Rock graffiti (magazine)
| Rock graffiti -
Literature and culture magazine for Namibia |
|
|---|---|
| description | Namibian literary and cultural magazine |
| language | German |
| publishing company | German Culture Council Namibia / self-published |
| First edition | December 2005 |
| Frequency of publication | Half-yearly |
| Sold edition | 300 copies |
| (+ digital edition) | |
| editor | Heiko Denker, Helga Falk, Monika Hoffmann, Miriam Hutterer, Barbara Kahler, Heike Uhrich, Felix Werner |
| Web link | www.deutschinnamibia.org |
| ISSN |
1815-9028 |
.jpg)
The rock graffiti (subtitle: literature and culture magazine for Namibia ) is a German-language culture and literature magazine that appears every six months in Windhoek ( Namibia ). The magazine was founded in Windhoek in 2005 by a group of cultural and literary people around Dieter Esslinger, who was also the first editor-in-chief and held this position until his death in 2014. Since then, the post of editor-in-chief of the rock graffiti has been vacant and is divided among the editors according to tasks. (As of 2016). The magazine promotes and publishes current literary productions in Namibia in the German language, mostly by German-Namibian authors. Furthermore, texts (fictional literature, essays, reviews) by literary and cultural workers living in Germany as well as journalists and literary scholars are published. Rock graffiti is particularly well known for the series of interviews with contemporary artists about the foundations and requirements of their work on the southern African continent. The cover usually adorns a work from the artist's current oeuvre, which is presented in the respective issue.
Alignment
In the first edition of Felsgraffiti (2005) you can find the authoritative motto of the former editor-in-chief Dieter Esslinger:
“Rock is stable and durable. Rock appears wherever the land is old and not covered by lush plants or buried by deposits of millions of years of geological history or drowned by unfathomable floods. Such a country is Namibia. [...] Whoever writes needs a base like a rock and an audience. For many people, creative writing is useless and, as soon as the author exceeds the boundaries of what is known and recognized and easily understandable and entertaining, a nuisance because it cannot be interpreted, just like graffiti and because the author behind what is depicted cannot be identified. Rock graffiti brings the difficult, rarely recognized and yet so important creations of our authors to the public. "
This orientation has been maintained since then and the task of Felsgraffiti magazine was primarily to offer Namibian writers (and later artists) a platform for the publication of their literary and artistic works. By offering courses on creative writing at the same time - Die Schreibwerkstatt , z. B. on the topics of 'Glossary' (2015) or 'Narrative Theory' (2016) - as well as the announcement of literary competitions, the publication of (fictional and fictional) German-language texts on the African continent should be promoted. Rock graffiti sees itself as a cosmopolitan, interdenominational, multicultural and decidedly non-political point of contact for all citizens and residents of Namibia who are interested in the German language and African culture. Previous guest authors have included Annemarie Brell, Ingrid Demasius, Nadine Gaerdes, Iris Grädler, Hans-Volker Gretschel, Wanda Kirchner, Jörg Klinner, Ingrid Kubisch, Sylvia Schlettwein, Helmut Sydow, Andreas Vogt and Elke Reinauer.
History of the magazine
The idea of founding the magazine Felsgraffiti went back to discussions between the participants in a writing workshop, which was organized by the German Cultural Council in Namibia in 2005. It was then criticized that the group of German-speaking citizens and residents of Namibia, which in 2016 still comprised around 20,000 native speakers, had only a few platforms for the publication of literary texts. The magazine quickly found recognition in the Namibian literary and artistic scene.
The rock graffiti interviews
Strictly speaking, the interviews are more of the category “conversation”, since not all questions to the interviewee are formulated at the beginning of the conversation. Against the background of the fact that people in a free conversation situation may open up more quickly and more often personally (compared to the situation of a neutral set of questions in an interview), preference is given to the free development of the conversation. Accordingly, this type of conversation can also provide a deeper insight into the thinking and work of artists, which is due to the "more private" atmosphere and the possibility of more detailed inquiries. Established artists are preferably invited to a discussion, but attempts are also made to provide a platform for talented young people and experts from the Namibian science and culture industry. So far, the following people have been invited to the interview:
- Kuno Budack (ethnologist)
- Lucia Engombe (radio journalist)
- Toni Figueira (photographer)
- Klaus Hess (publisher)
- Giselher W. Hoffmann (writer)
- Franz Irlich (2008 director of the Afrikahaus Sebnitz, Africana collector)
- Bernhard Jaumann (writer)
- Elke Le Roux (architect and draftsman)
- Johan Loubser (2005 Director of the National Library of Namibia)
- Gerdis City Lord (painter)
- Jonathan Shapiro (cartoonist)
A special feature of the interviews is that the interviewed artists have the opportunity to reflect in great detail on the technical and autobiographical foundations of their art in a personal conversation. This is also expressed in the fact that the artists are invited to the respective launch of the edition and are available in front of an audience for a second, thematically expanded discussion.
Introduction evening ( the launch )
Another special feature of the literary and cultural magazine Felsgraffiti is the evening of introductions. In addition to the conversation with the artist and the artist portrait of the current issue, prizes for submitted and published texts are awarded to Namibian writers. In addition, editors present selected texts from the current edition in short form (which can be of historical and contemporary origin) and provide the audience with further information on historical topics or contemporary literature that has emerged from the research. The highlight is the mostly very entertaining auction of selected works of art, which at the same time marks the end of the performance. In the professional auction - depending on the art form practiced by the guest artist - paintings, drawings, lithographs, photographs, etc. are auctioned.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Esslinger. Namibiana.de, February 20, 2014, accessed August 5, 2016 .
- ^ Dieter Esslinger bestowed with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Windhoek, February 18, 2014, archived from the original on August 8, 2016 ; accessed on August 8, 2016 .
- ↑ Conjuring stories from words. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. February 19, 2016, accessed August 5, 2016 .
- ↑ The new rock graffiti is here. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. December 2, 2011, archived from the original on August 8, 2016 ; accessed on August 8, 2016 .
- ↑ Between writing workshop and travel experience in Namibia - literary magazine Felsgraffiti. Namibiana.de, August 5, 2011, accessed August 8, 2016 .