Franz Müller (artist)

Franz Müller (born February 6, 1957 in Wolhusen in the canton of Lucerne) is a Swiss action, concept and performance artist. From 1988 to 2002 he realized artistic projects in public spaces as an idea artist in Switzerland and neighboring countries. In 2002 he declared his work ended and loaned his estate to the Lucerne Art Museum .

Franz Muller

Life

Franz Müller grew up with ten siblings on a small farm in Wolhusen. During his apprenticeship as a structural draftsman, he discovered Dadaism , which may have awakened the desire for the playful and irritating. Shortly after training as a structural draftsman, Franz Müller began working as an "idea artist". In the first few years these were sporadic campaigns and exhibitions in various contexts. From 1988 he devoted himself entirely to art in public space as an idea artist. With his “touch sculptures” he has worked in numerous Swiss cities and communities for years. In 1993 he was awarded the Lucerne Living Space Prize. In 1997 the Visarte Zentralschweiz awarded him a three-month studio stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.

After 14 years as an idea artist, Franz Müller made a cut in 2002: As part of a performance, he handed over two blue filing cabinets with his estate to the Lucerne Art Museum . Then he emigrated to Ireland, where he lived for a few months.

Since his return he has been working as a housekeeper and supervisor in the special education center schuLpLus in Oberägeri. The wealth of experience from his time as an idea artist in public space is now being used in dealing with children with behavioral problems.

Idea artist Franz Müller in action

plant

Franz Müller never made works of art that could be acquired and collected. The focus of his actions was on communication with the interested population, the initiation of processes, the experience of the moment. Joseph Beuys' "social sculpture" was an important term for him. He expanded it for himself into "touch plastic". Franz Müller made himself available with what he was doing and integrated all people who came into contact with him into his touch sculpture. He was present, waiting in public places. You could talk to him or just notice him. Sometimes he wore a blindfold that said "I'm waiting" or "Wait a minute". He irritated with his mere presence and provoked reactions. That was fine with Franz Müller. Any exchange interested him.

Müller has "infested" cities and laid down in public places in orange overalls. In 1991 he made this action in Lucerne in the middle of the old town of Lucerne and spread 30 more orange suits in a line on the Kornmarktplatz. In the same year he started the highly acclaimed project “Is Art Breadless Is Breadless Art”: For half a year he visited each of the 107 municipalities in the canton of Lucerne and handed out bread rolls. He initiated further touch sculptures and performances in Chur, Vaduz, Binningen, Sarnen, Savognin or in Tösstal.

Another time he distributed a Friedrich Glauser novel page after page to passers-by with the request that they read it at a certain time in the evening. A whole book was read within a minute. On the Lucerne Reuss Bridge, he was photographed by tourists with a Polaroid camera. He hung the pictures on a string that was 97 meters long across the bridge. Step by step he moved forward until the whole string was hung with photos at the end.

In 1993 he received the Lucerne Habitat Prize for his planned “Thoughts” project in the amount of 5,000 francs. Since this amount was not enough for a realization, Müller launched his touch sculpture "Doubling" at the handover ceremony. He split up the prize money of 5000 francs and distributed 100 invited guests an envelope with 50 francs and a payment slip. With the request to double the money, that is to say to pay him 100 francs, he made the fellow award winners “part donors”.

Müller realized the large-scale project “Thoughts through Lucerne's living space” in 1994: he spent one month at a time in seven Lucerne municipalities. He became part of the place and tried to take the locals with him on the train of thought. From the essence of his stays, Müller and the journalist Pirmin Bossart designed seven townscapes, which appeared in the Lucerne newspaper with a special full-page layout. Another highly acclaimed touch sculpture was staged in the Kornschütte Lucerne in 1995: Franz Müller had invited everyone living in the canton of Lucerne with the name Franz Müller as part of an exhibition by the Visarte artists' association. All 71 Franz Müller from Lucerne whom the idea artist had previously visited and photographed appeared. In a coherent performance, the photographs were hung on a balloon and the 71 balloons were released together in the middle of the old town of Lucerne.

Müller has also repeatedly made use of the post office to produce art in public spaces with special Mail Art projects. In the summer of 1996 he visited 120 post offices in Switzerland and realized an "exhibition for the duration of an A Mail length". In his mail style, he designed individual envelopes with self-made stamps. He even created his own stamp (postage stamp with his likeness), with which, not least, he scratched the legal understanding of postal services and sparked discussions. Notwithstanding this, Müller was also able to show his works at a Mail Art exhibition in the PTT Museum.

In 2002, Franz Müller put an end to his existence as an idea artist. With the final act “Only Consistent” on December 18, 2002, he transferred his estate to the Lucerne Art Museum as part of a performance and appointed three people as estate administrators. In the cupboards there are 114 dossiers with texts, sketches and ideas that the idea artist has created for each of his projects. They are the only remnants of Franz Müller's actions. His motivation over the years has always been to use everyday life and existing structures differently and thereby encourage people to perceive and reflect.

On New Year's Eve 2002/2003 Franz Müller traveled to Ireland for an indefinite period. He lived in the Aran Islands for a few months , where he took a lot of photos and made postcards. After his return, Franz Müller immersed himself in a normal working day, where his demeanor continues to have an inconspicuous effect. Art is integrated into everyday life. It remains to be seen whether, when and how it will one day come into action again.

Projects (selection)

• 1988 rain map. It's just raining, 10,000 pieces, action
• 1988 infestation. Action sculpture exhibition city of Lucerne
• 1989 infestation. 10 Swiss cities are attacked by Franz Müller in Orange
• 1989 bridging. Immediate photo motion, Reuss Bridge campaign
• 1990 Contact 90. Lucerne-Vienna, action
• 1989/90 feeding the swans. Note one, note two, Kunstmuseum Luzern and Reussteg simultaneously, action
• 1990 Summer studio for young European art, Hanover, exhibition / action
• 1991 Art is breadless Art is breadless. 107 days in Lucerne, action
• 1991 You may. Participation in the Lucerne National Council elections, action.
• 1992 Beware of Art. Exhibition Binningen, action present
• 1992 Wait a minute. A touch sculpture in Chur November
• 1992 book revised. Biblioteca Nacionale de Lisboa, Portugal
• 1993 "Se (h) gantini" - Alpine picture viewing on Tussagn above Savognin. Text and postcard action
• 1993/94 wait. A pilgrimage in December in Switzerland, action
• 1994 Seven townscapes. Thoughts through the Lucerne living space. A touch sculpture. Schwarzenbach, Adligenswil, Sursee, Hochdorf, Rothenburg, Altbüron, Escholzmatt.
• 1994 exchange of words. Reading in the small theater in Lucerne
• 1994 Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow the village school building is an aquarium
• 1994 in person. Talk show Radio DRS 1, reading, a touch sculpture
• 1994 Land of plenty. Sabotage of the virtual worlds, IG Medien Deutschland competition, award winners
• 1994 Mail-Art exhibition at the PTT Museum in Bern.
• 1995 71 times Franz Müller in the Kornschütte in Lucerne. Exhibition and action
• 1995 Art Winter Lucerne. Put your art and action cold too
• 1996 Give Zug Störkunst. Art in architecture, competition
• 1996 Post Summer 96. A touch sculpture. 120 post office visits
• 1996 The one with the plate in hand. A touch sculpture in Solothurn
• 1997 Lucerne scene in Bern. Nine interventions. Lucerne art scene in the Bern riding arena
• 1998 Vote for the work of art that you don't like. A touch sculpture in 1000 parts, annual exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Luzern
• 2000 Nothing and again nothing. Conversion of Rathausen monastery. Competition.
• 2001 It is possible that your path to art is art. Action for the presentation of the Aargau Art Prize
• 2002 estate of Franz Müller. Deposit in the Kunstmuseum Luzern. Estate management, estate campaign Nur Konsequent * 2013 Museum Bruder Klaus, Sachseln. Exhibition and action

Awards

• 1993 Lucerne Habitat Award
• 1994 Prize winner in the art competition Schlaraffenland. Sabotage of virtual worlds. IG Medien Germany
• 1996 BZ Solothurn, four months stipend as a city artist
• 1997 Visarte Atelier Prize: three-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris

swell

• Directory of the Franz Müller estate, 2002
• Franz Müller catalog, 1988–1994
• Catalog keyword Franz Müller, 1994–1997
• City art of Lucerne. 2. Regional sculpture exhibition in the city of Lucerne, 1988
• Deutsche Messe AG (ed.): Summer studio for young art in Europe, Kinkhardt & Biermann, Hanover, 1990, p. 234/35
• Kurt Schwitters: Franz Müller's wire spring, edition nautilus, 2000
• Art group of the league for cultural cramps in the border triangle (ed.): Signals. Rheinzeichen, Vaduz Sevelen, 1991, pp. 20-23
• Kunstverein Binningen (ed.): Beware of art, 30 years of Kunstverein Binningen, 1990
• Die Herzeiger, in: Schweizer Familie, No. 13, April 1993, pp. 10/11
• Catalog open-air exhibition Suat Tösstal, 1993
• Kunstück (ed.): Land of milk and honey. Sabotage of virtual worlds, IG Medien Deutschland, 1994, p. 28
• Exchange of words with Franz Müller, idea artist, in: Szene Kleintheater, October / November 1994
• Working group culture market community Pöllau (ed.): Kunstweg. «Waiting - a pilgrimage through December in Switzerland». Alternative art and culture, Pöllau, Austria, 1994

Web links

www.franzmueller-ideeartist.ch (work in progress)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Dominik Thali: How one prize winner became 100. In: LNN . November 22, 1993, p. 24.
2. ↑ Visarte ( Memento of the original dated May 5, 2018 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. 
3. ↑ Closed estate: Passed it. In: The weekly newspaper . No. 50, December 12, 2002.
4. ↑ Schulplus.ch .
5. ↑ Matthias Haehl: I am Franz Müller - and who are you? In: LNN. April 4, 1992, pp. 35/36.
6. ↑ An idea Spinner at passers-by. In: The Bund . May 5, 1995, p. 8.
7. ↑ You have to have ideas! In: We bridge builders . January 16, 1994, p. 29.
8. ↑ The man in the 30 suits irritated the garbage disposal. In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung . August 15, 1990, p. 11.
9. ↑ New perspectives on ecology and culture. In: Lucerne newspaper . November 22, 1993, p. 9.
10. ↑ Pirmin Bossart: The thought-catcher is on the way again. In: Lucerne newspaper. September 13, 1994, p. 11.
11. ↑ The 7 townscapes, copy 1/10, published on April 30th / 7th. May 28th / May 11th June 2nd July / 9th July 24th / September 1st October 29th / 5th November, 3rd December / 10th December 1994 and January 13th / 14th January 1995 in the Luzerner Zeitung .
12. ↑ Allow me - my name is Franz Müller. Exhibition Kornschütte. In: Lucerne newspaper. November 25, 1995, p. 11.
13. ^ Art in A Mail periods. In: Appenzeller Zeitung . October 8, 1996, p. 3.
14. ↑ Kurt Beck: My work is exhausted. In: Neue Luzerner Zeitung . December 18, 2002, p. 11.
15. ↑ Enough in a good sense. In: The culture magazine. December 2002.
16. ↑ Landed at a place of "everyday art". In: Entlebucher Anzeiger. July 27, 2007, p. 9.