Mastodon
Exhibitions Review

Exterior

At the Haus am Wehrsteg, the Prinzhorn Collection meets comics and public space

The Haus am Wehrsteg and the Printhorn Collection have invited comic artists to artistically comment on works and artists of the Prinzhorn Collection. The resulting works will be printed on tarpaulin in a large format of 6.5 x 4.5 meters and exhibited on a monthly basis from January to June 2022 on the tower of the Künstlerhaus Haus am Wehrsteg and thus in Heidelberg's public space. The participating artists (Anke Feuchtenberger, Anna Haifisch, Wolfgang Klee, Lucie Langston, Mawil, and Henning Wagenbreth) represent current events in the field of comics and graphic novels in Germany.

The Concept

As the most important collection of artistic works by psychiatric patients, with a focus on drawings, the Prinzhorn Collection offers a wide field of results of diverse creativity. Communicating them to a broad audience is a challenge due to the small size of their works and their fragility. Comics, with their narrative tendency, accommodate the narrative character of many works in the collection. The topos of the outside is also an important motif in the collection via the experience of "limits of the ego" and "custody" and can additionally find its way into the artistic debate.

The artists

Six artists have each created a comic page or a picture on a theme of their own choice.

The first is Henning Wagenbreth, a long-time professor at the University of the Arts in Berlin. He deals with inventory number 1 and case 1 of the collection - Gustav Sievers "Bischoffstanz" - and reinterprets it in a richly colored way. In February, Anna Haifisch (Leipzig), winner of the Max-und-Moritz-Prize as best German comic artist of 2020, follows, working on "Bitte um ein Stück Kuchen!" by patient artist Helene Maisch. Finally, in March, Lucie Langston (Mainz) will show an examination of Josef Grebing's life, which ended as part of the Nazi "euthanasia" program, based on a letter he wrote. Langston's work was recently published in the New York Times. In April, former stage designer and cartoonist Wolfgang Klee (Frankfurt) follows with an examination of Carl Genzel. Comic book artist Mawil (Berlin) is another invitee in May. Anke Feuchtenberger (Hamburg), a university professor and winner of the Max-und-Moritz-Preis 20XX as best German comic artist, will take part in June.

Mediation

The project is accompanied by a magazine and a podcast series in which the artists and curators have their say.

HERE you can listen to the podcast.

Funding

Außenseiten is supported by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, by a donation and the city of Heidelberg.

https://hausamwehrsteg.info/

Images: Mawil, "The Fool on the Hill," 2022 © Mawil

Alois Dallmayr, "Chef und Führerstern Gott hl. Geist.", undated, inv. no. 2029m © Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg University Hospital.

Contributions January - June

January: Henning Wagenbreth, „Der Bischoffstanz“, 2021 © Henning Wagenbreth
February: Anna Haifisch, „Hi Welt. Bitte um ein Stück Kuchen“, 2021 © Anna Haifisch
March: Lucie Langston, „Liebe Eltern“, 2021© Lucie Langston
April: Wolfgang Klee, „Der Kannibale von Heidelberg“, 2021 © Wolfgang Klee
May: Mawil, „The Fool on the Hill“, 2022 © Mawil
June: Anke Feuchtenberger, „Das Lachen der Medusa“, 2021 © Anke Feuchtenberger

The models from the Prinzhorn Collection

Gustav Sievers, „Der Bischoffstanz“, between 1903 and 1912, Inv.Nr. 1 © Prinzhorn Collection, University Hospital Heidelberg
Helene Maisch, "Bitte um ein Stück Kuchen!", 1919, Inv.Nr. 1816 recto © Prinzhorn Collection, University Hospital Heidelberg
Josef Grebing, "meines XX. Jahrh.dts. Calender - Zeitrechnung für katholische Jüngling. + Jungfraue" [Centennial Calendar], before 1920, Inv.No. 613 fol 14 recto © Prinzhorn Collection, University Hospital Heidelberg
Karl Genzel, "Woman and Man or Adam and Eve", c. 1920 © Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg University Hospital
Alois Dallmayr, "Chef und Führerstern Gott hl. Geist.", undated, Inv. No. 2029m © Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg University Hospital.
Elisabeth Faulhaber, untitled, c. 1916/ 1917, inv. no. 3728 fol. 27 recto © Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg University Hospital
EN