Tilmann Krumrey
"I work in the stone quarry of humanity and have the heart of a poet."
Myth contains the spiritual body of society, its ‚public dream‘. Art, once servicing god, shaman or priest, is, nowadays, one of the last professions directly linked to the ‚collective subconscious‘. Therefore art is a principle path to transformation of society. I see the naked human body as an expression of the mythological symbol. The intuitive comprehension of body language and gesture unlocks spontaneous access to the content across all frontiers. Sculpture contains, inevitably, the third dimension. Built space (architecture) and built body (sculpture) are complementary patterns. Architecture forms due to the proportion of construction versus human most of the time negative, hollow spaces where we are within: interiors, public spaces, streets, urban structures. Whereas the positive volume of human bodies and of sculptures dispenses space.
Man-Wo-Man Acrystal Prima oder Bronze 2012, 153 x 55 x 84 cm. Edition of 4 (plus 2 AP)
EXPLORING CONDITIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL II
The monomyth cycle Starting from basic human actions that became traditions over the centuries of sculpting since Egypt and Greek Antique, the standing figure, the walking figure and the lying figure, the artist further explored conditions of being human in our world throughout the nineties. After several years, Krumrey realized, he was telling a mythological pattern, known as the Hero’s Journey or Monomyth. Its a storyline which is repeated endlessly in countless ages, cultures and languages, as American mythologist and writer Joseph Campbell discovered, just over 50 years ago. Campbell found that myths from every culture he evaluated shared a common theme – a circular narrative pattern of danger and redemption. The hero is forced to leave the safety of home, crossing a threshold beyond which lies adventure. He is exposed to great danger and has to face a series of tests, after which he receives divine help, discovers his true heritage and returns home to enrich the society he has left with his new-found knowledge. The pattern, first named by James Joyce, became very popular in storytelling especially in the film industry.
Impotence 2008, 197 cm. (hight), patinated bronze, Edition of 4 (plus 1 AP)
When Krumrey realized in 2006, he was following in his search of cardinal soul conditions of human subsistence the very same pattern, without even knowing it, he started using it as a compass and guideline for his future work. The first cycle of works, begun in 1996, explored the basic human actions and combined it with a dialogue of the Torso (truncation, shown in HELPLESS, CALM, NIKE, MAN-WO-MAN versus „non finito“ as realized in AROUSED) and a simultaneous dialogue of abstraction versus figuration (CALM, HELPLESS, AROUSED, PRESSURE DROP, CAIN and ABLE)
CAIN and ABLE 1997 / 2010
The opposite of truncation – combination – resulted into several artworks of combining artificial bodies of antagonistic entities, as seen in CAIN and ABLE (1997 / 2010), PRESSURE DROP (1997), MAN-WO-MAN (2006 / 2012).
The understanding of built space (architecture) and sculpture as two antagonistic poles, meaning that architecture creates negative spaces (interiors) whereas the positive volume of sculpture dispenses space – the artist begun in 2010 with the development of built environments or architectural stages. Krumrey intentionally controls all senses of the visitor by defining acoustics, light, temperature, smell, sensorial and body impression in order to create a holistic artwork (Gesamtkunstwerk). Examples could be seen 2010 at Brienner 48, Munich and at the International Art Festival of Arenas de San Pedro near Madrid, Spain.
Adam 2013 Patinated bronze Edition of 4 (plus 1 AP), 1/4 193 cm. (height) Bronze or Ductile Iron Crystal Cell endless battery, LED, glass
