David Woodard

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Woodard in 2020

David J. Woodard (  [ ˈwʊdɑːrd ] ; born April 6, 1964 in Santa Barbara , California ) is an American artist and writer . His copies of the " Dreamachine " have been presented in numerous exhibitions around the world. In Germany he wrote articles for the magazine “ Der Freund ” (2004–2006). In his essays and travelogues he sat down u. a. intensively dealt with the Paraguayan Nueva Germania and the occasionally resident Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche . Please click to listen!Play

Life

Woodard changed his place of study frequently and studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara , the New School for Social Research , Columbia University , San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Nueva Germania

In 2003 he was elected to the City Council of Juniper Hills, Los Angeles County, California . In this capacity, he proposed a town partnership with the Paraguayan Nueva Germania , which was founded in the 19th century by German emigrants as a "refuge for the Aryan race". To move this plan forward, Woodard visited the local council. After his visit, he did not pursue the plan any further, but had found an object to study in the city, which he subsequently described several times in articles and interviews. He is particularly interested in the stay of Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth, who lived there between 1886 and 1889. Woodard subsequently organized group trips to Nueva Germania and also won the support of then US Vice President Dick Cheney for the colony.

In the spring of 2006, Woodard was a lecturer at the Wissenschaftsakademie Berlin , a now closed educational institution with a satirical background. The title of the event, which was directed together with Christian Kracht and the composer Christian von Borries , was “Nueva Germania — Failed Eugenics in the Paraguayan Jungle”.

"Dreamachine"

Since 1989 David Woodard has been building copies of the "Dreamachine", which was developed in the 1960s by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville (1940–1976). It is a cylinder that rotates around a light source. Different shaped holes are punched in the cylinder, creating a stroboscopic effect when the "Dreamachine" is turned quickly. This hits the closed eyelids and creates intense color and light visions, which are intended to stimulate images in the brain that are supposed to resemble those of a drug intoxication or a dream.

Woodard's "Dreamachine" has been exhibited several times, first in 1996 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as part of the exhibition "Ports of Entry - William S. Burroughs and the Arts".

In 1997 he gave the writer William S. Burroughs a "bohemian model" on his 83rd birthday, which was on loan from the William S. Burroughs Estate to the Spencer Museum of Art . On the occasion of a memorial service for Burroughs, Woodard built a "Dreamachine" draped with ermine fur , which was auctioned off at Sotheby's in 2000 for a high price.

Other Projects

Since the 1990s, Woodard has also stood for the art form of “prequiem” (a neologism made up of requiem and the prefix “pre”), in which he composes individualized pieces of music on his own initiative or on the initiative of others and performs them during the death of a person. This in Buddhist traditions reminiscent practice offered Woodard several public and non public life at or brought the respective Prequiem also for performance Woodard describes himself as "an artist who is fed up with much of the pretentious nonsense did has come to define Western culture . ”He uses colored inks to prepare musical scores.

Publications (selection)

Web links

Commons : David Woodard  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: David Woodard  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kober, H .: "In, around and around Germanistan" . In: taz , May 18, 2006.
  2. ↑ Wiederstein, M .: "The Rivellatrinker" . In: Swiss Month , October 2012.
  3. ↑ Maus, S .: "Oh, how beautiful is Paraguay" . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 21, 2006. — Cf. also the official website for the event .
  4. ↑ Woodard, D .: "The Dreamachine" , for PROGRAM | initiative for art + architecture collaborations , Berlin, November 2006.
  5. ↑ Knight, C .: "The Art of Randomness" . In: Los Angeles Times , August 1, 1996.
  6. ↑ Spencer Museum of Art: "Welcome to the Spencer Collection" , University of Kansas .
  7. ↑ Allen, M .: "Décor by Timothy Leary" . In: New York Times , January 20, 2005.
  8. ^ Anon .: "Composer creates fanfare" . BBC , May 11, 2001.
  9. ^ Reich, K .: "Family to Sue City, Firms Over Angels Flight Death" . In: Los Angeles Times , March 16, 2001.
  10. ↑ Kim, TK: "Terror Tunes" . In: Intelligence Report ( SPLC ), Summer 2005.
  11. ^ Kracht, C., & Nickel, E .: Instructions for use for Kathmandu and Nepal: Revised new edition . Munich : Piper Verlag , 2012. ( p. 173 )
personal data
SURNAME Woodard, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woodard, David J. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Santa Barbara , California