FOYER, KREUZBERG STRASSE, BERLIN
Foyer, Kreuzberg Str.44, Berlin (1998). Assisted by Freida Rommel. I invited 22 friends, many of them artists and musicians on the Berlin scene, to be photographed for four murals plainly entitled Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. A great deal of symbolism is going on, but what any of it means is not important; in fact I strive on these occassions for quirkiness and ambiguity wrapped up in meaningful and orderly appearance. This was my first contract given a totally free hand, and the art quickly took over from merely decorating a building entrance. The pictures above were taken on our visit in 2013, fifteen years after the murals were completed. I was pleased to find that they have been well looked after - it's a good thing that the street door is kept locked - although some minor repairs are needed. I will suggest carrying them out when I am in Berlin next.
Here is a German language text about the murals by ex-politician and art critic Markus Rabanus. (Translation to follow.)
"Paul Woods – gefeiert, umstritten.
Woods vitalisiert in seinen Werken das Stilelement. Die modernen Symbole, oft schon emanzipiert vom Ursprung, finden in die Bedeutung zurück und erwachen aus der Starre blosser Dekoration zur Kontroverse. Die Leichtigkeit geht nicht verloren und schafft Zugang. Der Künstler provoziert neue Interpretationen, wenn er die naive Jugendstil-Sentimentalität als eine Wegbereitung für den deutschen Faschismus in Fassadengemälde übersetzt und mit der gauklerischen Formensprache der Alternativbewegung verbindet. Das hohe technische Niveau ist dem Speziellen, den übersehenen Streitthemen und dem Zitat vorbehalten. Hingegen werden "einfache Fragen" komplizierende Antworten verweigert / erspart. Woods will zum Erkennen des Wesentlichen die Distanz, sucht die präzise, objektive Definition und hält sie offen für Ergänzungen, offen für hinzutretende Subjektivität. Das Ergebnis ist dann die Nähe."
The photo shoots I enjoy as much as anything else. Project photographer was Neil Hester from London, based then in Berlin.
Not a great one for preparation work, I rarely sketch or paint anything in advance of starting a mural. I am very impatient. I go straight to the wall with whatever ideas I have plus the materials I know I will need. Walls are my canvases. Which doesn't really help a client understand what I intend to do. So, if needs be I will of course present something before commencing work. In this case the above sketch - just a hint of what was to come. Luckily architect Gerhardt Leidinger knows my work and methods (we've worked on various projects together) and agreed upon the sight of it.
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