Günther Uecker's pointed artistic messages

Günther Uecker, born in Pomerania in 1930, is particularly known for his signature nail fields and has made at least one every year since the 1950s. Many of his pieces are privately owned. His body of work was presented in an exhibition at the Kunstsammlung North Rhine-Westphalia, titled "Uecker."

This piece is one of the works for which this exhibition was a public debut. Günther Uecker created the above nail relief in 1962 after attending the wake for fellow artist Yves Klein in Paris. Klein was not only a friend, but also Uecker's brother-in-law and passed away from a heart attack at the age of 34.

In 1994, the Chinese government invited Uecker to create an exhibition in Beijing for which he conceptualized the work "Letter to Beijing." Uecker wrote the UN Declaration of Human Rights on 19 large linen cloths, obscuring some of them with black paint. However, the Chinese Ministry of Culture cancelled the event at short notice, claiming that the Chinese people weren't ready for his art.

"Verletzungswörter" (Injury Words) was another artistic appeal against the abuse of human rights. Putting down the hammer, Uecker delivered impact through 60 words curated to evoke the physical and psychological wounds of humanitarian atrocities. Exhibiting internationally, he translated terms like "beating," "despising" and "gassing" into the local language and inscribed them for the display.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, Günther Uecker created almost 30 sound objects. Visitors can interact with Uecker's "Terror Orchestra" through large red buttons on the floor, creating an incredible chorus of screeching, crackling and roaring.

This record player is one of the instruments in the terror orchestra. As opposed to designing a composite sound, Uecker created each of the noise machines individually, as his intention was not to create new music but to assault the senses with simultaneous noises.

In stark contrast to the noisy terror orchestra, the peaceful sand circle symbolizes the passage of time. A motor turns the wooden structure, dragging small plows in a circle. With each rotation it creates new trails and covers the ones from before.

Between 1968 and 1983 Günther Uecker self-published the Uecker Newspaper. He used the medium to promote his art as well as his artistic and political ideas. He also printed poems and reviews of his exhibitions. For the exhibition, a new edition of the newspaper was published, including texts about Uecker by art historians from all over the world.

The New York Dancer is a sculpture made of cloth, metal, an electric motor and nails. The work from 1965 looks like a white cactus at first glance but transforms into a spinning blur when visitors decide to press the switch next to the sculpture.

Günther Uecker has worked according to this motto all his life. The exhibition at the Kunstsammlung North Rhine-Westphalia in 2015 showed more than 60 works by Uecker spanning five decades and various media including sculptures, objects, nail fields and films, demonstrating the versatility of one of Germany’s most important contemporary artists.