Philipp Ruch

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Philipp Ruch (2017)

Georg Philipp Kaspar Ruch (born March 16, 1981 in Dresden ) is a German-Swiss action artist . He founded the Center for Political Beauty . Together with other artists, he campaigns against genocide and for the acceptance of refugees in controversial public actions .

Life and career

Philipp Ruch is the son of a Swiss man who was married to a GDR citizen and lived in Dresden. Both parents are psychologists. Ruch grew up in the Weißer Hirsch district until, in July 1989, the GDR allowed the family to travel permanently to Switzerland because of the father's nationality . From 1996 to 1999 Ruch attended business school in Bern , then worked for a film promotion company in Zurich and returned to Germany in 2001. He wanted to "write scripts in a quiet place". Ruch studied political philosophy at Humboldt University until 2009 and worked at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in the research area History of Emotions . He wrote his master's thesis under the title: The Homeric chest in the philosophy of antiquity , a study of the body conceptions from Homer to Lucretius , under the supervision of John Michael Krois . He did his doctorate under Herfried Münkler and Hartmut Böhme on "Honor and Vengeance - A History of Emotions in Ancient Law". He was a scholarship holder of the Kolleg research group Image Act and Embodiment , which is headed by Horst Bredekamp . Ruch lives in Berlin. He is married and has a son and a daughter.

Philipp Ruch (front left) during the “Lethe bombs” campaign by the Center for Political Beauty in front of the Reichstag building (2009)

In 2008 he founded the Center for Political Beauty , of which he is the artistic director. Since then, he has appeared with radical actions in public space. He sees it as his task and that of the center to “break through the indifference of my generation”.

His role models include Hillel Kook , Varian Fry , Elie Wiesel , Rupert Neudeck and Christian Schwarz-Schilling . Christoph Schlingensief's action art before 2003 is a great role model for him. After that, Schlingensief “worked too installatively, acted too self-centered”. In some cases, Ruch also uses Schlingensief's ideas, such as the “Decapping Switzerland” campaign.

Ruch's name was also found on Franco A.'s list of enemies, which was found in his comrade Maximilian T. during the terror investigations against Bundeswehr soldiers from 2017 . Ruch's artistic work earned him multiple death threats.

The Federal Agency for Civic Education initially invited Ruch to give a lecture at its federal congress on March 7, 2019 in Leipzig, but withdrew the invitation at the direction of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This was followed by criticism of the actions of the Federal Ministry of the Interior from 10 SPD members of the Bundestag, who were also members of the board of trustees of the federal headquarters, as well as other members of the SPD, Left and FDP. The Greens spoke of an "attack on freedom of expression". On the other hand, members of the Union and AfD supported the unloading of Ruchs.

In April 2019, a small inquiry in the Thuringian state parliament revealed that the Gera public prosecutor had investigated Ruch for 16 months on suspicion of the formation of a criminal organization ( Section 129 StGB). Several media questioned the neutrality of the responsible public prosecutor Martin Zschächner . When reviewing other legal decisions, the FAZ spoke of a "Waterloo of a reason". According to research by Zeit Online , Zschächner is said to be close to the AfD Thuringia , which is in charge of Höcke. Heribert Prantl commented on the investigation in the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Section 129 is usually used to investigate rocker gangs and drug cartels. Such investigations into the formation of a criminal organization require that particularly serious crimes are committed or planned - murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, drug trafficking. They allow intensive access to the suspects. [...] This gives the impression that the Gera public prosecutor's office in the form of the public prosecutor Zschächer is Höcke's henchman. It smells like perversion of the law. "The lawyer and notary Peter Raue expressed himself equally indignantly:" I don't know a single comparable case! I don't know of any group that is looking for an intellectual debate that has been pursued under Paragraph 129. "The President of the German Defense Defense Association Jürgen Möthrath, the Professor of Criminal Law Uwe Scheffler and the Professor of Constitutional Law Christoph Möllers made similar statements :" It is as far as I know It has never happened that art has played a role in connection with the formation of a criminal organization. ”The case was discontinued only five days after it became known by the Thuringian Minister of Justice.

Actions and exhibitions

As artistic director together with other members of the Center for Political Beauty :

  • November 2017: “Build the Holocaust memorial right in front of Höcke's house!” The ZPS installs an offshoot of the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe on the neighboring property of AfD politician Björn Höcke in Bornhagen, Thuringia .
  • June 2017: "Scholl 2017". With the Münchner Kammerspiele , the ZPS recruited Bavarian students who are ready to travel to a dictatorship in the spirit of the Scholl siblings or the White Rose resistance group in order to call for the overthrow of the regime with leaflets.
  • June 2016: “Refugees eat”. The center publicly searched for refugees who were ready to be eaten by four live tigers in a Roman arena in front of the Maxim Gorki Theater.
  • March 2016: “Decapping Switzerland”, as a criticism of Roger Köppel .
  • September 2015: "The Bridge". The center anchors a rescue platform for refugees in the Mediterranean.
  • September 2015: "2099". A play from the future at the Schauspiel Dortmund.
  • June 2015: “The dead are coming”. Artists from the center buried a Syrian woman in the Muslim part of the Berlin-Gatow cemetery and a man in Berlin-Schöneberg.
  • November 2014 Maxim-Gorki-Theater , temporarily stolen some wall crosses to draw attention to the new wall at the EU external borders and as a protest against the death of refugees at these and drive to the EU external borders Bulgaria and Greece.
  • May 2014: “Kindertransporthilfe des Bundes”. On behalf of Family Minister Manuela Schwesig, the ZPS is looking for foster families for 55,000 Syrian children in order to politically reanimate the Kindertransporte from the 1930s.
  • May 26, 2012, 7th Berlin Biennale for contemporary art: Lady of War action in public space, to identify the owners of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW), to identify the "indirect distribution channel" of the armaments company manufactured by this armaments company Panzers Leopard 2 A7 + to Saudi Arabia and via Saudi Arabia to third countries. In particular, the direct involvement of Saudi Arabia in the smashing of the Arab Spring is brought into focus in the video through satirized advertising for the type of tank. A member of the supervisory board of KMW, who publicly spoke out against trade with Saudi Arabia in the course of the action, was then dismissed from the committee.
  • Concept for the New Society for Fine Arts (NGBK), at the 7th Berlin Biennale, in the Center for Art and Media Technology (ZKM) Karlsruhe
  • 2012 steirischer herbst “Truth is concrete”, 24/7 marathon camp with 150 other artists and groups
  • New Society for Fine Arts (NGBK) Berlin-Kreuzberg
  • 2010 “The Pillars of Shame”, commemorative campaign of the Srebrenica massacre (the murder of over 8,000 Muslim civilians in the Bosnian War by Serbian units). An eight-meter-high and 16-meter-wide memorial was erected from over 16,000 shoes, for which the shoes of the murdered were donated by their widows and mothers, and many Bosnians made their shoes available.

criticism

According to Tobias Timm, Ruch is "very careful not to always be the focus of art events". The art historian Wolfgang Ullrich criticized, however, that Ruch had a strong longing for recognition and wanted to go down in history with all his might. At the same time he accused him of anti-modernism .

The author Sven Böttcher then declared: "If Ullrich knew anything about modernity (or would at least have read Lanier), he would have to admit here at the latest that this reflection is not 'anti-modern' - and make a fair about-face." The sociologist and art historian Jens Kastner wrote that Ruch presented himself as a "lonely caller in the desert of the disoriented". He advocates a “radical social constructivism that knows no power and no structural restrictions”. "Structural terms such as capitalism , sexism or (...) racism play no role in his analysis." The artist Michael Sailer called Ruch's call for "visions", "great ideas", "belief", "ideals" (and "sacred." Duty ”) in the magazine specifically as“ fascist slogans ”.

The art critic Antje Stahl is amazed at the vehemence of personal attacks: “If these interpretations weren't so radical, you'd have to laugh at them (after all, it rarely gets that personal in the German feature pages). In view of some cited and alleged role models for Ruch's thinking, however, one had to seriously wonder: How on earth does someone come up with the idea of ​​comparing Philipp Ruch with Hans Sedlmayr , an Austrian art historian and active NSDAP member? ”Markus Ströhlein accuses Ruch of authoritarian longing for strong handlebars. The "disgust for psychoanalysis " and the "urge for action and experience" are from the arsenal of the extreme right.

Awards

Publications

  • The honor in the body. Space and body as battle zones of political superiority . In: Ulrike Feist and Markus Rath (eds.): Et in imagine ego. Facets of image act and embodiment , Oldenbourg Akademieverlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-05-005945-7 , pp. 199–220.
  • Revenge design. From external compulsion to inner feeling. In: Milev, Yana (ed.): Design cultures. The expanded concept of design in the design field of cultural studies , Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-7705-5534-5 , pp. 113–126.
  • Edited with Gabriele Werner: Event locations of the political. (= Image Worlds of Knowledge, Vol. 10.1) Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-05-006028-6 .
  • If not us, who will? A political manifesto. Ludwig Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-453-28071-7 .
  • Honor and vengeance. An emotional history of ancient law . Campus Verlag, Frankfurt / New York 2017, ISBN 978-3-593-50720-0 .
  • No more patience. Everyone can make a difference. A guide for uncompromising Democrats . Ludwig Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-453-28119-6 .

Web links

Commons : Philipp Ruch  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ulf Poschardt : "Politics is focused on isolation". Die Zeit , February 19, 2016, accessed on February 19, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Tobias Timm : Nice political. Die Zeit , May 28, 2014, accessed on August 11, 2015 : "He did his doctorate on honor and vengeance under Herfried Münkler and Hartmut Böhme, wrote an emotional history of ancient law, but at the same time performed other spectacular stunts with his colleagues."
  3. ↑ Employees. Collegiate Research Group Image Act and Embodiment, accessed on August 19, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung , 4./5. July 2015, p. 3.
  5. ↑ Philipp Ruch: Honor and Vengeance. Campus Verlag, 2017. p. 437.
  6. ↑ Stormtroop of Aggressive Humanism. monopol Magazin, May 23, 2014, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  7. ^ Markus C. Schulte von Drach : Save people within the framework of artistic freedom. Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 4, 2014, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  8. ↑ "We come from the apocalypse" . In: Der Spiegel from November 19, 2015, p. 147.
  9. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung , 4./5. July 2015, p. 3.
  10. ↑ Tobias Timm: Artist Action: Nice Political . In: The time . May 28, 2014, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on August 22, 2016]).
  11. ↑ Curse Köppel in the theater: Everything just stolen! And bad. Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Melanie Berger: Center for Political Beauty was on the terror list . In: Der Tagesspiegel Online . May 2, 2017, ISSN  1865-2263 ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed September 22, 2018]).
  13. ↑ “We are being threatened for our commitment. Why do we continue anyway ” . In: HuffPost Germany . September 19, 2018 ( huffingtonpost.de [accessed September 22, 2018]).
  14. ^ René Loch: Federal Congress in Leipzig: Federal Agency for Civic Education invites activists again , Leipziger Internet-Zeitung , March 7, 2019.
  15. ↑ Philipp Ruch, break into the building in your Indian costume! March 7, 2019, accessed May 25, 2019 .
  16. ^ Ministry prevents artist from speaking: SPD politicians send a letter to Seehofer and protest. March 6, 2019, accessed March 16, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Jan Sternberg: Seehofer should invite Ruch again , Frankfurter Rundschau , March 8, 2019.
  18. ↑ Action artist: Public prosecutor's office investigates the Center for Political Beauty . In: The time . April 3, 2019, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed April 3, 2019]).
  19. ↑ Antonie Rietzschel Gera: “I don't have to interfere” . In: sueddeutsche.de . April 12, 2019, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed May 3, 2019]).
  20. ↑ Marlene Grunert: Investigation against the ZPS: A Waterloo from a reason . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed May 3, 2019]).
  21. ↑ The Public Prosecutor. In: Zeit Online . April 5, 2019, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Heribert Prantl's weekly political preview: It smells like perversion of the law for political reasons . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . April 7, 2019, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed April 8, 2019]).
  23. ^ Jurist Peter Raue - "The investigations against the ZPS are a scandal". Retrieved May 3, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Julius Betschka: Center for Political Beauty: "Hardly a criminal provision that grants investigators more rights" . In: The time . April 4, 2019, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on May 3, 2019]).
  25. ↑ “ Under constitutional law there is no such thing as good or bad art” | Free press - Germany. Retrieved May 3, 2019 .
  26. ^ Arno Widmann: Investigations are in progress: legal scholars on the center for political beauty. April 6, 2019, accessed May 3, 2019 .
  27. ↑ “ Under constitutional law there is no such thing as good or bad art” | Free press - Germany. Retrieved May 3, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Investigations against "Center for Political Beauty" stopped . In: sueddeutsche.de . April 8, 2019, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed May 3, 2019]).
  29. ↑ Arno Frank: Action by the Center for Political Beauty: A Holocaust Memorial - at Björn Höcke's front door . In: Spiegel Online . November 22, 2017 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 22, 2017]).
  30. ↑ https://deine-stele.de/. Retrieved November 22, 2017 .
  31. ↑ Alex Rühle: Drucker spits leaflets on Istanbul's streets . In: sueddeutsche.de . July 3, 2017, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on September 22, 2018]).
  32. ↑ Arno Widmann: Center for Political Beauty: Activists fly refugees to Europe . In: fr-online.de . June 16, 2016 ( fr.de [accessed on August 12, 2016]).
  33. ↑ Curse Köppel in the theater: Everything just stolen! And bad. Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
  34. ↑ The utopia of the saving bridge over the Mediterranean. In: tagesschau.de. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015 ; accessed on August 12, 2016 .
  35. ^ Center for Political Beauty - A stirring appeal at the Dortmund Theater . In: Deutschlandfunk . ( deutschlandfunk.de [accessed December 28, 2016]).
  36. ↑ Marius Münstermann, Robert Ackermann, Thies Schnack: Artists carry refugee bodies to their graves: The protest funeral. Spiegel Online, May 16, 2015, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  37. ↑ The 'Political Beauty Center' buried the second deceased refugee - VICE. In: Vice. Retrieved December 28, 2016 .
  38. ↑ How the wall crosses disappeared . ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed December 28, 2016]).
  39. ^ Criminal complaint in response to Henkel abuse. Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg Online, November 12, 2014, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  40. ↑ Georg Diez: Syrian foster children in Germany: Thank you, Manuela Schwesig! In: Spiegel Online . May 12, 2014 ( spiegel.de [accessed September 22, 2018]).
  41. ↑ Philipp Ruch: Lady of War. Berlin Biennale, archived from the original on August 1, 2015 ; accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  42. ↑ Rafal Żwirek, Jacek Taszakowski: 7th Berlin Biennale: Center for Political Beauty. Berlin Biennale, June 15, 2012, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  43. ^ Artur Zmijewski: The 7th Berlin Biennale provoked more discussions than ever. Berlin Biennale, archived from the original on September 19, 2015 ; accessed on August 11, 2015 : "In the course of this initiative, a member of the supervisory board publicly spoke out against trade with Saudi Arabia and was subsequently dismissed from the supervisory board."
  44. ↑ Philipp Ruch: Illegalehaben II: On the correct medication of political action art. ZKM Center for Art and Media Technology, February 13, 2014, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  45. ^ Truth is Concrete: A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics. Sternberg Press, accessed August 11, 2015 .
  46. ↑ The Pillars of Shame. Political Beauty Center, accessed August 11, 2015 .
  47. ↑ Florian Fricke: Aggressive Humanism: Portrait: The Center for Political Beauty. Bayerischer Rundfunk , September 19, 2014, archived from the original on September 24, 2014 ; accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  48. ↑ Tobias Timm: Nice political. Die Zeit, May 28, 2014, accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  49. ^ FRN: Critique of the Center for Political Beauty based on (s) a manifesto. In: freie-radios.net. Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
  50. ↑ The earthquake of beauty. In: zeit.de , November 2015.
  51. ↑ Sven Böttcher : Ruchmord. Retrieved February 20, 2016 .
  52. ↑ The great inspiration. In: akweb.de , January 19, 2016.
  53. ↑ Michael Sailer : Heroism of Idiocy. In: concrete . Retrieved January 25, 2016 .
  54. ↑ MSAdmin: On the Heroism of Idiocy. In: Michael Sailer's blog. April 23, 2016, accessed on January 11, 2020 (German).
  55. ↑ Antje Stahl : In search of heroes. In: monopoly . Retrieved February 20, 2016 .
  56. ↑ Wailing rags from Hackepeter . In: jungle.world . ( jungle.world [accessed November 23, 2017]).
  57. ^ Winner of the German Web Video Award 2012: Guilt. The barbarism of Europe. German Web Video Award, archived from the original on June 17, 2015 ; accessed on August 11, 2015 .
  58. ^ Portrait of Philipp Ruch. artnews.org , accessed August 11, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Ruch, Philipp
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ruch, Georg Philipp Kaspar (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Swiss theater director and performance artist
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden