eugene Delacroix's barricades, but HA Schult makes these themes contemporary, linking past and present, the nineteenth century with now time.
Gail Levin, 1988
Unwelt, Lenbachhaus Munich, 1974
Biokinetic Landscape, 197339,37 x 78,74 x 7,8 inches
Unwelt, Lenbachhaus, Munich, 1974
Biokinetic Laboratories, 1972 -1974 129,92 x 118,11 x 7,87 inches
Unwelt, Lenbachhaus, Munich, 1974
Biokinetic Laboratories, 1972 documenta 5, Fridericianum, Kassel
first version
Biokinetische Plantage, 1972
19.69 x 27.56 x 7.87 inches
Otto van de Loo gallery, Munich
Biokinetischer Wolkenpilz, 1972
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Galerie Klein, Bonn, Germany
BP – Die Kraft und die Sicherheit, 1972
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Hagen, Germany
Garbage Planet Earth, 1971-1972
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Thomas Lüttge, Ascholding, Bavaria
Garbage Planet Earth, 2012
Universe
Roma, 1972 – 198139,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches
Collection The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York, N. Y.
Roma, 1972-1981
39,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, N. Y.
Biokinetik unter dem Kreuz, 1972
27.56 x 39.37x 7.87 inches
Collection Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany
L’état c’est moi, 1976 27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Hermann Waibel, Ravensburg
Rue Emile LIP, 1976
27.56 x 19.69 x 7.87 inches
Collection Doris and Peter Bagel, Düsseldorf
In monument pour LIP, 1976
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Germany
Armyrakete im Biokinetischen Wald, 197227,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Dr. Egon Maus, Icking, Bavaria
Von Traum zu Traum, 197727,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Zaira and Marcel Mis, Brussels
Angst, 1982-1983
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Ruthraut and Jürgen Steinbrecher, Wittmund, Germany
Deutsch-Land, 1986, working on the picture
Deutsch-Land, 1986 German Bundestag, Richard von Weizsäcker, German Federal President
Deutsch-Land, 1986118,11 x 118,11 x 15,75 inches
Collection Federal Republic of Germany
Alpenblick, 1975
39,37 x 78,74 x 7,8 inches
Collection Dr. Inge and Michael Oppenhoff, Cologne
Altar der Wissenschaft, 1987118 x 118 x 7,8 inches, detail
Collection B. Braun, Melsungen, Germany
Der ausgesparte Mensch, Kunsthalle Mannheim, 1975 HA Schult, Duane Hanson, Yves Klein
Gabriele Henkel, HA Schult Hans Strelow gallery, Düsseldorf, 1982
Anhalter Bahnhof, 198139,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches
Collection Gisela and Dr. Hansjakob Krebs,
Krefeld, Germany
Anhalter Bahnhof, 1981
39,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Gisela and Dr. Hansjakob Krebs,
Krefeld, Germany
Vaterland, 198139,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Guido Orsi, Milan, Italy
Vaterland, 198139,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Guido Orsi, Milan, Italy
Vaterland, 198139,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Guido Orsi, Milan, Italy
Vaterland, 198139,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Guido Orsi, Milan, Italy
Lauft schneller, die alte Zeit ist hinter uns her…, 1984
19.69 x 27.56 x 7.87 inches, detail
Collection Gabriele and Prof. Dr. Klaus Peter Schulitz, Düsseldorf
Freedom, 1982 – 198839,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches
Collection Mr. and Mrs. William Gofen, Chicago
The Garden of Eden, 197939,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches
Collection Dr. Inge and Michael Oppenhoff, Cologne
The Palace, 1981-1982
39,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Dr. Hannelore and Klaus Murmann,
Kiel, Germany
The Palace, 1981-1982
39,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Dr. Hannelore and Klaus Murmann,
Kiel, Germany
The Palace, 1981-1982
39,37 x 39,37 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Dr. Hannelore and Klaus Murmann,
Kiel, Germany
Atomic Star, 1978-1982
39,37 x 78,74 x 7,8 inches, detail
Collection Dorothee and Karl Ludwig Schweisfurth, Munich
Hollywood, 1981
39.37x 27.56 x 7.87 inches, detail
Collection Dr. Inge and Michael Oppenhoff, Cologne
Love, 198427,56 x 27, 56 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Elke Koska, Cologne
Closed, 1981
27.56 x 19.69 x 7.87 inches, detail
Collection Isi and Dr. Ed Deselaers, Düsseldorf
Closed, 1981
27.56 x 19.69 x 7.87 inches, detail
Collection Isi and Dr. Ed Deselaers, Düsseldorf
Building, 198419,69 x 19,69 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Ellen and Michael Ringier, Küsnacht, Switzerland
Hollywood, 1981
39.37x 27.56 x 7.87 inches, detail
Collection Dr. Inge and Michael Oppenhoff, Cologne
Black Tie, 1984
19,69 x 19,69 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Joanne and Howard E. Hassler, New York
Eingekreistes Haus, 1974
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Carina Burda, Baden Baden, Germany
Scorpio Rising, 1972
39,37 x 78,74 x 7,8 inches, detail
Collection Isabel and Friedrich A. Scheidt, Kettwig, Germany
Überdosis, 1982-1983
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches
Collection Mutter Museum, Wiesbaden, Germany
Überdosis, 1982-1983
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Mutter Museum, Wiesbaden, Germany
Überdosis, 1982-1983
27,56 x 27,56 x 7,87 inches, detail
Collection Mutter Museum, Wiesbaden, Germany
Arson Attack, 1993
Solingen, Germany
Arson Attack, 1993
Solingen, Germany
Strajk, 1982
19.69 x 11.81 x 7.87 inches, detail
Collection Margrit and Consul Dr. Dieter Schulz, Lübeck, Germany
Atomic Star, 1978-1982
39,37 x 78,74 x 7,8 inches, detail
Collection Dorothee and Karl Ludwig Schweisfurth, Munich
HA Schult arranges a disquieting overall picture using an array of very different materials in his picture box “Schloss Neu-Wahnstein”.
Schloss Neu-WahnsteinHA Schult (* 1939)
Munich, Cologne, New York, Berlin, 1983-1987
Plastic, earth, sand, rocks, paper, bio-kinetic zone
78 x 39.37 x 7.87 inches
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (ML/SK 5055)
House of European History, Brussels
Illuminated by flames, Schloss Neuschwanstein is sliding down a cliff creating a deliberate and segmented waste dump. There is a treasure trove of things to be found here including contemporary everyday objects, such as cola cans, garden gnomes, newspapers and broken plates. If you look more closely you soon recognize portraits of Ludwig II, Karl Marx, and Ronald Regan painted on pieces of broken plates and on the left there is a banner inscribed with the word “Euroschima” above which flies a dove of peace. Ordinary objects take on a new dimension in this context.
HA Schult portrays a picture of decline in which the fundamental symbols of world history are integrated. The artist wants to – like he determined in 1988 – “show German history that ... ends... at Coca Cola-Forest”. Schloss Neuschwanstein is first and foremost where Ludwig II chooses medieval mythical motifs that have been a part of the national self-image of Germans since the Romantic Movement. Due to the disconcerting context, the signs and symbols begin to disassemble themselves: “The motifs emerge as loose parts of a puzzle” and “reality comes forth”.
In creating “Schloss Neu-Wahnstein” HA Schult built on traditional assembly techniques of Dadaism. As is typical for collages and assemblies, they break the typical perception of the viewer and create new contexts – consequently, such a well known motif like Neuschwanstein offers itself up especially well.
Caroline Sternberg
Literature: Eckmann, Collage pages 74-80; Frank, Schloss Neu-Wahnstein, pg. 115f; Kölner Museums-Bulletin, page 31f,: Salzmann, Mythos Europa, pg. 316, Kat.-Nr. 110
„Götterdämmerung“, Schloss Herrenchiemsee, 14 May to 16 October 2011
Catalog, Primus, Darmstadt
Published by Peter Wolf, Richard Loibl and Evamaria Brockhoff.