Günther Uecker

We have looked at a few pieces this past semester that incorporated the use of nails into the art work.  For the most part I liked all of them....I do remember that student's bear however that was pretty awkward.  I think nails are one of those objects that carry a lot of baggage culturally.  The generally denote, pain, torture, etc..  The semiotics of the nail probably derive from the crucifixion of  Christ, but the symbolism of the nail has been perpetuated by horror films, and groups such as Nine Inch Nails; screws, pins, and needles were used in all three of the Quay Brothers films I watched.

Gunther Uecker is know for his use of the nail in Fine Art beginning in the 1950's, and they became his signature medium.  He is well known for undulating reliefs of nails that seem to shimmer across painted canvases like wheat in a field or living polyps on coral.  Rather that giving off a feeling of discomfort or an urge to recoil, I find myself wanting to reach out and touch his nail reliefs and perhaps send a shiver of movement through the collective.

Schrei (Scream), 2012 Nails, white paint with glue on canvas on wood 78 ^3/4 × 63 in

Doppelspirale (Double Spiral), 2012 Nails, white paint with glue,canvas, wood 78 ^3/4 × 59 ^1/8 in

Phantom Weiss I (White Phantom I), 2012 Nails, white paint with glue, canvas, wood 78 ^3/4 × 59 ^1/8 in

Chair II, 1963. Nails on wood, 34-1/4 x 18-1/2 x 17-3/4 inches

Nails on a chair should look like a straight up torture devise, but Gunther's nails look biological and organismal .  I seen a mold, a lichen or a moss creeping down the leg of this chair.  His nail placement resembles a community of organisms.  Still some of his sculptures are very geometric in form.

    

Schild (Shield), 2012 Nails, white paint with glue on canvas with wood 43 ^1/4 × 17 ^3/4 in

Despite my own feelings on the work.  It is probably quite clear that the nails that Uecker uses in is work are not meant to represent life, but probably death, torture, and mans propensity to violence.  Uecker was born in east Germany in 1930, and was witness to acts of extreme violence during WWII and the division between East and West Germany.  The violence present in his past influenced his subject matter greatly.  He even created a show comprised of "Devises", as in torture devices, that was titled "Man's Inhumanity".