Rudolf Bird Dance

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Rudolf Vogeltanz (born June 4, 1941 in Graz ; † January 11, 1994 ) was an Austrian geologist , musician and visual artist.

Life

Rudolf Vogeltanz was born as the first son of his parents in Graz and received a very strict and authoritarian upbringing from his father, which shaped his entire life. After attending primary and secondary school, he studied geology in Graz. After completing his degree and doctorate, he took up his position at the Haus der Natur in Salzburg in 1964 . In 1965 he married the teacher Elisabeth Tautscher, whom he had already met while studying. He committed suicide on the night of January 11, 1994.

job

Rudolf Vogeltanz worked in the field of museum didactics in a short time. He obtained information through excursions to other museums and completely redesigned the geological collection in the Haus der Natur Salzburg , where his artistic talent helped him. He also looked after the palaeological collectors' group, carried out palaeological excavation excursions and thereby provided the museum with interesting new material. I.a. he worked at the classic fossil site in St. Pankraz am Haunsberg . From the beginning of his professional career, Rudolf Vogeltanz worked scientifically, although little literature and equipment were available to him. The Institute for Geology and Paleontology at the University of Salzburg, which was only founded in 1967, was also poorly equipped and therefore offered little help.

When Eduard Paul Tratz's successor was established, Rudolf Vogeltanz applied to the office of the Salzburg state government, where he began to work in 1971. His task was to set up a geological service, which mainly consisted of official expert reports with a focus on building geology and hydrogeology. In 1979 he was awarded the title of regional geologist, in 1989 he was made a corresponding member of the Federal Geological Institute and in 1992 he was awarded the title of Hofrat.

Musicians and artists

Like his younger brother Günther, Rudolf Vogeltanz was a very musical person and had considered becoming a musician in his youth. He studied violin, played the piano and accordion. From 1966 he dealt with caricature, painting and graphics. In art, too, he was “a restless wrestler” as Gottfried Tichy writes in his obituary for Rudolf Vogeltanz. In search of new means of expression, he has been concerned with woodcuts and linocuts since 1975, and with the watercolor technique and pastel work from 1976. In his time as a successful regional geologist, he considered giving up his job in order to devote himself entirely to art. Artistically he felt close to the graphic artist Felix Vallotton, connected to Expressionism, published catalogs of his works and also collected woodcuts, e.g. B. by Alfred Kubin and Beckmann. He had lively contact with artists such as the painters Walter Berg , Fronius and Schnabel. His extensive and varied artistic work, which was always kept private, also shaped the comic artist, illustrator and director Jörg Vogeltanz , his nephew, in his early years and had a not insignificant influence on his artistic development. Rudolf Vogeltanz also lived out his great interest in literature, attended readings and got to know Gerhard Amanshauser , who over the years became a close friend to him until the last hours of his life. He was also a traveler and visited almost every country in Europe, Turkey, Thailand and the United States of America.

The divorce in 1993 after an extramarital relationship that resulted in a daughter bothered him very much. A self-portrait from 1993 shows his inner state. On January 11, 1994, he put an end to his life.

A memorial plaque was put up in his memory below the Kniepass fortress near Unken , Lower Saalachtal in Pinzgau .

Publications

Between 1964 and 1994, Rudolf Vogeltanz published numerous specialist articles and edited several art catalogs.

  • Rudolf Vogeltanz: Woodcuts 1977–1983 (Salzburg 1983, signed and numbered edition limited to 500 copies, self-published)
  • Rudolf Vogeltanz: Drawings, watercolors and woodcuts 1978–1990 (Salzburg 1990, self-published)
  • Rudolf Vogeltanz: Drawings (Salzburg 1991, self-published)
  • Rudolf Vogeltanz: The Last Drawings (Salzburg 1993, self-published)
  • Rudolf Vogeltanz: People and Animals, Drawings (Salzburg 1994, self-published)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bird dance, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian geologist, musician and visual artist
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Graz
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1994