Ernst Kolb (artist)
Ernst Kolb (born October 22, 1927 in Mannheim ; † July 1, 1993 in Mannheim) was a German Art Brut artist and a Mannheim original .
Life
Kolb's father was a railroad worker and he grew up in a railroad children's home on the Danube, because his mentally ill mother was gassed by the Nazis in 1940 (so-called euthanasia ). This was concealed from family members with a forged death certificate. It is not known whether Ernst Kolb ever learned this truth. His sister was also mentally ill ( schizophrenia ), she lived until 1974. Ernst Kolb became a baker.
In 1969 he began to draw himself, initially only in his notebook. In 1978 he became unemployed because of a typical occupational allergy, and in 1984 he took early retirement. He used his time to attend municipal council meetings, court hearings, lectures, open days, exhibition openings, concerts or other occasions. The versatile Kolb thus became a well -known original in the city . His appearance and his full plastic bag hardly matched the atmosphere at receptions, readings and vernissages he attended. He discussed in his dialect. The drawings he called "scribbles" finally caught the eye of other artists, who provided him with tutoring and enabled him to have his first public exhibition in 1985, which was an extraordinary success. The "original" had become an artist to be taken seriously, an obsessed draftsman whose works were exhibited several times and the other artist encouraged him to write, draw and model him.
In 1991 he suffered a stroke from which he did not recover properly. He last lived in a nursing home, where his last exhibition took place in 1993. In July 1993 he died of stomach cancer in a hospital and was buried in the main cemetery in Mannheim with the participation of many people.
In December 2012, the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne acquired 26 drawings by Kolb. 19 years after his death, Ernst Kolb has thus received his place in this important collection of outsider art.
reception
- In the Brockhaus, which was given to the city in 2007 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Duden-Verlag, Mannheim and Leipzig, there is the entry: “Kolb, Ernst, baker and draftsman, * Mannheim October 22nd, 1927, † July 1st, 1993; had to give up his job in 1977, since 1984 retired. He attended as many cultural and political events as possible and was therefore given the honorary name Citizen Kolb ; since 1997 also making large-format drawings (from 1983 exhibitions). "
- On Kolb's 60th birthday , the article was published in Mannheimer Morgen, No. 242, Mannheim on October 22, 1987: “Kolb,“ the man with the plastic bag ”has received literary honors, especially in the story by Rolf Bergmann. But how did the “Bürger Kolb” trademark come about? This name first appeared in the “Mannheimer Morgen”. Citizen Kolb has confirmed this in black and white to an «MM» editor in a hand-made certificate ("« I swear it »"). The title awarded to him in this way, which Kolb proudly wears, denotes someone who has long since taken part has become the Mannheim original. "
- In the review of the Mannheimbrockhaus it is said that Ernst Kolb is the man with the plastic bag and the horror of every vernissage .
- In August 2013, Ernst Kolb presented issue 79 of RAWVISION, the specialist journal for outsider art, in a 6-page article.
literature
- Rolf Bergmann : The man with the plastic bag . Marsilius Verlag, Speyer, ISBN 3-929242-21-4
- Rolf Bergmann: Ernst Kolb, baker, citizen, artist Wellhöfer Verlag ISBN 978-3-95428-142-8
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://chronikstar.mannheim.de/?start=24503&sort=8&PHPSESSID=gnspodrksttuool845cc930q7hhkain2 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://kunstundkosmos.de/Regionen-Staedte-Architektur/MannheimBrockhaus.html
- ↑ Article in the RAWVISION journal (original English / translation German)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kolb, Ernst |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Art Brut artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 22, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mannheim |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 1, 1993 |
| Place of death | Mannheim |