An Analog Legacy and Its Digital Echo
Exactly 30 years after the death of Offenburg artist Hermann Sprauer, a collaboration between the Städtische Galerie and the Media Department at Hochschule Offenburg offers a completely new perspective on his paintings of the Ortenau region. From July 26 through August 21, Sprauer’s original works from the city archives, accompanied by works by students, will be on display in the Kunstverein’s galleries at the Kulturforum.
The focus is on about a dozen works by Hermann Sprauer, which are grouped into the local themes of Offenburg, Zell-Weierbach, Durbach, the Rhine Valley, the Black Forest, and the Baroque/Romantic periods. Born in Offenburg in 1905, the artist created a wealth of extraordinary color linocuts depicting landscapes of the Ortenau region beginning in the 1970s, through which he interpreted the concept of “home” that was in vogue at the time. His prints, published only in small editions, captivate with their deliberate reduction, an art of omission, an abstraction of reality, and a masterful use of color. Today, they are sought-after collector’s items. The main prints were also published in 1990 in the book *Bilder der Ortenau*, which the City of Offenburg released as “Publications of the Offenburg City Archives (Volume 6).” Students in the Department of Media at Hochschule Offenburg are now reengaging with these works—not as a substitute, but as a contemporary echo. They are placing the images in a new context and transferring them into the digital world. In doing so, they draw on the full range of resources offered by the Media Department: the project includes videos, audio installations, photographs, 2D and 3D animations, virtual reality, 3D printing, as well as analog works. The students break down Sprauer’s images into their color layers and, through this deconstruction, reveal the complexity of the anatomy—the structure—of the artworks. Elsewhere, they liberate the motifs from their two-dimensionality, reconstruct them into mathematical paths, and thus make them walkable. Through contemporary photographs of the original sites, they document the changes that have taken place. In addition, they have created an exhibition catalog, flyers, postcards, a website, and a social media presence to accompany the exhibition.
The opening reception will take place on Sunday, July 26, at 2 p.m. as part of the family festival on Platz der Verfassungsfreunde in the Kunstverein’s exhibition spaces. The exhibition will then be open through Friday, August 21, Wednesdays through Fridays from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; admission is free. Information on additional weekend hours and much more will be available shortly on the website hermannsprauer.hs-offenburg.de.
