Fragmentation,defragmentation,transformation

©KimNamsee2012

Thataworkofartasanorganicwholeanditspartsshouldcommunicatewitheachotherinaharmoniousnecessitywastheaestheticidealofmostartistsforlongtime.Theliteratureandartisticavant‐gardeofthelate20thcenturyradicallyalteredthisview.

Thisispartlyduetotheconsciousnessthattherealityinwhichweliveisfullofcontradictionsandcontainsantagonisticelementsthatcannotbebroughtintoaharmoniousunit.Whetherartisa"nice"Illusion,whichisbestconsumedasacomforttothearduouslife,butmostlyconcealsreality?

Inliteratureskepticismwasgrowingastowhetherlanguagehadtheabilitytodescribereality.Whethertheconventionoftraditionalsemanticsoflanguageisstillabletodescribetheworldcorrectly?

Withsuchcriticalissues,thedeconstructiveprocessbeganinart.Inthefieldofliteraturemanyexamplescouldbepointedout.FromtheFuturist"ParoleinLiberta"toDada,fromBruitismtoConcretePoetryalwaysanattemptwasmadetofragmentizetheword,thesmallestsemanticunitoflanguage,intomeaninglesssoundsorletters,andthentoseekforanewsemanticmeaning.

Insculpture,therearealsotendenciestowardsthedeconstructionoftheorganicwhole.

ThesculptorDavidSmith,forexample,createdspatialstructuresthatcannotbedetectedasawhole.Unlikeintraditionalsculpture,itisnotpossiblebylookingatone

sideofhisworktopredicttheoppositeside,orthewholesculpture.Itisanassemblageoffragmentsthatarenotharmoniousassembled.

RalphSandersworkisconnectedwiththisstrategyandform.Hisfiguresinthisexhibitionaremadeofthinlayers.Togethertheyneitherformaharmonynorawhole.Ratherthanbeastableunit,hisworkisbrokenintotwoormoreparts.

Itappearsonlydetectablewhenyoutakedifferentviewpoints.Itisatwo‐dimensionalshadowimage,crosseddiagonallywithanotherimage.Onlyoneimagecanbeseenfromoneviewer`sposition,henceonlyonemeaningcanbecaptured.Theotherimageisalreadycontainedinit,butinvisible.OneImageappearsbyhidingtheotherinitself.

Iftheviewermoves,itchangesslowlytoanunexpectednewimage.Thisprocessthe

artistiscalling"transformation".

Theartistuseswellknownimages.Theseimagesarechargedwithideas,producedunderthesocialandpoliticalconditionsofoursociety.

Onelookattheimageseemsenough.Forexample,thefamoussilhouetteofJoseph

BeuysorOsamaBinladen,toevokecommonsenseideaandtherelatedfeeling.

Withachangeinposition,itisjuxtaposedwithasecondseeminglyabsurdimageasa

combination.Thiscreatesasenseofalienationoftheaccustomedconnection,butitcreatesnewlevelsofmeaning.

WhatistheconnectionbetweentheinfamouspictureofOsamabinLadenandCaravaggio`sMedusa?

HeretheTransformationbecomestheDeconstructionoftheusualsemanticsthathad

beenformedaroundtheimage.

Thepointofthistransformationliesnotinitsresult,butintheperformativemomentofransformation.Iftheviewermovesslowly,thefirstimagedissolvesintoitsfragments.

Thenitmergeswiththoseofthesecondimagetoahybridformofbonding.Intheconstantlychangingintermediateimage,producedbythedefragmentation/fragmentationandownmovement,yourecognizeneitherMedusanorBinLaden.

Youwillneverseeitbothsidesatonce,similartotherealityinwhichwelive.

Medusa Touch 2012, Steel, 240 x 180 x 142 cm Krakow, Poland

Medusa Touch 2012, Steel, 240 x 180 x 142 cm Krakow, Poland

ASGallerywasfoundedinMay2011asaplacetobringtogethertheemergingartscenein

Krakow.AScarriesoutacyclicalprogrammeofcuratedexhibitions,goingbeyond

particularmediaortypesofart.Thegenrespresentedinthegalleryinclude

cartoons/comics,storyart,abstractpainting,theatreandprintmaking.ASisaspacefor

experimentalactivities,transcendingstereotypicalrolesoftheartist,curatororcritic.The

exhibitionsinthegalleryavoidlocalismbyinvolvingartistsfromvariousculturalcentres

inPolandandEurope.ThegallerywasfoundedbyBarbaraZambrzycka‐Śliwaand

collaborateswithArt&SpaceFoundation.

GaleriaASpowstaławmaju2011,jakomiejsceskupiającemłodeśrodowiskoartystyczne

Krakowa.ASrealizujecyklicznyprogramwystawkuratorskich,wychodzącpozaramy

mediówczydziedzinysztuki.Zakresdziałańartystycznychpojawiającychsięw

przestrzeniachgaleriirozpościerasiępomiędzykomiksem,storyartem,malarstwem

abstrakcyjnym,teatremczygrafiką.ASjestprzestrzeniądziałańeksperymentalnych,

wykraczającychpozasztampowepodziałyról:artysty,kuratora,krytyka.Ekspozycje

realizowanewgaleriiprzekraczająwymiarlokalny,angażującartystówzróżnychośrodków

kulturalnychPolskiiEuropy.GaleriapowstałązinicjatywyPaniBarbaryZambrzyckiej‐Śliwyi

współpracujezFundacjąArt&Space.

22św.MarkaSt.,groundfloor/ul.śwMarka22,parter

31‐020,Kraków

tel.:(+48)124238022

e‐mail:asgallery22@gmail.com

oppeninghours/godzinyotwarcia:

Tue.–Fri.1:30–5:00p.m./wtorek–piątek13:30–17:00

Miedzygodzina17:00a18:30zapraszamypowcześniejszymumówieniusiętelefonicznym.

609845841

Sat.–Sun.11:00a.m.–3:00p.m./sobota–niedziela11:00–15:00

SuziGablik:Weneedanartthattranscendsthedistancedformalityofaestheticsanddarestorespondsthecriesoftheworld.

Alexenberg,M.L.,2011,TheFutureofArtinaPostdigitalAge:FromHellenistictoHebraicconsciousness.

IMU

ThequestionofIdentityinglobalcrisis/Transformationoftheimage

Maybewecouldmuchmorespeakaboutacrisisofidentityinglobalisation.MydailyrealityisthatI

eatItalianandAsianfood,IseeAmericanfilmsIdriveaJapanesecarfuelledwithArabianpetrolandmyGermanTVismadeinChina,IamGermanandIliveinBelfast,thecapitalofNorthernIreland,partoftheUKbutlocatedontheislandofIreland.WatchingWorldcupfootballgamesitseems

alwaysstrangetometoseethenational11ofanycountryconsistingofmainlyforeigners.

Myprojectwillbeonehugeinstallationoffragmentedimagesandobjectsinaspace.Accordingtotheviewerspositionfragmentswillconnectandbecomeaclearimage.Iamgoingtousedifferentmaterialsas:Photo,foundobjectsvideofootageandsculpture.

ThewholeinstallationwillrefertomindmapsAbbyWarburg`sMenosineAtlas.

MynewMultiperspectivetransformationalinstallationwillnotprovideanswersbutprovoke

questions.

Backgroundtotheidea:

EspeciallyafterexperiencingtheconflictinBelfast,itseemstomethatnationalidentityistheresultofbuildingmyththatbelongsinthepastandthatreferstopast.Itissointerestingtohearandsee

whatpeoplethinktoknowabouttheotherandhowfewinrealitythey(want)toknow.Identitymaybedefinedasthedistinctivecharacteristicbelongingtoanygivenindividual,orsharedbyallmembersofaparticularsocialcategoryorgroup.

Globalisationatthemomentisaneconomicalterm,whichdoesnotfitforadescriptionofhuman

interaction.Thepostmodernconceptofmultiplerealitiesdescribestheconfusioninthebestmanner.WithinthewordconfusionIdescribetherootofcontemporarycrisisofidentitywhichcanbeagreatchanceforapeacefulfutureifitwillnotbemisusedbysectarian,dividingpowers.

Economiccrisisalwaysevokesprofoundfear,theresultisthesearchforgroupidentityexcluding

others.Atthemomentwefaceanenormousset‐backinhumanachievementsinceEnlightenment.

Peoplefeeltheslowdisappearanceofcivilrightsandreligionbecomesanissueagainnationalismgrowseverywhereasearchfortheenemybegins.Nowonderthatthe19thcenturyrecentlybecamesubjectofliteratureandfilm.ThelastBookofUmbertoEco,”ThePragueCemetery”describesthe

phenomenaofmythandidentitybuilding.

“Weneedanenemytogivepeoplehope.Someonesaidthatpatriotismisthelastrefugeofcowards:thosewithoutmoralprinciplesusuallywraptheflagaroundthemselves,andbastardsalwaystalk

aboutthepurityofraces.National‐identityisthelastbastionofthedispossessed.Butthemeaningofidentityisnowbasedonhatred,onhatredforthosewhoarenotthesame……Hatredhastobe

cultivatedasacivicpassion.Theenemyisthefriendofthepeople.Youalwayswantsomeonetohateinordertofeeljustifiedinyourownmisery.Hatredisthetrueprimordialpassion.”

Personalbackgroundandinvolvement

BeingborninGermanyitfeltalwaysstrangetoidentifywithmyowncountry.SinceIlivemorethanhalfofmylifeasaforeignerindifferentplacesofthisworld,marriedwithapolishwomansurelythe

issueofpersonalidentityarises.

IspendmychildhoodclosetoariverandIalwayswantedtoknowwhereitleadsto.Hencebetween1988and1991Isailedaroundtheworldonasmallsailingboat,anexperiencecrucialformyartisticdevelopment.

Definitionofterms:

Identitymaybedefinedasthedistinctivecharacteristicbelongingtoanygivenindividual,orsharedbyall

membersofaparticularsocialcategoryorgroup.ThetermcomesfromtheFrenchwordidentité,whichfindsitslinguisticrootsintheLatinnounidentitas,‐tatis,itselfaderivationoftheLatinadjectiveidemmeaning"the

same."Thetermisthusessentiallycomparativeinnature,asitemphasizesthesharingofadegreeofsamenessoronenesswithothersinaparticularareaoronagiven

point.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(social_science))

Manypeoplegainasenseofpositiveself‐esteemfromtheiridentitygroups,whichfurthersasense

ofcommunityandbelonging.

[..]theFrenchdiscoveredinthe1870‘sthattheAnglo‐Saxonmythhadchanged,notsomuchinnatureasinfunction:that,afterhavingbeen

―racialized‖,ithadbeenglobalized;thatitwasnolongerasimple

excusefordividingandclassingthedifferentethnicgroupswithinthe

UnitedStates,butlaidthegroundworkforaplanetaryredistributionofrolesinwhichtheAnglo‐Americancouplewouldevidentlybethestar(2005:171).

AbyWarburghMenosine(Greek:Goddessofmemory)Atlas

http://24.media.tumblr.com/aQgLCEDtRoz3dxz4yKZY3BLgo1_400.jpg

Wystawa organizowana jest w ramach projektu FUNDACJI ART&SPACE ” Tożsamość w

kryzysie,cyklwystawsztukiwspółczesnejorazanalizanaukowatożsamości”.Projektzostał

objęty patronatem honorowym przez PrezydentaMiasta Krakowa‐ JackaMajchrowskiego

orazMarszałkaWojewództwaMałopolskiego‐MarkaSowę.

www.krakow.pl

www.ngo.krakow.pl

Wystawa „I am You” została zrealizowana w ramach projektu Fundacji ART&SPACE ”

„Tożsamośćwkryzysie,cyklwystawsztukiwspółczesnejorazanalizanaukowatożsamości”,

którywspółfinansowanyjestześrodkówGminyMiejskiejKraków.

Refleksjeartysty–RalfSanderosobieiswojejpracy

Moja praca artystyczna odzwierciedla doświadczenie transformacji, czyli permanentnych

zmian formy. Jej charakter wynika z głębokiej fascynacji prawami i zasadami rządzącymi

naukami ścisłymi jak również próbą zrozumienia nowych technologii i historii. Najbardziej

istotnym jest dla mnie proces nieustającej, wciąż na nowo rodzącej się inwencji i

metamorfozy. Punktem wyjścia do niekiedy pozornie surrealnychre‐inwencjisą realne

wydarzenia lub zjawiska kulturowe bądź historyczne, również dotyczące najnowszej

przeszłości. Sednem konceptu artystycznego jest wyzwanie i kwestionowanie ogólnie

przyjętych, akceptowanychpercepcji i interpretacji rzeczywistości czy teżosób lub zjawisk

objętychkultem,pozytywnyminegatywnym.Pracanadtransformacjąjestwynikiemmoich

doświadczeń osobistych jako cudzoziemca, czyli bycia obcym. Jest to związane z częstymi

zmianami miejsca pobytu i długich podróży. Życie w zróżnicowanych kulturowo i

historycznie regionach świata, a więc społeczeństwach mających odmienny sposób

wartościowania i stosunek do rzeczywistości wywiera zasadniczy wpływ na moją pracę

twórczą. Pewne zmiany stylizacji iwyboru podmiotównie zmieniają jej esencji, którą jest

transformacja.Łączę własną kreacją używając różnych mediów z materiałami takimi jak

części urządzeń przemysłowych, transformatorów, urządzeń chłodniczych,

wyeksponowanych obiegów elektrycznych i innych mechanizmów. Kombinacje te tworzą

nowysens.Poprzezintegracjętychelementyzsiłaminatury,naprzykładenergiąsłoneczną

lub energią fal morskich w czasie przypływu/odpływu, konfrontuję człowieka zarówno z

niewidocznymi gołym okiem siłami jak również z dymem, parą lub mgłą, wodą i

lodem.Wyrazemmoichpoczynańartystycznychsą licznepracemiędzy innymiwdziedzinie

rzeźby, rysunku, instalacji, performance, filmu artystycznego i dźwięku. Moje główne

zainteresowanie leży w rzeźbie i instalacji, w którychmogę wypróbować ostrość ludzkiej

fizycznej percepcji. Staram się, aby natura, istota ludzka i technologia były ze sobą ściśle

związane.Cykl moich ostatnich prac reflektuje transformacje wizerunkóww zależności od

pozycji obserwującego, można powiedzieć, ironiczny współczesny link do „Metamorfozy

Ovida”.Myślę,żerzeźbaodkrywaczyteżwynajdujesięznowuiznowunanowo,comogęteż

powiedziećosobie.

Reflectionsofanartist–RalfSanderabouthimselfandhiswork

Myartisticworkreflectstheexperienceoftransformation,orpermanentchangeofform.Itscharacterresults

from a deep fascination with the laws and principles of science as well as an attempt to understand new

technology and history. The most important for me is a process of constant, re‐emerging invention and

metamorphosis. The starting point for the sometimes seemingly surreal reinvention are real events, or

historical or cultural phenomena, including the recent past. The core concept of art is to challenge and

question the generally accepted perceptions and interpretations of reality, or people or events of the cult,

bothpositiveandnegative.Workonthetransformationistheresultofmypersonalexperienceasaforeigner,

that is being a stranger. It is associated with frequent changes of location and the long journey. Living in

culturally and historically diverse regions of theworld, societies have different ways of evaluation and the

relationship to reality has a major influence on my creative work. Some changes in styling and choice of

subjectsdonotchangeitsessence,whichisthetransformation.Inmy(own)work, Imaketheconnectionby

usingavarietyofmediamaterialssuchaspartsofindustrialequipment,transformers,refrigerationequipment,

exposedelectricalcircuitsandothermechanisms.Thesecombinationscreateanewmeaning.By integrating

these elements with the forces of nature, such as solar energy or wave energy at high tide/low tide and

confrontingamanwithboththeforcesinvisibletothenakedeyeaswellassmoke,steamorfog,waterand

ice.An expression of my artistic endeavors are numerous studies in areas such as sculpture, drawing,

installation,performance,videoartandsound.Mymaininterestliesinsculptureandinstallation,inwhichItry

the sharpnessof thehumanphysicalperception. I try toconveyhownature,humanbeingsand technology

were/are closely related.A series of my recent work reflect transformations of images, depending on the

position of the observer, so to speak, an ironic contemporary link to “Ovid Metamorphoses.”I think the

sculptureinventsordiscoversoverandoveragainwhatIcansayaboutmyself.

FromtheTopDown,2012,80x120x90cm,cage,birds,sculptures,images,Krakow,ASGallery

RalfSanderASGalleryKrakowIMUexhibition,2012Room2Basement

Different experiments with multi-perspective sculpture 2012

Warnersuggestedthatimaginationcanprotectusfrominformationoverloadassociatedwithwhathetermed“thecounter‐Enlightenmentofglobalizedinformationtechnology”

Warner,M.2000,ThestructureofImagination:DarknessVisibleintheMind`sEye.InW.PullmananH.Bhadeshida,eds.,2000,StructureinScienceandArt.Cambridge,CambridgeUniversityPress,pp.163‐190

The Shadow of Homer (detail), 2012,installation basement of AS Gallery, Krakow,Poland

Young people are so easily entrapped by heroic stories and images without seeing the shadow.

Anatomyofaparasite,imageA0format,partoftheinstallation,theShadowofHomer

2012, installation in the basement of AS Gallery, Krakow,Poland

For the complex installation The Shadow of Homer, Ralf Sander made a large-scale environmental piece that reworked the very notion of Homer`s Epic and contemporary issues.

Heworkedprincipallywithassembliesoffoundobjectsandcollage,oftencontainingwrittentexts.Heincorporatedwrittenlanguageinhisartandusedwhateverwasathandforhisrawmaterials‐‐heplacedimagestakenfromanillustratedmagazinesandphotosinhispermanenttransformingmaze,usingadvertsandchangingtheimages.

Theyarethelawofidentity:whateveris,is(AisA);thelawofcontradiction:athingcannotbothbeandnotbe(AcannotbeBandnot‐B).Thepostmoderndiscourse,leadtothedeconstructionofthemasternarrativesofModernism(e.g.,progress,reason,art).Wearetodayleftwitharelativeconceptoftruthinthiscontextthelawsofidentityandcontradictionareworthtobequestionedin

thecontextofsculpture.Inthisinstallationseeminglycontradictingfactsbecomeoneandthesameobject.Importantistheangleofobservation.

2012 Ralf Sander`s Studio with different experiments of transformative sculpture

Ballerina, 2012 ( sculpture not published)

The discrete charm of the new world order 2012 93cm x 78cm x 55cm aluminum and lacquer

The shadow of James Joyce, 2012 sculpture and spotlight

Experiments for shadow drawings

88

Was ist Postironie?(von Diana Porr, 8.8.09)

Wir leben in einer Kultur der Fragmentierung und der Copy-and-Paste-Identitäten, der medialen Vermit-tlung und massenhaften Reproduzierbarkeit von einfach allem. Alles ist nur noch Zitat eines Zitats. Wir müssen uns selber zu einer Marke und Ware machen und unsere Haut zu freiem Markte tragen und wehe dem, der sich nicht rechnet.

What is post-ironic? (08/08/09 by Diana Porr, Kunstforum International bd.213 Feb.2012 s.202)

We live in a culture of fragmentation and the copy-and-paste identities, the mass media communication and reproducibility of just about everything Everything is just quote of a quote. We must merchandise

9

Fragmentation, Defragmentation and Transformation

For this project, I have created radically flattened sculptures from sketches made on a computer drawing pad. I then crafted anthropomorphic sculptures from flat panels in a spatial arrangement.

I want these sculptures to become images and exist simultaneously between both the two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. This combination of sculpting and drawing challenges the conventional aesthetic boundaries between three-dimensionality, flatness, monumentality and spontaneity.

My figurative sculptures appear solid in their physically and positioning, yet they are fragmented and vulnerable in their construction. The silhouetted simplicity is my homage to what I consider a cliché. At the same time, they play with human perception and expectation, e.g. when I juxtapose a lady, walking towards the viewer, with a flying bird.

My work engages with pre-conceptions about cultural ideals, in order to challenge established perception and interpretation. I often use historical precedent, or a combination of historical and contemporary images. These are a point of departure for more surreal reinventions.

I deliberately use well-known images for my combinations, such as the Medusa painted by Caravaggio and Osama Bin Laden’s portrait, which has left a trace in contemporary minds. One said that looking directly at Medusa would turn the viewer into stone. The other portrait may be said to have a similar effect. The image of Bin Laden is burnt into our collective subconscious.

The uncertainty of reality and the impossibility conclusively to speak about what has happened in the world in the last decade evokes fear – a fear that leads to a kind of petrifaction.

I am challenging expectations and preconceptions of the viewers. What they see depends utterly on their position. When seeing an object, we expect to be able to

presume the other views. When these expectations are deliberately not fulfilled, the objects become riddles in three dimensions. Images melt into and change their denotation and meaning: they are transformed.

For the sculpture: The Man who Became an Aeroplane,, I used a very popular image of Joseph Beuys that bears the inscription: “I am the revolution”.

The Man who Became an Aeroplane, 2012 Aluminum 84x32x72 cm

Joseph Beuys „La rivoluzione siamo Noi“, 1972 (© bpk / Hamburger Kunsthalle, Kupferstichkabinett / Elke Walford

The sculpture The Ambassador refers to the painting by Hans Holbein with the title The Ambassadors. The sculpture references cultural constructs, both old and new, and all these constructs have somehow been impaired. Possibly they have just been “re-born”, allowed to return to life as long as they relinquish their stalwart facades. These relativized concepts then refuse their representational or symbolic status and become something like an instrument: they resonate.

The Ambassador The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein 1533

10

11

A personal experience of being a foreigner, of perpetually changing location, culture – and consequently values – apparently leads to an affinity to different styles and subject matter. But the constant element is transformation. This is reflected in the metamorphosis of the work. Also, this fact has strong influence on how I engage with space. Through a period of changing locations, I literarily experience the fragmentation of space. Travelling by plane seems unreal. Entering these pipes in one place of the earth and leaving them somewhere very far away brings with it an uncertainty in and of reality. The Newtonian spatial model was that the object is placed in space, defined by a containing boundary.

We are today experiencing two parallel shifts: the transition in science from the study of discrete things, which become smaller and smaller, to fields of activities, an engagement with emergence, e.g. in the relationship between chaos theory and flow structures. What is emerging is the idea of the viewers literally entering – immersing themselves in – the space between visibility and invisibility.

I use forms in between forms or states: the empty space. This canb e seen in works like Thank You Very Much Nice Boot! or The Man Who Found His Head.

Thank You Very Much, Nice Boot! Aluminum

120x40x95cm

12

Kuros de Anavisos (Creso),

Museo Nacional de Athenas, 540-515 a. C. Photo © Según Richter (1990)

Contrapposto is sculptural scheme that originates in Ancient Greece: the standing human figure is poised such that the weight rests on one leg (called the engaged leg), freeing the other leg (which is bent at the knee.)1 This invention the changed the inner movement of sculptures. It became a self referential spiral or helix, which created and claimed the sculpture’s own space. It leads to a disconnection of the realm of the real and that of sculpture or art. This understanding and diversion has been dominant at least in Western thinking until the last century.

I am particular interested in sculptures and installations in which I can probe the human body and sharpen people’s physical perception. In my work, nature, human beings, technology and current thinking, derived from science and philosophy, are closely intertwined.

1 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/135385/contrapposto

The outline is very important for 3-dimensional works. It is in human perception one of the initial steps of recognition. Archaic Greek sculptors used this fact in their works. Archaic Greek sculpture is made like a box with four main views. Judging by the frontal view, it is nearly impossible to assume the side or back views. An interesting phenomenon concerning the Greek Kuros is that it seems to move. Standing in front of such sculptures, they seem to keep moving into the viewer’s direction. The same effect was used by Alberto Giacometti for his later works.

Lady-Bird Transformation view: front

13

14

Anamorphosis of a cube, it becomes just visible from one position.

Cube 250 cm x 180 cm x 154 cm Steel 2001

15

1000/sec sculpture Waterdragon

21

22

23

24

Works for the exhibition

Transformations - Fragmentation - Defragmentation

at F.E. McWilliam Gallery Bambridge UK from April 2012 to October 2012 in the sculpture Garden

The Sculpture Garden was designed to capture the spirit of F.E. McWilliam’s garden in which his studio was situ-ated at his home in London’s Holland Park. Divided by yew hedging and herbaceous borders the garden provides a series of tranquil ‘rooms’ in which to survey the sculptures on their granite plinths.

I deliberately use well known images to combine them, such as the Medusa painted by Carravagio and Bin Lad-ens portrait which has left a trace in contemporary minds. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone speaking about the other portrait, it has a similar effect.The image of Bin Laden is burnt into common sub consciousness. The uncertainty of reality and the impossibility to speak about what happened in the last decade evokes fear – a fear that leads to a kind of petrifaction.

Sculpture Garden

28

32

Lady and Dog studio view with model

33

Lady and Dog 2012 220 cm x 156 cm x 180 cm

35

The man who became a chicken 2012 80 cm x 64 cm x 32 cm

36

37

38

The man who became an aero plane 2012 82cm x 86cm x 38cm

40

Becoming the Black Raider 2012 140 cm x 180 cm x 42 cm (and model aluminum)

42

Studio view with the scull of The Ambassador 2012 96cm x 53cm x 68cm Aluminum

2/3 D sculptures by Ralf Sander, images

43

The Ambassador 2012 96cm x 53cm x 68cm Aluminum

44

Who else plays Golf? 2011 mixed media 180cm x 200cm x 200cm

45

Thank you so much, nice boot 2012 180cm x 160cm x 45cm aluminum

48

Never ending story 2012 70cm x 93cm x 85cm stainless steel

49

50

The discrete charm of the new world order 2012 93cm x 78cm x 55cm aluminum and lacquer

The discrete charm of the new world order refers to extremes in the social development of our society during the last decade. I quote Murakami pattern on very well known images.

abu-ghraib-torture

51

The discrete charm of the new world order 2012 93cm x 78cm x 55cm aluminum and lacquer

52

Slap in the face 2012 52cm x 68cm x 55cm aluminum

53

Slap in the face 2012 52cm x 68cm x 55cm aluminum

54

55

56

The German 2012 70cm x 40cm x 62cm aluminum

57

The German 2012 70cm x 40cm x 62cm aluminum

58

59

The man who found his head2012 aluminum 240 cm x 126 cm x135cm

60

F.E. Mc William figure in a bomb blast Woman of Belfast

Poster for the parking space of F.E.Mc William Gallery Politics of Fear

61

Sculpture of an exploding car 2011 25cm x 30cm x 45cm

62

OIL BARRELS LIKE THESE USUALLY CONTAIN HARMFUL AND DANGEROUS MATERIALS

Participative work . Inside the two oil barrels are small photos. Visitors were asked to write or draw on the surface of the barrels. They will become black during the exhibition.

http://www.google.de/imgres?q=iraq+bomb Photo: ©R.Sander

63

Small sculpture models

64

65

66

Models view

68

Metamorphose 2012

69

70

Model Photo

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

82

Models and concepts

83

85

Lady- Bird Transformation

At a first glance the sculpture seems to be a girl or a woman walking towards the visitor. The same sculpture looks from the front side and the rear like a lady from both sides like a seabird. The visitor will recognize first a lady from the distance. But a shift of shape happens when the visitor continues approaching the building. Before entering the building the lady becomes a seabird.

It is the simple secret of sculpture that we can never see all views at the same time but we predict them. What you see depends very much on the position you look from. Since ancient times, “The Sea-Gull” is the state of mind that longs to fly free in the sky. The seagull is the link between different worlds, as it is capable to be on land, in the air, or at sea. Medium film has also the capability to transfer our mind into various new worlds. The city bird of Busan is the seagull, whose wings and clean body symbolize a “white-clad people” (Korean people). The surface of the sculpture is highly reflecting, polished stainless steel or colored chrome plated. The surface will reflect the color and forms of its surrounding. People may also discover themselves in the reflection.The sculpture is shaped in a highly contemporary material and style but at the same time manufactured in a traditional way.

Exceptional locations and human creations need a mascot to emphasize their value like for example “Flying Lady” of Rolls Royce. Lady-Bird- Transformation can become an iconic landmark and an artistic symbol of identity for the Busan Film Center and its function as host for the Busan Film Festival.

86

First Aluminium model for Lady bird Transformation

Making the Lady-Bird-Transformation

Making the transformation sculpture

Lady - bird - Transformation

88

Computer animation of the sculpture in final material

3D model view

89

90

91

start of the work and cutting the styrofoam

shaping the sculpture

93

In the factory before casting

96

International Art competition The Belfast Harbour Commission Winner and First Price:

Landmark at the entrance of Belfast Harbor

It refers to the myth of the Seahorse. As the mythical Seahorse, the sculp-ture is a shape-shifter. Observing the body of the Seahorse, you may find some other forms. The sculpture will reflect the surrounding environment, like a kaleidoscope.

It is dancing on a column in the shape of an enlarged bollard in the same design as the common Belfast bollards and bits.

The Sea-horse in Belfast and Northern Ireland

The Belfast Seahorse 2011

Description: stainless steel sculpture, a symbol and artwork for the identity of a location

Commissioner/ Client: Belfast Harbor Comission

Key requirement of the brief: To develop an iconic landmark, design and build a significant piece of art that marks the entrance of Belast and Titanic Harbor

Installation/ Engineering: Ardt und Partner, Architects Potsdam, Prof Herbert Sander

Location: UK Belfast Northern Ireland

Title: Belfast Seahorse

Dimensions: 8500 x 3000 x 3000 mm

date: 2011

97

The dancing Seahorse is designed as a mascot and a mythical protector for the city and the people of Belfast. The original Belfast Sea-horse is compounded of the front quarters of a horse and the hinder part of a fish or dol-phin. The image of the Seahorse is used in several locations. They are the emblems on several entrances of public parks, beaches, columns etc. But for my surprise nobody I asked was consciousness aware of this fact.

The seahorse, which is used twice, shows the maritime importance of Belfast, as does the ship at the base of the shield.

Belfast Crest

This crest dates back to 1613, when Belfast was granted town status.

The use of the Sea-horse in the North has a much older tradition. Several precristian stonecarvings are evidences for the important role the mythical creature played in this part of the island. There are clear resonances with earlier abstract forms such as the rock art of New Grange in Ireland which dates from before 3000 B.C.

The Myth of the Seahorse in Belfast Lough

Fisherman from Carnlough, co. Antrim told me a about a strange creature, half horse, half fish. They call it the Glashtin or cabbyl-ushtey.

Sightings

The first recorded sighting by a Mrs. John Allison in 1772. Another early instance tells of two horses swimming towards the open sea. A fisherman who wanted to bring them back to the coast saw them mysteriously disappear-ing under the water. The boat was nearly pulled beneath the waves and the owner was barely saving himself by cutting the rope attached to the horses. The creatures has been reported a number of times though no absolute conclusions have yet been made. Witnesses say glashtin *waterhorse is dark blue to scarlet or emerald with a lighter underside and measures between 15-20 feet. There where reported sightings every year to the middle of the 19th century.

In Myth, Legend and Reality the Seahorse stands for protection, recovery, health and very contemporary relations between man and woman.Seahorses in Myth & Legend around Belfast and Antrim Coast

Left to right: Centauer, horse, salmon, bull, deer, Sea-horse (mythical), Hippocamp

98

In some variant stories the Glashtin may be seen as benevolent, fond of children and a protector of old people. Libations of milk were poured for her, especially on selected stones; this veneration may be linked with older fertility customs. The Glashtin has been described in some folklore as watching over children while their mothers milked the cows and fathers watched over the herds.

In the village of Carnlough on the north coast of Antrim, a Glaistin served as the guardian of the local fisherman. It was customary to pour some milk into a holed stone on the break-wave as a libation to the Glaistin. This small token was the only payment she requested for her long vigils. A local herds boy - who was widely known for his mischief - decided he was going to have some fun at the Glaistig’s expense, and poured boiling milk into the holed stone. The Glaistin severely scalded her tongue, and was so angry that she left the local waters, and her warden ship of the village for good. Ceffyl dwr, in the form of a huge and clumsy horse were reput-edly seen plunging up and down in the sea when thunderstorms were brewing, or just before a gale and the color of its coat would reflect the weather conditions, changing from the pure white of sea-foam to the colors of thunderheads. It is said that at Greencastle Bay just after a storm such an animal was seen.

100

Making the scale1:1 model

102

Curriculum Vitae Ralf Sander Born 1963 12 15German, Married, Daughter Naomi (18)Lives in Seoul, Korea, Belfast UK and Berlin

Qualifications

1984-87 1988-90 1990 1992

2002-04 Since 2005 Since 2008

Exhibitions 2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

Studied Fine Arts at the University of Fine Arts BerlinCircumnavigation of the world on a 41 feet sailing yachtFirst academic Degree at the University of Fine Arts Berlin equivalent to British MA)“Meisterschüler”at the UDK( University of Art) BerlinVisiting-professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Warsaw Reader in Fine Arts / sculpture UU BelfastProfessor for sculpture at Seoul National University, South Korea

MoA invites, Moa Seoul /KoreaTaehwa River, Art Project, Ulsan /Korea Catching the moon in a cup, Brandenburg Schloss Nennhausen /GermanyBelfast Seahorse, Belfast Harbour Commission /Northern Ireland“My wee private island” public performance and photo exhibition, Hazel bank, Belfast /UK WSM III Queens Street Studios, Belfast /UKMagnetic Islands, RMIT /AustraliaKIC Nordart /Germany„Die Welt der Zeichnung“ Burg Giebichenstein Halle /Germany WorldSavingMachine, MoA (Museum of Art, Seoul) Seoul /Korea Drawing of the world, world of drawing, SNU Museum of Art /KoreaSpiegelungen der Wirklichkeit ,Duesseldorf Skulpturenforum Isernhagen /GermanyStation , Gwanak Gu /Korea Siberian Photo Festival Museum for Contemporary Art Novosibirsk Siberia, Ekatarinenburgh /RussiaGlobal Warming/Icebox Philadelphia /USA The Third Dimension Dundalk /IrelandThe Royal Ulster Academy’s Annual Exhibition ,Belfast /UKUp is Down Schloss Nennhausen /Germany

1000/sec Sculpture ,Kunststation Bukow /Germany Cargo Cults, , Warsaw /Poland Venetian Schizo /Italy Cobh Harbour Project Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh /Ireland

103

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Solo exhibitions

2011201020092008 2007 20072007200620062005200320032002200120001998199719961996

Rolandtransfer, Brandenburg /GermanyArt Fluid Canal, Le Landeron, Daejon /Switzerland /Korea Aquamediale ,Spreewald /GermanyXII Rohkunstbau Germany , Gross Leuthen /GermanyDie dritte Dimension Haus der Kunst Muenchen /GermanyDropzone, Brandenburg /Germany „Leibgedächtnis“ Art Academy Warsaw /Poland Dundee,UK / Waschhaus Potsdam /Germany”Exterritorial II“ Land Brandenburg /Germany Recherche de Place Just Art Gallery, Berlin /GermanySchering Kunstverein, Transhuman /Germany Club der Polnischen Versager (Media) /GermanyKunstwinter, Berlin /Germany Exterritorial I, Brandenburg /GermanySalon de Portrait, Paris /France Spektrale, Brandenburg /Germany Secret Garden, Kunstverein Bruecke, Berlin /GermanyKulturinstitut Lehnin Galeria Rzezby .Warsaw /PolandMoran Museum of Modern Art Seoul /Korea Individualitaeten Loewenpalais /Berlin Just Art Galerie, Berlin /Germany Naju Art Festival /Korea,Darmstädter Sezession /Germany „Biennale des Arts Miniatures“ Quebek Kanada (catalogue) Quebek /Kanada

Catching the moon in a cup, Kirche Bukow und Schloss Nennhausen /Germany WSM IV Equations, Queens Street Studios, Belfast /UKWorldSavingMachine ,MoA (Museum of Art, Seoul) /KoreaUp is Down, Schloss Nennhausen /Germany1000/sec Sculpture ,Kunststation Bukow /Germany Cargo Cults ,Warsaw /PolandVenetian Schizo ,La Serpara /Italy Rolandtransfer ,Stadt Brandenburg /GermanyLundby Fundation, Copenhagen /DenmarkGalerie Vertikale ,Lübben /GermanyRecherche de Place ,Just Art Gallery, Berlin /GermanyTranshuman, Schering Kunstverein,Berlin /Germany Secret Garden, Kunstverein Bruecke, Berlin /Germany Transhuman, Galeria Rzezby,Warsaw /Poland Oracle, Just Art Galerie, Berlin /Germany Ralf Sander, Just Art Galerie, Berlin /Germany Holzskulpturen, Gallery MFB, Berlin /Germany Menschenbild, Auktionshaus, Ullstein Figuren, Just Art Galerie/ Germany

104

Stipendien / Grants/ Art Prize 1993/9419941995199520022003

Public Art

1997

200620072011

Art commissions 2011 200620052003200320022002200220012000199919981996199819951994

Grant / Stipend NaföG StipendiumGrant DAAD Stipendium für Studienreise nach China und JapanArt Prize, Preisträger des Bosch Förderpreises Work ArtProjektförderung der Stiftung Kunst und KulturArt Prize, Kunstpreis „ Spektrale“ Brandenburg (Kurzfilm)Grant ,Deutsch-Polnische Kulturstiftung

Natur- Kunstzeichen Symposium „panta rhei“ Symposium Collaborative Project, Hohenstuecken BrandenburgResidency Sculpture Centre Oronsko (Centrum Rzezby Oronsko) /PolandTeahwa River Festival, Ulsan /Korea

“Belfast Seahorse”, Belfast Harbor Commission /UK Rolandtransfer, BrandenburgConstruction/ Deconstruction ,Gross Leuthen„Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht“ ,Landratsamt ,Dahme SpreewaldTrace, Sparkasse, Koenigs Wusterhausen SparkasseEar of the Sky, Schering, BerlinDanzer, Frankfurt„ To learn is to be open“, Paul Gerhard Gymnasium, LübbenDreifeld Multipupose arena „Cubus“Dominicus Dominican Church, MainzSpreewaldklinik Brandenburg„Wasserwelle Wildau“, WildauKlaproth Stehle Technical University, BerlinDesign for marcetplace in Töpchin, BrandenburgKlaproth Stehle Campus Technical University, BerlinDesign of School building facade, Töpchin

105

Ralf Sander is an artist who works with a di-verse range of media in an extensive oeuvre, that includes sculptures, films and videos, photographs, prints, installations and vocal works.

Publication DateApril 10th 2012

PublisherRalf Sander

EditorShoMoKin

PrintingMac Process

SoftwareIndesign cs5

TypefaceArialTime

Photos & ImagesRalf Sander

CopyRight © 2012All right reserved.No reproduction, copy or Transmission of this Publication may be made without written permission of Ralf Sander.