jay rechsteiner
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The New ManThis painting is based and inspired by Otto Freundlich's sculpture Der Neue Mensch that was destroyed by the Nazis. A photograph of it was selected for the cover of the famous exhibition guide (Austellungsführer) of the 'Entartete Kunst' (Degenerated Art) exhibition in 1937. Looking at the current historical situation (COVID-19 pandemic and the protests triggered by George Floyd's murder by the police) when things seems to be changing with extraordinary speed and the status quo is being challenged by a huge mass of people, we are looking for new definitions. I think Freundlich's work Der Neue Mensch is of utmost relevance at it was at the time. I have decided to translate the word human to man. As a German speaker I find the the term man in the English language rather confusing and bewildering as it is used to describe all mankind, i.e. men and women. As in most languages there is a deeply rooted male dominance within culture which is one of many aspects I would like to highlight with this painting. There are of course also numerous examples in the German language for such male dominance such as the word for team which is Mannschaft. It consists of the word Mann (man in English) and the suffix schaft. When you want to refer to a team made of female members, the word Frauenmannschaft is usually applied. Why is there the need of having Mann in this word? It is of course more than justified to use the word Frauschaft. However, Frauschaft is very close to Frauenschaft which was used by the Nazis to describe the National Socialist Women's league. As I have said this only one aspect of the work. Rather than trying to explain my work, I would like to throw questions into the open. What is the new man? Who is the new man? Is it the product of the entire human evolution, the conditioned outcome of our entire history? Is this new man a temporary construct created by the media? Is the new man the enemy of the old established way of life? Is it enemy of the settled structures of power. This piece is all about finding out who that new man is. Is the new man a modern man? Is the new man a man? A woman? Is the new man part of the so-called third gender? Is the new man genderless? Is the new man double gendered? Is the new man a man of revolution that is about to bring change? Is it the accumulation of all mankind? Is the new man lonley? Is the new man part of the wider public? Is the new man tangible? Questions over questions. Besides the above questions another aspect I am personally interest in is the work also questions the nature and definition of painting as the process of painting or a painting. How far does a painting go? When does it finish being a painting and when does it start being a painting?
Display The fabric is pinned to the wall in a wrinkled state, this is also a translation from the rough surface of the stone of the original piece. I have decided to use a white piece of fabric and black paint to write THE NEW MAN as it evokes a black and white area. Black and White represents the past to me, the world was black and white. size: 250cm x 250cm
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