For ten years now, we have been offering this inclusive outreach project centered around art and poetry, in which social institutions and schools work together with award-winning stage poets Pauline Füg and Henrikje Stanze to bring our museum's artworks to life in a poetic way.
Two participants of the senior garden Auszeit with Henrikje Stanze in front of Walter De Maria, The Large Landscape, 1966, © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
This year, the themes of love, rebellion and beauty were the focus of our sessions. We were delighted to welcome numerous visitors from a wide variety of life situations to the Word:Picture Sessions at DASMAXIMUM. Especially remarkable were the emerging group dynamics between the different institutions. The recited poems, which were created in connection with the artworks, created an atmosphere in which everyone could feel comfortable and open.
Christa Tauser, caregiver at the Selberting home, sums up the mood with her words:
"Personally, I was - as always - very enthusiastic about the way the two stage poets Pauline Füg and Henrikje Stanze encouraged the participants to look at the art and think about it. I was amazed that really everyone contributed something, and from that I could see that they felt comfortable. The two of them create this familiar feel-good atmosphere within a very short time."
One highlight was the collaboration between the seniors with intellectual disabilities from the Lebenshilfe tango group and the seniors and residents of the Selbertinger Heim in Nußdorf. Together they explored works of art by artists such as Walter De Maria and Georg Baselitz and got to know each other better. The resulting poems formed the basis for an impressive improvised poem on the theme of "love".
Pauline Füg with participants of the Selbertinger Heim. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
Henrikje Stanze with a senior garden participant in front of Walter De Maria, The Large Landscape, 1966, © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: DASMAXIMUM. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
The young people of the Wilhelm-Löhe-Förderschule were positively rebellious. With selected poems and works of art, Pauline and Rikje created the necessary access to the young people to become creative together.
"The students of the W-L-Förderschule got involved in the project, sometimes with skepticism, but also with curiosity. From station to station, the students increasingly took heart and participated actively in the discussion. In the end, they were all eager to create a poem together from the topic offered on "breaking the rules". One student took on the task of creating his own rap verse, which was also read out and acknowledged with firm applause. The morning offered students and teachers exciting moments and wonderful invitations to experiment with their own perspectives." - Alexander Rosenberg (Wilhelm-Löhe-Försderschule)
And the young people of PSO Traunstein also increasingly opened up and took on the theme of rebellion - albeit from a completely different angle - in their improvised poem.
Students of the Wilhelm-Löhe Förderschule with Andy Warhol. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
Pauline Füg and Henrikje Stanze with the students of the Wilhelm-Löhe-Förderschule in front of John Chamberlain, ...and his hair was perfect, 1978, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
The day center of Caritas Traunstein together with a class of the Hertzhaimer-Gymnasium from Trostberg proved that even groups that are most different at first sight can create a harmonious and at the same time dynamic dialogue. In front of Andy Warhol's "Be a Somebody with a Body," they discussed "true" beauty and how we are often deceived by supposed beauties.
Summer Night at the Museum with Word:Pictures Anniversary Celebration
Usually, the sessions are celebrated with a Wort:Bilder closing party in the context of the participating people. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary, there was of course another reason to celebrate and so this year the project was celebrated at a summer night in the museum with a rich program. With free admission, the museum was open until dusk in the summer evening sun, hunger and thirst were quenched by the food truck of Landgasthof Hittenkirchen, and in a joint tour, Pauline Füg and Henrikje Stanze presented the Wort:Bilder project, as well as selected improvisational poems from the past ten years.
Pauline Füg in front of Walter De Maria, The Large Landscape, 1966, © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: DASMAXIMUM. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
Pauline Füg and Henrikje Stanze with participants of the Summer Night on a tour of Word:Pictures in front of Walter de Maria, Equal Area Series (#15), 1976-1977, © Estate of Walter de Maria. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
Visitors:inside the summer night in the evening sun with cold drinks and summer dishes of the Landgasthof Hittenkirchen. Photo: DASMAXIMUM.
As a special highlight, we are publishing an e-booklet with a selection of improvisational poems and the corresponding artwork from the past ten years. The booklet is available for free download on our website.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to our friends and supporters DASMAXIMUM, as well as to the private sponsors, whose financial support has once again made the Wort:Bilder 2023 edition possible.
