Bodo Muche

Bodo Christian Muche (* 8. December 1939 in Radeberg , † 16th December 2017 in Mt. Glenhowden, Queensland ) was a German bronze sculptor , sculptor and taxidermist of the 20th and 21st century, in the GDR , in Botswana and Australia lived and worked and achieved international recognition. Through the naturalistic rendering in the plastic, in the designs of his sculptures from miniature to monumental , he tried to use the expressive means of the bronze sculptor to draw attention to the beauty and uniqueness of living beings and to stand up for their protection.

Life

Muche was born on December 8, 1939 in Radeberg as the second son of entomologist Werner Heinz Muche and his wife Elisabeth, née. Förster (1913–1979), born. The entomologist Bodo von Bodemeyer (1883–1929) was the godfather of his first name, Bodo, whom Heinz Muche always regarded as his role model because of his research trips and scientific work. Muche did not get to know his father until he was 7 years old, as he was drafted into the armed forces shortly after his son was born, became a prisoner of war and was only allowed to return to his family in 1946. The scientifically committed father awakened Bodo Muche's love for nature and for collecting and preparing animals at an early stage. The father's reports about his close friendship with Max Hinsche (1896–1939) also shaped Muche's further life. The parental home enabled him to learn the English language with a private teacher during primary school.

The proximity to Dresden , with the countless offerings of art treasures in galleries and museums, was the trigger for Muche's early visual perception and gave suggestions to process and implement nature experiences artistically. He developed a special focus on the pastoral animal sculptures of the 17th century French school and made the French, naturalistic sculptors of the Les Animaliers art direction his model. After completing primary school in Radeberg, he trained as a taxidermist at the Natural History Museum in East Berlin from 1954 to 1957 . He completed this with further studies in the fields of zoology , anatomy , art history and design . Another training was also on the forestry college Eberswalde and in Wittenberg , where he Julius Riemer collection and the collector Julius Riemer met in person. During this time in Berlin, he was first noticed in the scientific community. Entomological journals reported on his findings of rare insect species that he had discovered and described in the Dresdner Heide , Mecklenburg and Eberswalde.

In 1958 he left the GDR via West Berlin and went to Switzerland via various stations in Europe . From there he began planning and preparing a long-term scientific trip to Africa , which he began in 1961. In East Africa he traveled upstream on the Nile . Stations were u. a. Tanzania , from there he went to Bechuanaland in 1965 , which at that time was still under British protectorate . On September 30, 1966, he witnessed the declaration of independence for the country, which from then on was called Botswana.

Muche's encounter with the gamekeeper, circumnavigator and African explorer Simon Holmes à Court , with whom he had a great friendship , also took place during this time . Holmes was a gamekeeper in the Okavango Delta , and both friends worked as conservationists. After the mysterious disappearance of Simon Holmes à Court in Botswana in 1977 and the unsuccessful attempts at clarification by his brother, the Australian billionaire Robert Holmes à Court, Muche decided to leave Botswana, which was on the brink of civil war.

In Gaborone Muche met his future wife Robyn from Australia, who worked there as a research assistant on behalf of the Australian nature conservation authority of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service . The couple left Africa in 1978 and went to Australia with their two daughters. In Queensland, it acquired the Glenhowden estate on the Valley River.

Muche died on December 17, 2017 in his home at Mt. Glenhowden.

Act

Africa

Muche lived and worked in Tanzania and Botswana for more than 17 years, initially as a taxidermist and hunting companion. These activities were associated with guiding tourists on hunting safaris and hunting trips who, as big game hunters, collected trophies and whose hunting yield then had to be prepared immediately. In 1971 he took part as a taxidermist at the First World Hunting Exhibition in Budapest , where he received a gold medal for the dermoplasty of a group of Gerenuks .

Muche increasingly got to know the beauty of nature in Africa with its unique flora and fauna and increasingly began to distance himself from the business of a hunting guide. He turned more to the artistic design and production of animal sculptures in bronze and specialized in the lost wax process in his first own foundry .

Australia

After moving to Mt. Glenhowden / Queensland in 1978, the Muche couple found the place for joint artistic work. They founded the Bodo Muche Fondry Studio , one of the most famous studios in the world for the production of bronze and stainless steel sculptures that are cast using a special "lost wax process". While Bodo Muche had devoted himself to sculpture as a contemporary naturalistic artist, who designed, modeled and produced all of his works from miniature to monumental himself, his wife Robyn was a trained graphic designer and worked creatively as an artist, book author, illustrator and photographer. Both artists were committed and avowed conservationists , which is reflected in their work in the most vivid way. Since the studio was founded, the aim has been to use artistic quality and commitment to draw attention to values ​​and resources, especially to the endangered species and to preserve them through artistic reproduction in plastic, sustainability through forms of expression in the art of achieving. Muche's numerous sculptures on the themes of fish / marine, bird life, wildlife and culture reflect this concern. He increasingly turned to people in his work and worked on a thematic basis. In 2013, on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Ludwig Leichhardt (1813–1849), the so-called German Humboldt of Australia , he created a life-size bronze sculpture by the researcher Leichhardt for the joint Australian-German honors.

On the same occasion, Muche offered in 2015 to create a life-size Leichhardt bronze monument for Berlin. Bundestag President Norbert Lammert had promised help after his visit to Australia, but the offer was not implemented.

Muche had subjected himself and his work as a sculptor to constant artistic development. He created unique works of art of plastic design of the highest technical and artistic quality. He is well known, especially on the international scene. Another large foundry, which he also built and operated in Los Angeles , made it possible for him to produce large commissioned works by private enthusiasts from America, Europe and the Orient, such as B. life-size sculptures of famous racehorses and champions . The most famous Australian racehorse Todman , cast in life-size bronze by him, stands in Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Sydney .

Sculptures by Bodo Muche can be found internationally in renowned public and private collections. He can refer to countless recognitions and recommendations from government agencies, companies, associations and individuals as well as to national and international exhibitions. Its limited editions are world-renowned works of art, also as gifts, awards and trophies. Among other things, his sculptures are annual coveted awards , which are given as prizes at the major events in Hawaii , the great deep-sea sport fishing tournaments in Kailua-Kona (Hawaii Billfish Series) .

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA), of which Ernest Hemingway was a founding member , announced the value of awarding the trophies at the grand awards gala in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with the words: The Hawaiian Billfish Series is delighted to have trophies to be awarded by the world-famous sculptor Bodo Muche . Special stainless steel trophies Muches were awarded on the occasion of the Bahamas Billfish Championship by the IGFA in Palm Beach and Islamorada in Florida as well as in Cabo San Lucas , Mexico .

Outstanding for the realistic depiction of people are his life-size bronze sculptures The Bugler of Burwood (The Bugler) in Eyre Park in Port Lincoln and Hugh Sawrey & Darkie Dwyer - a bush legend .

Works in the visual arts (selection)

see also picture galleries in Bodo Muche Studio Foundry.

• Todman , Australian racehorse, bronze life-size, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse / Sydney
• Merino Ewe with lamb , free-standing sculpture bronze, life-size, in 1988 the first time at the World Expo World Expo 88 in Brisbane ; honored there by Queen Elizabeth II . permanently exhibited in the Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Center in Longreach / Queensland
• Samson and his donkey , bronze sculpture group, Australian synonym for humanity
• Jackie Howe , larger than life bronze sculptures group of the legendary sheep shearer
• Rodeo , sculpture group
• Hugh Sawrey & Darkie Dwyer - a bush legend , life-size group sculpture of two men seated at a table
• The bugler of Burwood (The Bugler) , a life-size bronze statue of an Australian Light Horse Bugler (signal trumpeter) erected in 2015 at the World War I Memorial in Eyre Park in Port Lincoln to commemorate the ANZAC fighters .
• Marlin , life-size sculpture of a spearfish , as a miniature or maquette, a popular award for deep-sea sport fishermen
• Red Deer, Muche's last great work was the life-size sculpture of a red deer, which he created as a symbol to commemorate the importation of the first two deer on September 19, 1873, a gift from Queen Victoria to the state of Queensland. Since these deer came ashore in Toogoolawah , the sculpture was placed in Somerset Regional Art Gallery The Condensery after Muche's death .

literature

• Bodo Muche: Australian Art and Artists file, Biography , In Serie: Australian Art and Artists file. Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia; OCLC 1036844401
• Bodo Muche: Studios Foundry; Holmes a Court Gallery : exhibition Black, White and Bronze, June 25, 2012
• Marlin Magazine: Kona Shootout Tournament Aug 28, 2014
• The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Direktory , Secretary of Commerce Stephen Robertson, March 24, 2010
• Somerset Regional Council, Dec 11, 2015, Art Gallery - The Condensery
• Stephen Robertson: Queensland Artwork - Going Global, Minister of Economics Media Report 2010
• Gwenn Klein Kirschner, Special Products Dept. National Commodity 1997 ; Märkischer Bote, Nov. 6, 2015
• Entomological journals, Archives of the Friends of Natural History in Mecklenburg, Wilhelm Pieck University 1962
• Church records Radeberg 1780–1980 , family tree Muche, November 12, 2014
• Renate Schönfuß-Krause: If / for whom the world is getting too narrow , continuation series. In: Die Radeberger No. 20/2017 from May 19, 2017 (PDF; 2.6 MB) to No. 22/2017 from June 2, 2017 (PDF; 2.2 MB)
• Renate Schönfuß-Krause: Vale Dulcis - Bodo Christian Muche. Obituary . In: Radeberger No. 1/2018 of January 6, 2018 (PDF; 1.5 MB)
• Renate Schönfuß-Krause: When / for whom the world is getting too narrow . Artist biography of a sculptor and bronze caster in Australia. In: Radeberger Blätter zur Stadtgeschichte. Volume 14, 2016. (Ed .: Große Kreisstadt Radeberg in cooperation with the AG Stadtgeschichte). Online resource at www.teamwork-schoenfuss.de

Web links

• Official website of Bodo Muche Studio Mt. Glenhowden

Individual evidence

1. ^ Geoff Elliot: The Other Brother. The Search for Simon Holmes à Court . Allen & Unwin, Australia 2005 . ISBN 978-1-74114-324-9
2. ↑ Gyulaj forestry and hunting AG. Online resource
3. ↑ Bodo Muche Fondry Studio online resource
4. ↑ Der Märkische Bote from November 5, 2015 online resource
5. ^ The International Game Fish Association online resource
6. ↑ Marlin Magazine: Kona Shootout Tournament Aug 28, 2014 Online Resource
7. ↑ Bodo Muche: Bush Friendship - Hugh Sawrey & Darkie Dwyer (PDF; 1.7 MB) Bodo Muche Studio. 2012. Accessed February 4, 2020.