Alfred Schmidt (artist)

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Alfred Schmidt (born April 4, 1930 in the Bergisches Land ; † December 20, 1997 ) was a German painter, draftsman, advertising designer and author.

He initially made a name for himself internationally as an advertising designer . In the mid-1970s he turned to painting . A series of pictures of Iceland was created. At the same time he moved from Düsseldorf to the Ruhr area . Here he drew underground until his death on December 20, 1997. Graphic documentations of the world under our feet were created, as well as portraits of working miners .

Education

Alfred Schmidt studied design , painting and architecture with Professor Oberhoff and Professor Krause in Wuppertal . At that time, Wuppertal was affiliated with the Düsseldorf Academy. Alfred Schmidt was a fellow student of Wolf Vostell and Joseph Beuys .

job

The time as an advertising designer

Up until the mid-1970s, Schmidt was mainly concerned with design. He became art director of the Düsseldorf advertising agency Troost and headed the form design department . Many interesting designs were created during this time. In 1965, for example, Alfred Schmidt developed an aircraft for the Bayer-Leverkusen company that was to take part in both road and air traffic. In 1969 he designed the vinegar bottle for Hengstenberg, which almost everyone has already held in their hands, to name just two of the numerous products designed by Alfred Schmidt. In 1969 he developed a stacking balloon that was awarded the World Star 1970 for outstanding design and is now part of the 20th Century Design Collection in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. As a result, Alfred Schmidt received a visiting professorship in the field of design at the University of Buenos Aires .

Drawings underground

As early as 1972, Alfred Schmidt had been concerned with the idea of ​​painting and drawing "underground" in the mines of the Ruhr area. But it wasn't until 1975 that he was able to put this project into practice. That year, he and his wife, the artist Monika Schmidt-Brockmann , moved to the Ruhr area. In the following years the first drawings from the world of miners were made. What was only planned for a short time developed into a life's work. For almost 25 years, mining was the focus of Alfred Schmidt's life and work. In more than 400 drawings, under the most difficult conditions, he graphically opened up the world under our feet and carried it to people in over 30 actions. On a regional, supraregional, even international level, he conveyed detailed impressions of space travel into the interior of the earth . Because this is actually what mining can be compared to. Not only the technical level of this process, but also the daily challenges to the miners to discover and develop unexplored areas, made Alfred Schmidt coined this term very early. He developed an ambition of his own, which only a few artists have, to depict what he has seen and experienced as realistically as possible. His pictures and drawings thus became the last and unique comprehensive testimony to one of the most important factors in recent German history, industrialization in mining and the development of "black gold".

At the Bremer Vulkan shipyard

The closure of the Bremer Vulkan shipyard was another topic that sparked Alfred Schmidt's interest. In the summer of 1997 he drew the construction of the last ship here. He was accompanied by a team from WDR television, which filmed the documentary The Last Ship - The Draftsman Alfred Schmidt at the Bremer Vulkan Werft about this current project by the socially committed artist (WDR TV, broadcast: December 16, 1997) .

It was to be the painter's last project, as Alfred Schmidt died on December 20, 1997.

The artistic legacy

After Alfred Schmidt's death, the Schmidt family's house in Gelsenkirchen was renamed Alfred Schmidt House . Since then, some works by the underground draftsman have been on view here, after an appointment has been made by telephone. In addition, his widow, the painter Monika Schmidt-Brockmann , and his daughter, the author Kira Schmidt , are still committed to culture in the Ruhr area and are also self-employed.

literature

Awards

In 1981 Schmidt received the newly founded Citizens of the Ruhr Area award .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, draftsman, advertising designer and author
DATE OF BIRTH April 4, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Bergisches Land
DATE OF DEATH December 20, 1997