Friedrich Becker (artist)

Divided Sphere (1992). Ludwigshafen am Rhein

Glass fountain (1983). Grevenstein

Disk kinetics (1988). Dusseldorf

Friedrich Becker (born May 25, 1922 in Ende bei Herdecke ; † May 15, 1997 in Düsseldorf ) was an artist, professor, goldsmith and creator of "kinetic" jewelry.

Life and work

Friedrich Becker grew up in Grevenstein in the Sauerland . In 1936 he began an apprenticeship as a machine fitter in Düsseldorf. Four years later he moves to Thorn to study aerospace engineering. From 1942 until his American captivity in 1945 he did military service in the Air Force. In 1947 Becker began an apprenticeship as a goldsmith in Iserlohn . One year later he left school because of very good performance and began studying at the master school for craftsmanship in Düsseldorf. In 1951 he passed the examination with "distinction" after being admitted early. The following year, he began teaching at the Werkkunstschule Düsseldorf as an assistant to Prof. Karl Schollmayer. In the same year he passed his master craftsman's examination in Arnsberg , founded his own workshop in Düsseldorf and married Hildegard Kückelmann. In 1964 Becker took over the management of the “Metal Design” group at the Werkkunstschule. After drafts in 1967, the term “kinetic jewelry” is used for the first time . In the same year, the artist declined the offer of the State Drawing Academy Hanau to become director. In 1970 Becker became the pedagogical head of the Werkkunstschule Düsseldorf and three years later in 1973 he became a professor at the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf . In 1981 Becker retired. Friedrich Becker died on May 15, 1997 in Düsseldorf shortly before the Royal College of Art was awarded an honorary doctorate in London . In 2016, a room of honor was opened posthumously for Prof. Friedrich Becker in the Düsseldorf City Hall, in which images of his works related to the city can be viewed.

The main artistic achievement of Friedrich Becker was the constant further development of his oeuvre in the direction of variation and movement. As early as the 1950s he was experimenting with variable jewelry, especially his "two-way ring", which could be worn in two directions and thus offered different views. Via variable jewelry with interchangeable stones, for example, he finally came to kinetic jewelry, which offered variability through constant movement. He benefited from his technical training and the joy of experimenting. His character, described by contemporaries as friendly and curious, as well as the revolutionary modern design language brought him the greatest appreciation and friendships in the contemporary circle of artists up to the ZERO group .

Works

• 1958: Chain of office for the Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf, Georg Glock.
• 1959: Life-size body made of silver for the Dominican monastery in Düsseldorf (St. Andrew's Church).
• 1960: Wheel racket as a door knob from St. Lambertus, Düsseldorf
• 1961: Creation of the ring of honor for deserving citizens of the city of Schmallenberg .
• 1962: Ring of honor for Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Eavesdroppers.
• 1963: New council bell for the Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf. Size gauge for diamonds ("diamond seller").
• 1964: Chain of office for the mayor of Schmallenberg, Paul Falke .
• 1965: Ring of Honor of the City of Düsseldorf for Queen Elisabeth II awarded on May 25, 1965 in Düsseldorf. Remanit fountain for the exhibition halls of the city of Hanover .
• 1967: Beginning of the creative period “kinetic jewelry”.
• 1968: Pforzheim jewelry museum buys the first kinetic objects. Chain of office for the first rector of the University of Dortmund , Prof. Schmeißer.
• 1969: Becker's film about kinetic objects is shown on German television.
• 1973: Golden fingertip for putto from the Triton fountain in Düsseldorf. Inauguration of the "Brandy Fountain" in Hamburg .
• 1974: Draft of the " Paul Langerhans Medal ". Three kinetic objects are set up in Puerto Rico .
• 1976: Installation of the kinetic sun wheel in front of the Düsseldorf Garath leisure center.
• 1978: Manufacture of wave kinetics for the shaft of the spiral staircase of the Albrecht Dürer School in Düsseldorf.
• 1983: The “Glass Fountain” is set up in Grevenstein in front of the Burgmannshof, Burgstrasse.
• 1985: New monstrance for St. Andreas Church, Düsseldorf.
• 1988: The sculpture "Scheibenkinetik", donated by Iduna-Nova on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the city, is attached to the facade of the (former) Signal-Iduna house in Düsseldorf. In 2013 it was installed at the Tanzhaus NRW on the initiative of the "Professor Friedrich Becker eV" association.
• 1987: "Kinetic wall relief" from a Sauerland brewery is installed in the foyer of the Arnsberg Chamber of Commerce.
• 1992: Draft of a chain of office for the rector of the University of Düsseldorf, Gert Kaiser.
• 1993: "Dynamic" sculpture for the new administration building of a brewery in Grevenstein.

Honorary room for Friedrich Becker in the Düsseldorf City Hall

Awards / honors

• 1958: Prize in the international competition of the Central Association for the jewelery, gold and silversmith trade
• 1959: Bavarian State Prize - gold medal
• 1960: 1st prize in the international competition "The silver candlestick"
• 1965: State Prize in the field of metal jewelry for handicrafts in North Rhine-Westphalia
• 1969: Second prize in the third international competition “The golden arm jewelery”, Pforzheim
• 1970: First prize in the competition for the new “Prix Jeunesse International” award symbol, Munich
• 1971: Honorary member of the “Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths” in London. Winner of the fountain competition in Bottrop .
• 1972: Ring of honor of the "Society for Goldsmithing"
• 1973: Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1st class)
• 1982: Rosenthal Studio Prize "The better souvenir"
• 1987: German jewelry and gemstone award , Idar-Oberstein .
• 1990: Appointment as an honorary member of the "Forum for Jewelry and Design", Cologne .
• 1997: The artist dies before receiving an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art (London).

Friedrich Becker Prize

With the award of the Friedrich Becker Prize endowed with 5,000 euros , a private foundation of Hildegard Becker in Düsseldorf, the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst eV commemorates the special person and great designer Friedrich Becker. The previous winners were:

• 1999: Rudolf Bott
• 2002: Anette Walz
• 2005: Peter Bauhuis
• 2008: Robert Baines
• 2011: Alexander Vohswinkel
• 2014: Sam Tho Duong; Exhibition in the Museum Kunstpalast , Düsseldorf
• 2017: Michael Becker

The award ceremony took place in various museums in Düsseldorf, most recently in the city museum.

literature

• Elke Pastré, Friedrich Becker, inventor of kinetic jewelry, diss., 1995, Heidelberg
• Friedrich Becker, jewelry. Kinetics. Objects, 1997, ARNOLDSCHE Verlagsanstalt GmbH, ISBN 3-925369-76-7
• Peter Vormweg: Professor Friedrich Becker (1922–1997). Man was born to play, but things turned out differently. In: The District Administrator of the Hochsauerlandkreis (Hrsg.): Yearbook Hochsauerlandkreis 2017. Brilon 2016.

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Becker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Friedrich Becker in the catalog of the German National Library
• Professor Friedrich Becker eV
• Competition Prof. Friedrich Becker eV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Peter Vormweg, in: Yearbook Hochsauerlandkreis 2017, p. 85 f.
2. ↑ See Rüdiger Joppien, in: Friedrich Becker. Jewellery. Kinetics. Objects. P. 27
3. ↑ Competitions & Awards: Friedrich Becker Prize Düsseldorf , Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst e. V., Hanau
4. ^ Announcement on the exhibition ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2014 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. , accessed September 22, 2014.