01

even if we are inclined to sip daring and assertive magic from the cup of every showman, only very few are able to convince us of their proffered juice. the consensual seduction seems too tempting and the hands themselves prepare restlessly for a prolonged, vigorous clapping. the cheeks tremble from the yelling and the heavy pounding drives the loosened nails back into the shoes. you are intoxicated and only too happy to repeat this masturbatory thrill. the childish anticipation, coupled with an adult memory ritual, can easily override better knowledge. if it is done well, we want to be deceived.

02

michael wutz can’t help it, he has to assert himself. anyone who was born into archaeology knows the sheer power of proof and he delivers it, piece by piece. he lays out bone after bone to create a form that we think we recognize, but which we know never existed. by daring not only to approach the mythological self-aggrandizement of the third reich in the truest sense of the word, but to spread it even further in thematically and artistically wide-ranging cycles, it becomes clear what risks he is prepared to take in order to test the limits of artistic representation – and ours.

03

every artist who uses magic must not only be sure of his technical skills. anyone who wants to pull the audience light-footedly through the auditorium by the nose ring must rub the enticing story into the ear canals of the willing but rather lame ox. the horst-janssen-grafikpreis-winning draughtsman and etcher is a master of both, and yet we intuitively suspect that we are swimming in the wrong waters with this approach. similar to max ernst, dubbed a magician, who also energetically refuses to be classified as surrealist, both lack the illusionistic masterpiece – the prestigio. the three steps of the miraculous disappearance of objects and their inexplicable rematerialization is not in the artist’s interest.

04

while we simply cannot find a solution in magic and have to leave the mocked-up surrealism by the wayside, wutz’s narrative style seems to offer a possible access to its universe. in his presentation, he certainly uses elements from fantasy and science fiction, but here he also eludes a target-oriented assignment. the picture is too simple, and avoiding its brittle explanation with a simple side-step, wutz also nimbly closes this door. as the author, critic and sci-fi anthologist john clute says, we cannot afford to exclude every vision, or to consider any other form of the world that humans have conceived for us. but how to approach a vision that we cannot label, or only name vaguely?

05

the measuring apparatus influences the object to be measured, as per heissenberg’s uncertainty principle. if we apply this quantum-theoretical statement to michael wutz’s work, the finger misses the honey for precisely the same reason. according to his own statements, the artist’s three-legged foundations stool is based on archaeology, ethnology and philosophy. but what the stool is actually carrying, what michael wutz is looking for, we, his audience, cannot find. nevertheless, we will get caught up in all his subtle alluring traces, depending on what our taste buds are ready to absorb.

06

thrown back again and again on ourselves, our powers of observation and visual openness, the archeological studies, piles of bones and trees hung with skulls always drift very close but clearly past a tangible track. enclosed information sheets only imperceptibly improve this state of affairs. even a glance cast angrily at the artist sinks wavelessly into his beaming smile. the worm that drives wutz to make these fictitious documentaries must lie somewhere between those friendly teeth and the mostly tousled hair. despite all the irritations left behind by being confronted with this work, we realize that we have not only succumbed to a drink perfectly mixed with craftsmanship, but have also been shaken up by it – without knowing exactly why we don’t need to know anything. autonomous vacuum of interpretation – a delicious nose ring wutz is juggling with.

martin eugen raabenstein, 2023

more at galeriefriese.de

michael wutz

01

even if we are inclined to sip daring and assertive magic from the cup of every showman, only very few are able to convince us of their proffered juice. the consensual seduction seems too tempting and the hands themselves prepare restlessly for a prolonged, vigorous clapping. the cheeks tremble from the yelling and the heavy pounding drives the loosened nails back into the shoes. you are intoxicated and only too happy to repeat this masturbatory thrill. the childish anticipation, coupled with an adult memory ritual, can easily override better knowledge. if it is done well, we want to be deceived.

02

michael wutz can’t help it, he has to assert himself. anyone who was born into archaeology knows the sheer power of proof and he delivers it, piece by piece. he lays out bone after bone to create a form that we think we recognize, but which we know never existed. by daring not only to approach the mythological self-aggrandizement of the third reich in the truest sense of the word, but to spread it even further in thematically and artistically wide-ranging cycles, it becomes clear what risks he is prepared to take in order to test the limits of artistic representation – and ours.

03

every artist who uses magic must not only be sure of his technical skills. anyone who wants to pull the audience light-footedly through the auditorium by the nose ring must rub the enticing story into the ear canals of the willing but rather lame ox. the horst-janssen-grafikpreis-winning draughtsman and etcher is a master of both, and yet we intuitively suspect that we are swimming in the wrong waters with this approach. similar to max ernst, dubbed a magician, who also energetically refuses to be classified as surrealist, both lack the illusionistic masterpiece – the prestigio. the three steps of the miraculous disappearance of objects and their inexplicable rematerialization is not in the artist’s interest.

04

while we simply cannot find a solution in magic and have to leave the mocked-up surrealism by the wayside, wutz’s narrative style seems to offer a possible access to its universe. in his presentation, he certainly uses elements from fantasy and science fiction, but here he also eludes a target-oriented assignment. the picture is too simple, and avoiding its brittle explanation with a simple side-step, wutz also nimbly closes this door. as the author, critic and sci-fi anthologist john clute says, we cannot afford to exclude every vision, or to consider any other form of the world that humans have conceived for us. but how to approach a vision that we cannot label, or only name vaguely?

05

the measuring apparatus influences the object to be measured, as per heissenberg’s uncertainty principle. if we apply this quantum-theoretical statement to michael wutz’s work, the finger misses the honey for precisely the same reason. according to his own statements, the artist’s three-legged foundations stool is based on archaeology, ethnology and philosophy. but what the stool is actually carrying, what michael wutz is looking for, we, his audience, cannot find. nevertheless, we will get caught up in all his subtle alluring traces, depending on what our taste buds are ready to absorb.

06

thrown back again and again on ourselves, our powers of observation and visual openness, the archeological studies, piles of bones and trees hung with skulls always drift very close but clearly past a tangible track. enclosed information sheets only imperceptibly improve this state of affairs. even a glance cast angrily at the artist sinks wavelessly into his beaming smile. the worm that drives wutz to make these fictitious documentaries must lie somewhere between those friendly teeth and the mostly tousled hair. despite all the irritations left behind by being confronted with this work, we realize that we have not only succumbed to a drink perfectly mixed with craftsmanship, but have also been shaken up by it – without knowing exactly why we don’t need to know anything. autonomous vacuum of interpretation – a delicious nose ring wutz is juggling with.

martin eugen raabenstein, 2023

more at galeriefriese.de