Jörg Immendorff

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Jörg Immendorff (born June 14, 1945 in Bleckede near Lüneburg, died May 28, 2007 in Düsseldorf) was one of the best known contemporary German painters; he was also a sculptor, stage designer and art professor.

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[edit] Life and work

Cast steel sculpture Elbquelle (Riesa, erected 1999)
Cast steel sculpture Elbquelle (Riesa, erected 1999)
Hyde Park Corner (Sculpture park Cologne, erected 1999)
Hyde Park Corner (Sculpture park Cologne, erected 1999)

He studied at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf (Kunstakademie Düsseldorf) under Joseph Beuys. The academy expelled him because of some of his political and neo-dadaist actions. From 1969 to 1980 he worked as an art teacher at a public school, and then as a free artist, holding visiting professorships all over Europe. In 1989 he became professor at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main; since 1996 he has been professor at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf -- the same school that had dismissed him as a student.

His paintings are sometimes reminiscent of surrealism and often use heavy symbolism to convey political ideas. He was a member of the German art movement Neue Wilde. Best known is his Cafe Deutschland series of sixteen large paintings (1977-1984) that were inspired by Renato Guttuso’s Caffè Greco; in it, Immendorff had disco-goers symbolize the conflict between East and West Germany. Since the 1970s, he worked closely with the painter A. R. Penck from Dresden (in East Germany). In his most recent work, a "painter monkey" often appeared, as an ironic commentary on the artist's business. He named one of his first acclaimed works "Hört auf zu malen!" ("Stop painting!") [1]

He created several stage designs, including two for the Salzburg Festival. In 1984 he opened the bar La Paloma near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg St. Pauli and created a large bronze sculpture of Hans Albers there. He also contributed to the design of André Heller's avant-garde amusement park "Luna, Luna" in 1987. Immendorff created various sculptures; one spectacular example is a 25 m tall iron sculpture in the form of an oak tree trunk, erected in Riesa in 1999.

In 1997 he won the best endowed art prize in the world, the MARCO prize of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Monterrey, Mexico. In the following year he received the merit medal (Bundesverdienstkreuz) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Reportedly he is the favorite painter of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who chose Immendorff to paint the official portrait of Schröder for the Bundeskanzerleramt. The portrait, which was completed by Immendorff's assistants, was revealed to the public in January 2007; the massive work has ironic character, showing the former Chancellor in stern heroic pose, in the colors of the German flag, painted in the style of an icon, surrounded by little monkeys.[2] These monkeys were a recurring theme in Immendorff's work.

Immendorf skillfully used the media for self-promotion. In 2000, his wedding to his Bulgarian former student Oda Jaune more than 30 years his junior became a public event. The two had daughter, Ida, who was born on August 13, 2001.

[edit] Drug scandal

In August 2003 Jörg Immendorff was caught in the luxury suite of a Düsseldorf hotel with seven prostitutes (and four more on their way) and some cocaine. More cocaine was found in his studio; all in all, the found substances contained 6.6 grams of pure cocaine, above the legal threshold for personal use. In interviews, he attempted to explain his actions with his terminal illness and as an expression of his "orientalism" that provided inspiration for his work. He also complained about prostitutes "who don't understand that a good whore does not divulge anything about her clients."[3] He cooperated with the prosecution, admitted to having taken cocaine since the early 1990s and supplied the name of his dealer. At the trial in July 2004, he admitted to having organized 27 similar orgies between February 2001 and August 2003. He was sentenced to 11 months on probation and was fined 150,000 Euros. The mild verdict was justified with Immendorff's illness and his extensive confession. He had been suspended from his position at the university but was reinstated after the verdict.

In March 2004, a woman had attempted to blackmail Immendorff, threatening to divulge further details of the orgies. Immendorff notified the police and she was arrested. Her trial started in September 2004.

[edit] Disease and death

Immendorff was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1998. When he could not paint with his left hand any more, he switched to the right. In 2004 he funded a stipend to research the disease.

In November 2005 he was treated by emergency physicians and was admitted to a hospital, where a tracheotomy had to be performed to help him breathe. As of 2006, he was wheelchair-bound and did not paint anymore; instead he directed his assistants to paint following his instructions. On May 27, 2007, at age 61, he succumbed to the disease.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "German painter and sculptor Immendorff, famed for 'Cafe Deutschland' paintings, dies at 61", San Diego Union Tribune, 28 May 2007
  2. ^ Der goldene Gerd, Hamburger Abendblatt, 20 January 2007. (German)
  3. ^ Ich nenne es meinen Orientalismus, Welt am Sonntag, 24 August 2003. (German)

[edit] External links