Wolfgang Laib
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Laib is a German conceptual artist working predominantly with natural materials.
. From early on he had been interested in art
, foreign cultures and eastern philosophies such as Zen Buddhism and Taoism
, but also for the mystics of the European middle ages
.
His work may be grouped with Land Art
and he shows influences of Minimalism
. He employs natural materials, such as beeswax and rice. Most notable is his use of large quantities of intense, yellow pollen that he collects by hand, then spreads over large areas of floor or piles to conical heaps. He also became famous for his so-called "milk stones": big blocks of marble into which very shallow depressions are sanded, then filled with milk.
Laib considers nature as something to be experienced through the senses, but not the goal of his work; it is rather a space for activity and contemplation to point towards larger contexts. Frequent codes in his work include: "cell", "wall", "seed" and "boat".
Biography
Laib studied medicine in the 1970s in TübingenTübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
. From early on he had been interested in art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, foreign cultures and eastern philosophies such as Zen Buddhism and Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, but also for the mystics of the European middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
His work may be grouped with Land Art
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
and he shows influences of Minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
. He employs natural materials, such as beeswax and rice. Most notable is his use of large quantities of intense, yellow pollen that he collects by hand, then spreads over large areas of floor or piles to conical heaps. He also became famous for his so-called "milk stones": big blocks of marble into which very shallow depressions are sanded, then filled with milk.
Laib considers nature as something to be experienced through the senses, but not the goal of his work; it is rather a space for activity and contemplation to point towards larger contexts. Frequent codes in his work include: "cell", "wall", "seed" and "boat".