Gerald Höfer

Gerald Höfer (born March 3, 1960 in Nordhausen ) is a German poet , prose writer and editor .

Gerald Höfer in an interview in summer 2014

Live and act

Gerald Höfer is the son of the miner Paul and the saleswoman Gertraud Höfer. From 1976 to 1980 he studied at the Institute for Teacher Training in Weimar under Jochen Lenke and Paul Saupe, among others, and graduated with the 2nd state examination in German and sport. From 1987 to 1990 he studied poetry and prose at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig with Klaus Steinhaußen , Hubert Witt , Bernd Leistner , Gerhard Rothbauer, Hans Pfeiffer , Helmut Richter a . a. From 2004 to 2013 he studied German literature with Klaus Manger, Gottfried Willems , Gerhard R. Kaiser and Gisela Horn, economics and business administration with Uwe Cantner , and with Michael Winkler at the Institute for Education and Culture Education at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena , Culture, anthropology.

His son is the German concept and media artist Martin Höfer .

Artistic career

Gerald Höfer's first texts appeared in the early 1980s. In 1985, on the recommendation of Hannes Würtz and Edwin Kratschmer, he attended the poetry seminar in Schwerin as a participant, and in the following year as a seminar assistant to Brigitte Struzyk . During these years he was in the literary circles actively Anne meadow hedgehog and provided a majority of contributions in the published anthology of her time wheel (1987). In 1986 the Café Pill Experiment started in Sondershausen as a multicultural series of events, which today is considered one of the few cultural projects in the former GDR that is independent of state and church and ran until 1989. Höfer invited fellow writers, songwriters, actors and visual artists from the state-independent cultural scene. In October 1989 Höfer and the supporters of the project worked out and published a catalog of demands which, among other things, urged free (new) elections, the end of surveillance and spying on critical citizens, and freedom of the press in the city and district. The group around Höfer is considered to be a co-founder of the New Forum in Northern Thuringia.

In the second half of the 1980s, articles in anthologies and literary journals in publishing houses such as Mitteldeutscher Verlag , Verlag Neues Leben , Tribüne Verlag, Verlag Junge Welt and others followed. a. At the same time, there were music and literature performances that took place in museums, libraries and other cultural institutions.

In 1990, in close collaboration with Andrea Schicker and Karlheinz Sydoruk, the debut appeared bare - photos and texts as a poetry-art volume in the first newly founded independent publishing house in the GDR, the Forum Verlag Leipzig. Since the 1990s Höfer has published poetry, short prose and essays in numerous anthologies, yearbooks and magazines throughout Germany. In 1999, Höfer and his son Martin created the art project Barbara Rossa , which was supposed to combine visual art, literature, music and performances. The multimedia performances started in 1999, and from 2002 the short story volume Sophie and Gedichte between me nothing and you nothing appeared in the ARTE fact publishing house founded especially for Barbara Rossa . There Barbara Rossa also gave books by other artists such as Oswald Henke , Chris Goellnitz , Norbert. K. Engelhardt, Gabriele Stötzer , an anthology and writings on art theory . In addition, articles appeared on music samplers , DVDs and an art edition with CD / DVD in a metal box ( Bannkreis Armagedon - Live in Jena ), which was exhibited at the 1st NSK Folk Art Biennale in Leipzig in 2014 . Barbara Rossa's works have been included in anthologies and literary magazines.

Works (selection)

Authorship

• with Andrea Schicker and Karlheinz Sydoruk: just. Forum Verlag, Leipzig 1990, ISBN 3-86151-006-5 .
• with Petra Lange and Andreas Schaller: Festschrift for the 400th anniversary of the death of M. Johannis Clajus the Elder. Ä. History and Antiquity Association for Sondershausen and the Surrounding Area e. V., Sondershausen / Bendeleben 1992.
• Black monologues. Artist book. Segler, Freiberg 1999.
• Sophie. ARTE fact, 2002, ISBN 3-937364-01-3 .
• Poems between me nothing and you nothing. ARTE fact, 2003, ISBN 3-937364-02-1 .

Editing

• with Helmut Köhler: Stefanie Keyser: Der Rabe vom Kyffhäuser. Thon, Schwerin 1997, ISBN 3-928820-64-8 .
• Oswald Henke: FSK 18 - tends to be inhumane. ARTE fact, 2003, ISBN 3-937364-00-5 .
• Norbert K. Engelhardt: Nice at the last moment. ARTE fact, 2004, ISBN 3-937364-03-X .
• Chris Goellnitz: Genes in the blood light. ARTE fact, 2005, ISBN 3-937364-05-6 .
• with Michael K. Brust: Deep in the lap of the Kyffhauser - Kyffhauser poems from 200 years. ARTE fact, 2005, ISBN 3-937364-04-8 .
• On (Plein) Air. ARTE fact, 2010, ISBN 978-3-937364-50-6 .
• Imaginary Landscape. Tribute to John Cage. ARTE fact, 2012, ISBN 978-3-937364-52-0 .
• editing spaces. reconsidering the public. ARTE fact, 2012, ISBN 978-3-937364-51-3 .
• Serial materiality. Imi Knoebel and Peter Roehr. Exhibition catalog. ARTE fact, 2013, ISBN 978-3-937364-53-7 .
• The supershow. ARTE fact, 2014, ISBN 978-3-937364-54-4 .
• Norbert K. Engelhardt: eternity. With graphics by Ines Alig-Petsch. ARTE fact, 2015, ISBN 978-3-937364-06-3 .
• AB-BA. Anna Baranowski. Artist monograph. ARTE fact, 2015, ISBN 978-3-937364-55-1 .
• Michael K. Brust: The Barbarossa Cave in Kyffhäuser. ARTE fact, 2015, ISBN 978-3-937364-30-8 .
• LUX AETERNA. Digital organic abstraction. Video installations, films and drawings by Robert Seidel. ARTE fact, 2016, ISBN 3-937364-57-9 .
• Gabriele Stötzer: the burning of words in the mouth , ARTE FAKT, 2017, ISBN 3-937364-07-2 .
• Martin Höfer / Andreas Ullrich: mass media approach , ARTE FAKT, 2018, ISBN 3-937364-58-7
• Gerhard Bause: the sea rolls without rest , ARTE FAKT, 2018, ISBN 3-937364-08-0
• Martin Höfer: mass media research and new artistic strategies in public media space , ARTE FAKT, 2018, ISBN 3-937364-40-4
• Anke Engelmann (Ed.): Group picture with polar bear, ARTE FAKT, 2019, ISBN 978-3-937364-09-4

Participation in exhibitions

• Ringleaders and Aesthetic Delusion , Sarah Kirsch Limlingerode, a poet , 2019
• 10 years Galerie Eigenheim - anniversary exhibition , Kunsthalle Harry Graf Kessler Weimar, 2016
• Anniversary exhibition - 10 years of Galerie Eigenheim , Galerie Eigenheim Berlin, 2016
• The principle of happiness. An exhibition in the former Weimar correctional facility , Galerie Eigenheim and Kunstfest Weimar , 2015
• 25 years of democracy , Sondershausen Castle , 2014
• 1st NSK Folk Art Biennale , Spinnereigalerien Leipzig, Werkschauhalle, 2014.
• Artists on a journey through time , Panorama Museum Bad Frankenhausen , 2005

Web links

• Literature by and about Gerald Höfer in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website by Gerald Höfer
• Gerald Höfer at the Thuringian Literature Council

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gerald Höfer. In: Kürschner's German Literature Calendar 2014/2015. Walter De Gruyter, 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-033720-4 , p. 433.
2. ↑ The Cafe Pill Experiment - An Independent Project Outside of State and Church (1985–1989). In: TLStU (Ed.): The Peaceful Revolution in Sondershausen. Thuringian State Commissioner for Stasi Records, 2009, ISBN 978-3-932303-62-3 , pp. 45–50.
3. ↑ The revolt of the incorrigible do-gooders - The beginnings of the New Forum in Sondershausen. In: TLStU (Ed.): The Peaceful Revolution in Sondershausen. Thuringian State Commissioner for Stasi Records 2009, ISBN 978-3-932303-62-3 , pp. 98–102, pp. 171–172.
4. ^ Fall of the GDR. A mining town goes on the barricades. In: Deutschlandradio Kultur. 17th March 2015.
5. ↑ We pulled the curtains down. In: The drawer. First hand texts. Volume 3, Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle / Leipzig 1988, pp. 118–119.
6. ↑ from the red carpet. that stinks to heaven. Divorce. In: Temperaments. Sheets for young literature. 3/1987. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-355-00505-3 , pp. 18-20.
7. ↑ Seventeenth Watch of the Night. In: The morning after the ghost ride. Verlag Weißer Stein, Greiz 1993, ISBN 3-928681-16-8 , pp. 40-50.
8. ^ Barbara Rossas Belphegor 2004. In: Palmbaum. Literary journal from Thuringia. Quartus-Verlag, Bucha bei Jena 2006, 2nd issue. ISSN  0943-545X , pp. 76-79.
9. ↑ Claudia Feger: Individuality meets teamwork - Gerald Höfer and his audiovisual project Barbara Rossa. In: LEO - Lingua et Opinio. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 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. Online magazine for language and communication. 
10. ↑ A beautiful poem. and hope? In: Rodrigo Riedrich (Ed.): Gedichte - best german underground lyriks 2004. Acheron Verlag, Altenburg 2005, ISBN 3-9810222-0-3 , pp. 180-182.
11. ↑ Belphegor 2004. In: Norbert Weiß (Ed.): Signum - sheets for literature and criticism. 7th year, issue 1. Verlag Die Scheune, Dresden 2006, pp. 84–87.