Otto Flath

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Otto Flath (born May 9, 1906 in Staritzke near Kiev ; † May 10, 1987 in his house in Bad Segeberg ) was a German wood sculptor and painter. He created more than 3,500 woodwork, 50 altars and 20,000 watercolors and drawings. In 1971 he was made an "honorary citizen of the city of Bad Segeberg", and in 1981 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon for his outstanding achievements.

Life

Otto Flath was one of seven children of a German family who decided to emigrate to the Ukraine in the 19th century. His childhood in the village was happy at first, but from the age of eight it was marked by malnutrition, flight and diseases such as rickets and typhus . When the First World War broke out in 1914, the father was exiled to Siberia, the mother and the children were driven out of their house and relocated to a forest in Kharkov . Despite all the hardship, Otto Flath again carved toys for his little siblings and other children - as he did in Staritzke. They were expelled from Russia in 1917 in connection with the Russian Revolution. The family had to move to Riga , where they waited two years for a refugee ship. Shortly before leaving, the father managed to find the family again after his release.

In 1919 the whole typhus-scarred family came to Kiel- Melsdorf , where Flath first attended school at the age of 13, which he successfully completed in 3 years. He then completed an apprenticeship as a carver, trained as a sculptor's journeyman in 1925 and worked in a furniture carving workshop to secure a livelihood until 1927. From 1928 he received a scholarship in the wood carving class of the art and trade school in Kiel. In 1932 he met the artist couple Burmester who founded the “ Kieler Künstlerverein ” with him . From 1936 Otto Flath worked as a freelance artist, wood sculptor and painter in Bad Segeberg . The exhibition halls, which can still be visited today, were built there for the large works that sometimes reach up to the ceiling. A circle of friends of around 500 people, founded in 1952 and extending from Germany to other countries, was provided with a statute in 1967 and entered in the register of associations. After the First World War, Otto Flath created many great works in spite of bitter hardship, hunger and illness, especially from 1932 onwards, including az B. "Finale", "Trust", "Light", "Victory of Faith" and many altars.

Installation “Reflexion” by Werner Mally with the “German Family” by Otto Flath

The Second World War abruptly ended the creative joy. This time was almost unbearable for the extremely peace-loving, sensitive and apolitical artist (see "Anecdotes about Otto Flath" 1993; "Otto Flath, Leben u. Werk" 1988). Otto Flath was drafted, collapsed several times under the psychological and physical stress, had to go to the hospital and then go home for a longer period of convalescence. Several times he tried unsuccessfully to obtain an exemption from military service, but at least managed to prevent him from having to shoot with restricted work. In his free time he tried to alleviate the misery with the available possibilities by carving toys again. It was during this time that his famous “veiled heads” were created: looking inside, as the outside world had become unbearable for him. Smaller works admonished to resist the spirit of the times: "Three Norns", "Immersion", "Serenity", "Far from Earth" etc.

For Otto Flath, the end of the war meant the long-awaited liberation. Otto Flath's creative power was immense in the post-war years. He was now able to use his time sensibly again and created many very great works. In 1971 Otto Flath received the award "Honorary Citizen of the City of Bad Segeberg". In 1978 the "Otto Flath Foundation" was established. In 1981, on his 75th birthday, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon on the occasion of his outstanding achievements. After Burmester's death, he found a new family home in the community with Gerda Orthmann. She had been an employee of the Otto Flath Circle since 1954 and later chairman, has edited several books and was his partner in the last nine years of his life.

Development / works

Revelation altar (1951) in the Anchark Church (Neumünster)

Otto Flath's works are not only distributed in Germany, but are scattered across the world (including Scandinavian countries, USA, Switzerland, Latvia). They can be found in churches, schools, hospitals, chambers and town halls as well as with numerous private Flathfreunde. The design ideas arose from the Bible, legends and fairy tales, myths and real life; from old and new times, spanning time and space. As a material, Flath designed all types of wood - which were usually brought to him without an order - and formed his works of art “from within” without drawing or model.

His friend, the poet Hermann Claudius (1878–1980) dedicated a poem to him: "You gave the tree its soul again ..."

Painting has also developed into an art form in its own right. Here the color dominates for the statement. A small selection of his works will be presented at the Kunsthalle Flath and Villa Flath Foundation; a large number of other works are stored in the archive or in a partially closed area of ​​the exhibition hall.

I phase

Based on the carving apprenticeship, his work is very fine and detailed; The construction of the woodworks initially served mainly to sell to secure living costs. Toys were made in their free time; he also tries a kind of comic drawing.

II phase

Even in the 1930s, for economic reasons, it was not yet able to completely break away from the wishes of the buyers. With the security gained through the support of the Burmesters, however, the development of his own art style could continue to develop. He tried to deal with the needs of the time in his works (see “Early Drawings”, 2006) by not only depicting the need, but also showing ways to overcome it. A characteristic feature is, for example, the unique accentuation of figures and faces with veils / textiles. In his altarpieces, Flath sometimes included people from the 20th century in the events in order to enable them to identify with the Christian faith.

“Otto Flath's figures are no longer stuck in suffering, they strip off the heaviness of the earth, strive upwards, almost seem to float. It is no longer the expressionism of the old days, but something new, the proclamation of an inner world, beyond all earthly misery, untouchable through it. "(G. Orthmann)

III phase

In the post-war period, Flath was no longer exposed to external constraints and refined his unique art style. Above all in his drawings, oil paintings and watercolors - moderate but also in the works - there was a partly strong abstract development. His works show an increasingly expressive trace of carving knives and chisels . Drawings and watercolors became increasingly abstract.

Large altars, etc. a.

  • “Second Coming of Christ”, 1947;
  • “Altar of Revelation” 1950;
  • “Altar of Mercy”, Michigan / USA 1951;
  • “I am the vine”, HH Dulsberg 1952;
  • "Last Supper Altar", HH-Poppenbüttel 1953;
  • “Altar of Annunciation”, Alt-Garge b. Bleckede / Elbe 1957;

Great works, e.g. B.

Flath Altar , Jesus with his disciples in the Poppenbüttel market church
  • "Storm and Wind", 1947
  • “Memorial” in Atlanta, 1958
  • “People in the Storm” after the flood disaster in 1962, 1967
  • "Angel of Trumpets", 1967
  • “Children's group making music”, 1967
  • "Music"
  • St. Lorenz Church in Lübeck, Christ walking through the fullness of life (1938/39)
  • Petruskirche (garrison church) in Kiel -Wik, altar and baptismal group (1939) ( illustration )
  • Anshark Church in Neumünster , revelation altar (1951)
  • Altar in the market church Poppenbüttel , Last Supper (1956)
  • Evangelical Free Church Torstrasse in Hamburg-Stellingen , Christ sculpture (1957)
  • Church of the Redeemer in Alt Garge (City of Bleckede ), Annunciation altar (1958)
  • Trinity Church in Berlin-Charlottenburg , wooden crucifix (1961)
  • Christophoruskirche in Lübeck-Brandenbaum, St. Christophorus
  • Baptismal stands in the St. Vitus Church in Barskamp
  • Last Supper (relief) in the Christ Church in Zülpich

Literature / media

  • Uwe Steffen : The image of people ; Verlag CH Wäser Bad Segeberg 1961;
  • Ellen Burmester (ed.): Face under the veil in Otto Flath's work ; Otto-Flath-Kreis Bad Segeberg, print CH Wäser, 196l;
  • Gerhard Böhmer : Sursum Corda… Otto Flath ; Publisher: Otto-Flath-Kreis, Printed by: CH Wäser, Bad Segeberg 1974 (2nd edition)
  • Gerda Orthmann: Man and his world ; Self-published, Druck Christians, Hamburg, 1984;
  • Gerda Orthmann: Otto Flath, Life and Work ; Self-published, Druck Christians, Hamburg, 1988;
  • Gerda Orthmann: Altars - Otto Flath ; Self-published, Druck CH Wäser, 1989
  • Gerda Orthmann: Anecdotes about Otto Flath ; Venner Verlag, 1993
  • Carl Friedrich Jaeger: The Annunciation Altar by Otto Flath ; Published by Otto-Flath-Kreis, printed by CH Wäser, Bad Segeberg 1962
  • Rudolph Jacoby: Otto Flath. A north German wood sculptor ; Printed by: CH Wäser, Bad Segeberg 1977 (6th edition)
  • Gerda Prehn: All the angels who serve you ... watercolors by Otto Flath ; Venner Verlag 2004; ISBN 3935411138

Films:

  • Otto Flath: "The shape is already in the tree";
  • Otto Flath: "The Music";
  • Otto Flath - "People and Artists - Contemporary Witnesses Remember", film production by H. Teske, published on the occasion of Otto Flath's 90th birthday on May 9, 1996

Web links

Commons : Otto Flath  - Collection of images, videos and audio files