Artwork “Ebb & Flow”, Mark Prouse
The participatory project “Ganzesumme” (the title is based on the famous quote by Aristotle, which states that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts), which I launched this summer at the State Garden Show in Zülpich and other exhibitions, is still vividly remembered by many people, as I’m often told. Because they themselves lent their hands with hammers and stamps.
What was it about?
All visitors to the State Garden Show, as well as other venues where I exhibited my work in the summer of 2014, were invited to create a small strip of iron using a hammer and letter stamps, free of charge, thus contributing to a single work of art. As I announced in the summer, I intended to create a large work from many small strips after the State Garden Show concluded.
How did the idea take shape?
Over many months, hundreds of people designed nearly 1,000 small metal plaques measuring 10 cm x 1.6 cm. This has now transformed into a work of art that will be exhibited in mid-December at the Schmitz Nursery and Plant Center in Zülpich. Whether it was a person’s own name, immortalized with lettering stamps and a hammer, the date of their marriage, a term, or a life motto – the spectrum of lettering, some of it elaborately decorative, is wide-ranging. Most of the participating artists came from North Rhine-Westphalia, but tourists or newcomers from the USA, Australia, and many European countries also took part. Anyone who wanted to could add their lettering and their place of residence to a list, which can be viewed below.
What came of it?
I chose the motif of the wave for the Gesamtkunstwerk. The structure is about 2 meters tall and consists of several forged iron struts, painted in shades of blue, that spring up from a foundation to create the shape of a breaking wave. The numerous plaques are attached to these in such a way that they create the impression of spray cresting the wave and of water droplets splashing off it. Anyone who knows that I have Australian citizenship, among other things, and that I lived on the Great Barrier Reef for many years of my life, might suspect a connection to the motif of the wave. But that is not the case. After all, reefs have the precise effect of keeping waves away from the shore, or rather, they slow the waves down and reach the shore with less momentum! As beautiful as the Great Barrier Reef is, you will look in vain for great waves there, as surfers know very well! “The whole is more than the sum of its parts” – this idea formulated by Aristotle was the motto of the participation campaign for the Gesamtkunstwerk. This principle permeates many areas and contexts of life, and I find it fascinating to explore this idea. In this context, I also considered which of the themes or motifs in which it manifests itself would be appropriate for the State Garden Show and could be translated into artistically appealing form. One day, when my gaze fell on the lake on the grounds and I noticed the streams of visitors pouring through the entrance gates like cycles of ebb and flow, and then literally ebb again, the motif became clear to me. A wave is much more than the sum of its individual components. And my company is called “Elements,” so it fits well in that respect too! Therefore, I chose the wave motif and called the work “Ebb & Flow.”
Who participated?
List of participating artists Artwork Ebb & Flow
Review and outlook!
It’s a work of art that a great many people have contributed to. My thanks go to all the participating artists and everyone who supported the project in other ways. The work of art will be ceremoniously unveiled on Sunday, December 14, 2014, at the Schmitz Nursery and Plant Center in Zülpich-Ülpenich, and can be viewed there.
