FRANK WIEBE - OUTPOST MAPPINGS

Erika Schlessinger-Költzsch: Is there a phase, style, or an era within art history that holds a special fascination for you, that you find par- ticularly intriguing, and that thus also indirectly influences your work, which is clearly anchored in the 21st century? Your works also bring to mind epochs such as Surrealism and/or the Renaissance. What are your thoughts on this? Frank Wiebe: I am interested in various phases of art history for different reasons. But I am not confined in this respect. If we look at the Re- naissance, for example, Paolo Uccello’s “Battle of San Romano” or Dürer’s famous “Large Turf” spontaneously come to mind. Both are very distinctive works, whose power of attraction will never wane. But one can also regard Walter De Maria’s “Vertical Earth Kilome- ter”—a contemporary form of landscape representation. This work is considered to be more significant for its intellectual or conceptu- al qualities than for its concrete presence and actual appearance. Conversely, the same applies to Dürer’s “Large Turf” and Uccello’s “Battle of San Romano.” Although we have the parameters to de- scribe their fascination, the interplay of dynamics that keep us spell- bound is intangible. It may be presumptuous, but I attempt to achieve a similar effect with my paintings. E S K Your comparison regarding Uccello, Dürer, and De Maria is wonderful, because, on the one hand, the focus is on the macrocosm (de Maria), and, on the other hand, on the human dimension (Uccel- lo), and finally on the microcosm (Dürer), reaching across all epochs and styles, as well as national boundaries. This seems to imply that by referring to these three artists and their works you are also com- mitting yourself to a kind of ‚landscape depiction’ with your paintings and the subjects rendered in these. What do make of this notion? F W I can agree with that, but in terms of a representation of land- scape in the broadest sense. I am seeking to simultaneously achieve a geological and geopolitical depiction with the vehicle of painting. E S K I assume, this indicates that you conceive geological, topog- raphical, climate-related, in short, thematic world maps, lending them their own, specific history in the process of creating your paintings? And is it your intention that this respective history/pictorial story should also contain political references? F W Yes, the individual fragments are the protagonists. They are co-existing entities that do not live peacefully together in a given community. I am not concerned with superficially present- ing conflicts or aggression, but rather with conveying the feeling that something is out of kilter in our present world order. This notion is ex- tremely important. Otherwise, the works would take a different shape. E S K You thus employ abstract pictorial details (color fields, forms, and lines) and place these into a dialogue or rather a situation of conflict with one another. And you give these pictorial details the roles of protagonists. Still, these are not to be understood as repre- senting particular countries, peoples, ideologies, or ethnic groups? F W That’s right. When we look at the political maps of Europe be- tween the 13th and 19th centuries, we see constantly shifting borders. These disruptions are solely an expression of aggression, of claims to power, but also of weakness. Each shift has brought with it much misery and suffering. The fact that we in Germany have had 70 years of apparent peace is an absolute exception. In no time, however, we could once again be dealing with despots and madmen in positions of government authority trampling on all the values we espouse. We may have to leave the comfort zone quicker than we would like to! Erika Schlessinger-Költzsch in conversation with Frank Wiebe 35