Werner G. Kießig

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Werner G. Kießig (born February 10, 1924 in Berlin ; † March 27, 2014 there ) was a German bookbinder , restorer and artisan .

life and work

From 1939 to 1942 he completed an apprenticeship as a bookbinder and attended the graphic technical school in Berlin. 1940–1942 and 1947–1948 he studied at the Graphic Technical School in Berlin with Herbert Riedel, Kurt Grünewald and Bruno Scheer. In 1948 he passed the master's examination in bookbinding. In 1956 he received state recognition as an “artist in the craft”. From 1956 to 1965 he worked as a book and papyrus restorer at the State Museums in Berlin and the German Academy of Sciences as a freelancer for Rolf Ibscher. 1963–1970 he was chairman of the master craftsman's examination committee for bookbinding in Berlin. In 1965 he became chairman of the bookbinder group. From 1966 to 1967 he completed a basic artistic course with Walter Funkat at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Art in Halle and with Rudi Högner and Alfred Hückler at the Berlin School of Art . In 1967 he became a member of the Association of Visual Artists of Germany (VBK) and of the Association " Master of the Art of Binding " (MdE). In 1968 he became head of the specialist group recognized artisans of the Berlin Chamber of Crafts. Since 1971 he has been a member of the International Working Group of Graphics, Archive and Book Restorers ( IADA ). In 1979 he became head master of the bookbinders' group at the Berlin Chamber of Crafts (HdB) and a member of the central arts and crafts / design section of the VBK and of the “Council for arts and crafts” at the GDR Ministry of Culture. He was a member of the “Arts and Crafts Working Group” at the Berlin City Council. In 1980 he designed a leather special edition of Meyer's Universal Lexicon . In 1981 he became a member of the “Designer Bookbinders London”. 1982 became a member of the presidium of the MdE. Since 1990 he has been a member of the Federal Association of Visual Artists .

At the same time, from 1985 he worked as a freelance bookbinder in the studio for book covers, leather design, restoration and embossing in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. For the 9th annual meeting of the working group for the recording, indexing and preservation of historical book bindings (AEB) in 2004 in Würzburg, Kießig made the first dedication volume (gift to the hosts, here the Würzburg University Library) from light brown calf membrane leather with blind embossing. The binding is in the binding collection there.

In 2007 he was appointed honorary member of the "Masters of the Art of Binding".

His book art works have been shown in a number of personal exhibitions at home and abroad. He participated many times in national and international art exhibitions. He is considered one of the most important contemporary bookbinders in Germany with a broad oeuvre of artistically designed covers.

His grave is in the Orange Cemetery in Berlin / Alt-Hohenschönhausen.

His legacy of bindings and materials passed into the possession of the Berlin State Library in 2015 .

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary in Berliner Zeitung , weekend edition 12./13. April 2014

literature

  • Werner G. Kiesig in: Lexicon Artists in the GDR , ed. by Dietmar Eisold , Berlin, Verl. Neues Leben, 2010. ISBN 978-3-355-01761-9 , p. 435.
  • Holger Nickel: Conversation with Werner G. Kießig in: Einbandforschung , Issue 14, April 2004 pp. 7–9.
  • Philip Ward: Contemporary designer bookbinders: an illustrated directory = Relieurs d'art contemporains, un répertoire illustré , Cambridge [u. a.]: Oleander Press, 1995, ISBN 0-906672-36-8 , pp. 90 f.
  • Hand bindings 1969 - 1979: Exhibition from September 1 to October 31, 1979 in the Museum des Kunsthandwerk Leipzig ( Grassi Museum ) . Organizer: Association of Visual Artists of the GDR, Leather / Paper Working Group and Council of the Leipzig District, Leipzig, 1979.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kießig, Werner G.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German master bookbinder
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 2014
Place of death Berlin