Martin Mosebach writes his books
by hand. Between 1995 and 1997, he produced 172 very closely written
pages for a novel provisionally entitled Das Lamm (The Lamb). The 575-page
book was published in 2000 by Aufbau Verlag in Berlin as “Eine
lange Nacht” (A Long Night). The handwriting of the original manuscript
is minuscule, and deciphering the text is strenuous, useful working material
for an author trying to keep a firm grip on his concept.
When Rebecca
Horn saw the manuscript, she was enthusiastic about its aesthetic qualities
and artistic strength. Every page is a picture that reveals the
writer’s stream of thought and shows his concentration, precision,
and artistic vision. She decided to make an artwork out of this “objet
trouvé”. In 2002, she staged the story of the long night for
a photo shooting on location at the original sites in Frankfurt/Main. Twenty-four
photo-paintings are based on this material. The photographs’ distinctive
multiple-exposure technique allows the story’s protagonist to fuse
with the action’s settings. Overpainted by Rebecca Horn afterwards,
the images connect the real world with the world of ideas. They observe
and commentate. Fields and waves of energy are inscribed on the pictures
while mythical creatures carry us into a fanciful and poetic transitional
world.
The artists’ book Das Lamm draws all this material together:
Martin Mosebach’s manuscripts are reproduced as facsimiles on 200
pages. Rebecca Horn’s photo-paintings, opulently printed on art paper,
are inserted loose between the pages like bookmarks or notes. They are
embedded
in the author’s ideas and produce a vast new painting.
...
www.rebecca-horn.com |