Association of mouth and foot painting artists
The Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (VDMFK) is an international commercial organization of around 820 handicapped artists from 76 countries with headquarters in Schaan in the Principality of Liechtenstein .
history
The VDMFK was founded in March 1957 on the initiative of the mouth painter Arnulf Erich Stegmann in the “Liechtensteiner Hof” forest hotel in the Liechtenstein community of Schaan, where the association is still based today. Stegmann was also elected 1st President of the organization. In 1957, 18 mouth and foot painting artists were organized in the VDMFK, 16 of whom were present at the founding meeting.
After Stegmann's death in 1984, Marlyse Tovae , also a founding member, became president of the association. After her death in 2001, Eros Bonamini (* 1942 in Verona) was elected President of the organization on October 23, 2002 . Eros Bonamini passed away in November 2012. Serge Maudet was elected as the new and fourth President of the VDMFK by the general assembly of mouth and foot painting artists in July 2013 in Vienna .
Since the beginning of 2007 the VDMFK has been showing videos about the life and history of its members on its official homepage. This video collection is expanded monthly. Among other things, films about the former and current presidents can be seen.
The association in Germany
In 2014 there were five VDMFK full members in Germany ( Antje Kratz , Thomas Kahlau , Günther Holzapfel , Reinhard Melzer and Lars Höllerer ). There are also two associated members, the mouth painters Markus Kolp and Markus Kostka . The three scholarship holders include Waldemar Merz , Renate Schaible-Kaufmann and Petra Wenig . The products sold in Germany are published by the club's own MFK Mund- und Fußmalende Künstler Verlag GmbH (MFK-Verlag). Its managing director is Florian Stegmann, the grandson of the founder of VDMFK, Arnulf Erich Stegmann. A large part of the art cards sold in Germany are distributed via direct mail.
financing
The VDMFK is classified by the German Central Institute for Social Issues as a commercial enterprise and not as an aid organization. The organization is financed by proceeds from the sale of greeting cards, calendars, puzzles and books by foot and mouth painters, which are offered for sale especially in the period before Christmas and Easter. The VDMFK does not provide any information about the amount of income.
All scholarship holders and members of the VDMFK receive a monthly salary or scholarship. The VDMFK not only supports the mouth and foot painting artists financially, but also promotes their artistic success and, despite the difficult circumstances, gives them recognition and respect.
The VDMFK quantifies the percentage use of the income in the brochure “LebensWERK” published by MFK-Verlag in 2013 for the 2011/2012 financial year as follows: 61.63% benefits for members and scholarship holders and allocations in reserves and provisions for members and scholarship holders, 29 , 97% for exhibition, advertising, construction and publishing costs and 8.40% for administrative costs.
According to an article in Stern magazine from 2000, the annual income of the VDMFK was estimated at a three-digit million amount. The source on which this estimate is based is not explained. According to “Stern”, only a fraction of the income, in Germany around 250,000 euros per year (as of 2004), went to mouth and foot painting artists, knowing full well that the VDMFK supports mouth and foot painters all over the world. At that time, millions of euros flowed into the accounts of the financing company "Allfina", which according to official reports is a subsidiary of VDMFK.
criticism
In the 1990s, according to research by Stern magazine, the financing company "Allfina" not only granted loans to severely disabled artists, but also to financial trustee Herbert Batliner († 2019) and members of his family. Batliner, who was investigated in Germany for aiding and abetting tax evasion in the amount of EUR 250 million, worked until 2013 as a so-called “legal consultant” for the VDMFK. Batliner paid for his efforts in 1993 (no data are available for the other years) with 275,000 Swiss francs. At the 2013 General Assembly in Vienna, Johannes Gasser was elected as the new legal advisor. The current annual financial statements of MFK-Verlag and the company's financial resources are publicly available.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Herbert Batliner : The founding meeting of March 19 and 20, 1957 in Vaduz . In: Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists around the World eV (Ed.): 50 Years VDMFK 1957-2007 . S. 11–15 ( online (PDF file)).
- ↑ Self-presentation of the VDMFK ( memento of the original from December 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Mouth and foot painter according to information from MFK-Verlag ( Memento of the original from November 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Brochure “LebensWERK” (PDF), p. 7.
- ↑ star: Above all, a Liechtenstein business enterprise earns money from postcards from mouth and foot painters ( memento of the original from May 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. verbrauchernews.de, December 22, 2000.
- ↑ The VDMFK in the company register , company name "MFK-Verlag"
- ↑ VDMFK: About us vdmfk.com
