Karl Müller (metalworker)

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Karl Müller (born November 17, 1888 in Berlin ; † May 2, 1972 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German metal sculptor , medalist and professor at the Werkkunstschule (later College for Industrial Design) at Burg Giebichenstein (today Burg Giebichenstein Art College Halle ).

Life

Karl Müller grew up in a family of musicians in Berlin. From 1903 to 1907 he learned the profession of chaser and metal sculptor at a Berlin company. From 1908 to 1909 he perfected himself by working with the sculptor Otto Rohloff , Berlin and in other metal workshops, among others. a. worked as an assistant in Zurich. From 1909 to 1915 he studied at the of Bruno Paul led educational establishment of Decorative Arts Berlin with the sculptor Joseph Wackerle and the architect Ernst Peters sen. So he completed an apprenticeship in the tradition of the " Berlin Sculpture School ". After his military service from 1915 to 1918, he returned to this school, where he worked in the metal department until 1922. He was a master student of Hugo Lederer from 1919 to 1921 at the United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts . Following Paul Thiersch's call , he went to Halle (Saale) in 1922, from then until his retirement in 1958, as professor of metalworking, he headed the metal class at the Burg Giebichenstein design and craft school in Halle an der Saale The ideas of the Deutscher Werkbund and the Bauhaus were very closely connected.

Act

Müller's work spectrum ranged from sculpture (especially metal sculpture) to unique handicrafts to the design of metal devices. Comprehensively and thoroughly trained through his years of apprenticeship, he was also able to cope with monumental tasks, which was evident in his collaboration with the architect Hans Wittwer on the design of the Halle-Leipzig airport restaurant in 1931. He often also worked for the sacred space, e.g. B. there is a crucifix for a church in Bernburg . But he also designed cutlery, lamps and bowls. Later he dealt with terracotta , he also worked as a graphic artist. He made a lot of music with like-minded people and adopted this theme in his sculptures.

The spectrum of the Burg Giebichenstein art school is still evident in Karl Müller's work today, from handicrafts to design and art. He spoke about the 1920s at the “Burg”: “..We didn't write anything down, we didn't blow our mouths, but our work under the sign of the“ Burg ”- who, how, what, was uninteresting. The work had to be good and to be at the forefront of development. ”(Quoted from Heinz Schönemann). It was not customary to do a lot of advertising and theorizing. Now this type is not helpful for the writing of art history and therefore there was hardly a larger catalog about Karl Müller until 1988. But that also had the reason that it could not be included in official GDR art.

Quote Dorit Litt (catalog "Ostracized Formalists"):

“Müller's free sculptural designs in metal and, from the late 1950s, also in ceramics were unique in the GDR. Since his works were officially counted as handicrafts, they were spared the bureaucratic art criticism. "

This unique feature helped future generations, under the synonym arts and crafts, to work more ideology-free than in the fine arts, and it opened up a space for experimentation.

Among his students, who dignified his work, each in his own way, include the metal designers and sculptors Irmtraud Ohme , Peter Zinecker , Lutz Holland , Helmut Senf and their students.

Working in collections

  • State Gallery Moritzburg Halle,
  • Grassi Museum Leipzig,
  • Lindenau - Museum Altenburg,
  • SMPK Berlin (arts and crafts),
  • Monastery of Our Dear Women Magdeburg

literature

  • Gallery in the cCe Kulturhaus Leuna (ed.), Rolf Müller, Claus-Jürgen Kammerer (ed.): Almost a dozen millers from the castle. Catalog for the exhibition 12.12.2002 - 21.01.2003 . Printing: Hochschuldruckerei Burg Giebichenstein - University of Art and Design Halle, Leuna 2002
  • University of Industrial Design Halle - Burg Giebichenstein (ed.), Irmtraud Ohme, Jürgen Scharfe (ed.): Karl Müller: 1888 - 1972; 100 works; ed. on the occasion of the 100th birthday on November 17, 1988 . Exhibition in the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle, Galerie Roter Turm, November 17, 1988 to January 8, 1989. Halle: Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, Halle: Galerie Roter Turm 1988
  • Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg (Ed.): Special exhibition Prof. Karl Müller: 1888-1972; Metalwork - paintings - drawings - sculptures . Halle (Saale): State Gallery Moritzburg, 1973
  • 1989 Metal art from the GDR , Berlin, Staatliche Kunsthalle S, 24-39
  • Wilhelm Nauhaus : The Giebichenstein Castle - History of a German Art School from 1915 to 1933 , ISBN 3-363-00539-3
  • Medal art in Halle in the 20th century , edited by W. Steguweit German Society for Medal Art, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-7861-2462-0 .
  • Ostracized formalists , art from Halle (Saale) 1945 - 1963, Eds. Dorit Litt and Mathias Rataiczyk, 1998, Kunstverein Talstr. ISBN 3-932962-03-6
  • Katharina Heider: From applied arts to industrial design, the Burg Giebichenstein art college in Halle (Saale) from 1945 to 1958 , publishing house and database for the humanities, Weimar, 2010, ISBN 978-3-89739-672-2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Artist: Prof. Karl Müller. German Society for Medal Art V., accessed on April 20, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German metal artist, professor at the Burg Giebichenstein art school
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1972
Place of death Halle (Saale)