Nicolaus Schmidt
Encyclopedia
Nicolaus Schmidt is a German artist and photographer. He studied at the Hamburg
Art Academy (HfBK) in the 1970s. In 1975, he founded ROSA, one of Germany’s first gay-themed magazines. From 1980-89, Schmidt was an art teacher in Hamburg. During the 1980s, he was a volunteer with the German branch of the children’s rights organization Terre des Hommes
, serving for a time as its chairman. Since 1991, he has been living and making art in the Berlin
neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg
.
In 2008, Schmidt and Christoph Radke presented RECONSTRUCCION! (Reconstruction) at the 10th Portes Obertes in El Cabanyal/Valencia, Spain.
With this performance/installation
, the artists protested against the demolition of the architecturally and historically significant quarter. Despite their efforts, the area was partly destroyed shortly thereafter so that a new avenue can be built.
Another long-term project is the Kosmographie Gayhane, which Schmidt started in 2004. Gayhane is a successful Berlin nightlife event at the legendary SO36
, offering Turkish gay
s and lesbians a place to meet. Schmidt’s Kosmographie is both documentary and fiction. It is a collection of fifty photographic portraits as well as illegible words written in an oriental-looking script.
Since 2007, the artist has been working on the New York Breakdancers Project (N.Y.P.B.). In a first show 2009 at Deutsches Haus/NYU he presents a series of large sized photographs tackling the subject of breakdance in urban space. "Nicolaus Schmidt’s photos are based on the idea of giving the
dancers all the freedom to perform while the artist acts as a quasi-neutral observer". (Aboli Lion)
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Art Academy (HfBK) in the 1970s. In 1975, he founded ROSA, one of Germany’s first gay-themed magazines. From 1980-89, Schmidt was an art teacher in Hamburg. During the 1980s, he was a volunteer with the German branch of the children’s rights organization Terre des Hommes
Terre des Hommes
Terre des hommes may refer to:* Terre des hommes , a 1939 philosophical memoir by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...
, serving for a time as its chairman. Since 1991, he has been living and making art in the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....
.
Public Works
In 1982, Nicolaus Schmidt created the Cerro Rico Aktion with 100,000 tin cans. In this work, the artist created an outdoor installation inspired by his interest in Third World affairs. Via public media, people were asked to collect tin cans so that the artist and his team could build a shining silver mountain (“Cerro Rico”) to symbolize the Bolivian mountain of the same name. This project called attention to the historical exploitation of South America’s wealth by European conquerors, and the use of child labor in the region. The Cerro Rico Aktion served as a prototype for many campaigns protesting conditions in the developing world.In 2008, Schmidt and Christoph Radke presented RECONSTRUCCION! (Reconstruction) at the 10th Portes Obertes in El Cabanyal/Valencia, Spain.
With this performance/installation
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
, the artists protested against the demolition of the architecturally and historically significant quarter. Despite their efforts, the area was partly destroyed shortly thereafter so that a new avenue can be built.
Photography and Painting Projects
Since the end of the 1980s, Schmidt has been working on his “Morphograms,” anthropomorphic designs derived from the lines of the human body. The works start as drawings and are transformed into paintings and sculptures.Another long-term project is the Kosmographie Gayhane, which Schmidt started in 2004. Gayhane is a successful Berlin nightlife event at the legendary SO36
SO36
The SO36 club, is a music club on Oranienstrasse near Heinrichplatz in the district of Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany.It takes its name from the historic postcode of that area SO36, in which the SO stands for Südost...
, offering Turkish gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s and lesbians a place to meet. Schmidt’s Kosmographie is both documentary and fiction. It is a collection of fifty photographic portraits as well as illegible words written in an oriental-looking script.
Since 2007, the artist has been working on the New York Breakdancers Project (N.Y.P.B.). In a first show 2009 at Deutsches Haus/NYU he presents a series of large sized photographs tackling the subject of breakdance in urban space. "Nicolaus Schmidt’s photos are based on the idea of giving the
dancers all the freedom to perform while the artist acts as a quasi-neutral observer". (Aboli Lion)
Exhibitions (selection)
- 1987: Ve-Vie-Lu - Kunstverein Geheim, Hamburg
- 1992: Galerie Graf & Schelble, BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
- 1994: Morphogramme - Städtisches Museum FlensburgFlensburgFlensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
- 1997: 26 Morphogramme eines jungen Mannes - Galerie ACUD, Berlin
- 2006: Gayhane - Ebene +14, Hamburg
- 2008: Kosmographie Gayhane - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York City
- 2008: RECONSTRUCCIÓN! - X. Portes Obertes, Valencia, Spain
- 2009: God Dancing / Spiders Flipping - Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York City
Source
- This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the German Wikipedia, accessed on 6 August 2009.