
Artists Registry
Munich Germany
Artist's Statement
KURT PETZ / PETRA LINCK
REMEMBER 9/11 - TOUCH AND HUG
Performance Artists Memorialize 9/11
MCGAHEYSVILLE — When Kurt Petz and Petra Linck make art, they aren’t creating a painting or a drawing. As performance artists, they are the art.
The German duo are performing a piece at the White House Gallery in McGaheysville this weekend called “Touch and Hug: Remember 9/11” in honor of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
“In 2001, what happened changed not only this country, but it changed the world,” Linck said. “We felt that this was the time to bring feeling to it.” The performance artists, both from Munich, Germany, met 45 years ago while they were attending college. They both studied under German painter Günter Fruhtrunk, who helped design the United Nations Security Council’s “Quiet Room”.
”Linck began her artistic career as a painter but became a perfor-mance artist out of admiration of Petz’s work. Their performance art has been shown across Germany and abroad, including in France, Italy, Egypt and Switzerland, since 1968.
“It is an art form,” she said. “We are the art in it. ”Linck has lived in the Shenandoah Valley for the last 27 years, while Petz visits regularly for three months at a time. Linck lives in Massanutten and often has to drive into Harrisonburg on U.S. 33. She always passes by the large American flag at the Joe Bowman Chevrolet-Cadillac car dealership that waves brightly in the sky. The flag inspired their idea to perform a 9/11 tribute.
“It was greeting us every time we passed by,” she said. “Slowly, we decided to do a work to contribute to this country. ”The installation at the White House Gallery includes a 9-by-12-foot American flag that stretches across the wall. Two paintings of upside-down life-size figures are displayed on the left and right walls.
During the performance, Linck and Petz stand in front of the flag and cover themselves in white paint that represents the people and first responders who were blanketed in the dust and rubble that erupted when the planes crashed into the North and South towers.
“All the people running away were totally white,” Petz said. “Only the firefighters were running towards it to help. Nobody could see (each other.)” “Everybody lost their identity in a way,” Linck added. The performance ends with Petz and Linck embracing each other. Linck said the hug is meant to symbolize hope for the future. “Everyone is touched by what happened, deeply,” Petz said. “To do it was a little bit emotionally hard.“
They first performed at the White House Gallery in December 2017 under the title “Fake Art” and a video of the “Touch and Hug” performance was shown privately in Munich this past February. “We had some visitors there who were watching it like five, six, seven times,” Linck said. “They just couldn’t go away from it.”
They hope to one day show it at the 9/11 memorial in New York. Linck also said they want to show it to schoolchildren who are too young to remember the tragedy so it is never forgotten.
Petz and Linck will perform “Touch and Hug: Remember 9/11” on Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. The White House Gallery is located at 9978 McGaheysville Road next to the U.S.Post office. The performance is free to attend.
SHELBY MERTENS
Daily News-Record | June 6, 2O19 | Harrisonburg, Virginia
Resume
KURT PETZ Germany
1944
born in Upper Silesia, Germany
1946
arrived in Munich
1962 - 64
Study Trumpet, Georg Donderer, chamber virtuoso, Munich
Conservatory, Germany, playing Jazz since the age of 25
1969 - 76
Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Master of Art
Proff. Josef Oberberger and Günter Fruhtrunk
1977 - 80
Ludwigs-Maximilians-University Munich, Degree in Art, History of Art and Degree in Philosophy
1986
Founder of the fourth Rudolf-Steiner-School in Munich
E-Mail: art@kraftpetz.com
WEB SITE: www.kraftpetz.com
TEL: 011 49 89 2712322
MOBIL: 011 (0) 179 77 58 425
GRANTS and AWARDS
1985
Project funding, Prinzregent-Luitpold-Stiftung, Bavaria
1988
Scholarship, Art Foundation Fund, Bonn
1991
Project funding, Art Foundation Fund, Bonn
Artist Award, City of Munich
1994
Project funding, Steiner Foundation, Munich
1996
Project funding, Gabriele Münter Foundation, Munich
2003
Project funding, Hypo Cultural Foundation, Munich
2008
Project funding, Catalogue Raisonnè, Cultural Foundation Munich
2009
Project funding, Catalogue Raisonnè online, Art Foundation, Bonn
ARTWORKS WORKSHOPS
(1979-2007 in collaboration with Verena Kraft )
SELECTION
1974
VOLVO, Kinetic Object, colored discs
1978
SCHWARZER STRAHLER, 2,5 m x 2,5 m x 2,5 m, Munich
1cm³ GOLD +1m³ ERDE, Luitpold Park, Munich
1979
Foundation of the artist group A.R.T. Munich
Angelika Bader, Verena Kraft, Kurt Petz, Dietmar Tanterl
A.R.T. VERSIEGELT 34 KUNSTKONSERVEN: Museums and Galleries
Angelika Bader and Dietmar Tanterl left the A.R.T. group
1980
A.R.T. ORIGINALISIERT MUSEUMSSTÜCKE, Appropriation Art, Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd, A.R.T.- Studio Munich
1981
BLIND ARTISTS TAKE THEIR PLACES, in 4 Wagner-Operas, Berlin
1983 - 84
KONTINUITÄT-DISKONTINUITÄT, Hommage à Fruhtrunk, BBK Munich and Goethe-Institut Paris, Catalogues
ZUR FREIEN VERFÜGUNG, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich and Galerie der Künstler BBK, Munich
1986
Performance ARTISTS PRESENCE, art cologne
1987
Performance LENBACH‘S DRIVE, Municipal Gallery Lenbachhaus in Munich
1988
Performance COME BACK TO GREECE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, Gallery Walser, Munich
Performance TODAY and organising Performance-Days TONIGHT, 14 Performances, Cultural Department Munich
1989
PERFORMANCE TÈTE à TÈTE, Gallery Megert, Bern, Switzerland
1990
PERFORMANCE THE ARTISTS DANCE and organisation International Performance Days, Dachau
EVOLUZIONE DELL‘ UOMO, International Performance-Festival, Sardinia, Italy
1991
PHOTO-BLEACHINGS LUCIA FONTANA, red, yellow
PHOTO-BLEACHINGS GUERNICA, South, West, East, North, New Gallery, Graz, Austria and Paris, Verdun, Berlin, Guernica
1992
WORKSHOP PERFORMANCE, Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Dependance Straubing
1994
em>WORKSHOP PERFORMANCE and PERFORMANCE BIR, Heluan University, Cairo, Egypt
1996
UN - CAR, Driving from Munich with medicine to Sarajevo
STAR-CROSS-MOON, Exhibition Aronoff Center, Cincinnati, USA
1999
ENCLAVE FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL in Berlin, Project
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
1997-99
PHOTOGRAPHS OF ROCKPAINTINGS, Cultural Heritage Sites of the World, Zimbabwe, Exhibition National Gallery and ARTWORKS IN PUBLIC SPACES, in the City of Harare
1998
TWO BLACK SHADOWS, Paint-Bleaching, Tinos Island, Greece
1998-1999
GOETHE‘S TRIP AROUND THE WORLD, Portrait-Bleaching in 12 cities: Accra, Athens, Bombay, Boston, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Peking, Roma, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Tel Aviv
2001
FIGHT TO HEAVEN, HOMMAGE à MUHAMMAD ALI, Art Video, Castle Untergröningen, Germany
2004
KINETIC CROSS, Art Object, Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Bavaria
2007
HOMMAGE à MARCEL DUCHAMP, Art Object, Artothek, Munich
2010
TV-PORTRAIT KURT PETZ, THE LAST SUPPER, Arte AlphaTV
VIDEO-PERFORMANCE MAVROS WRACHOS, Nachtpuls, Munich
NESSOS JACKET, Art Object, Castle Untergröningen, Germany
2011
VIDEO-INTERVIEW KURT PETZ, European Live Art Archive, ELAA
2012
EMBEDDED PERFORMANCE, Lecture, Nachtpuls, Munich
2014
PERFORMANCE GERMAN CARE I, Nachtpuls, Munich
2015
PERFORMANCE PROJECT FAITH OF THE WORLD, Munich
2017
EXHIBITION ROCK PAINTINGS, Gallery Heseler, Munich
PERFORMANCE ICON LEGACY-FAKE ART, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, White House Gallery, McGaheysville, Virginia, USA
2018
VIDEO-PERFORMANCE REMEMBER 9/11-TOUCH AND HUG, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, White House Gallery, Virginia, USA
2019
GERMAN CARE II, Massanutten, Virginia USA
NEW APPROPRIATION ART PREVIEW, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, Munich
2020
7 DAYS SIGNATURE, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, Munich, Germany
and Massanutten, Virginia, USA
PUBLIC ART COLLECTIONS
SELECTION
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany
National Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe
Neue Pinakothek, Munich
Artothek Munich
Goethe-Institut Headquarters, Munich
Daimler Art Collections, Stuttgart
PETRA LINCK USA
1946
born in Barntrup/Lippe, Germany
1960 - 65
School of business, apprenticeship at architectural firm
1968 - 71
Language Studies in Paris and London
1972
Working with innovative educational models like Summerhill, Montessori, Rudolf Steiner
1973 - 82
Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Prof. Günter Fruhtrunk, Master of Arts
1992
arrived with daughter in Virginia, USA
GRANTS and AWARDS
1982
Project funding HEIMWEH, Catalog, Bavarian State, Germany
1983
Scholarship, Prinz-Regent-Luitpold-Stiftung, Munich, Germany
1986
Art Award, City of Munich, Germany
1988
Working scholarship HOMMAGE à ANDREJ TARKOWSKIJ, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, Germany
1994
Award of Merit, SELECT, awarded by Marc Richard Leach, James Madison University, Virginia, USA
EXHIBITIONS and WORKSHOPS
SELECTION
1980
HERAUSFORDERUNGEN, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
1982
HEIMWEH, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Catalog
1983 - 84
KONTINUITÄT-DISKONTINUITÄT, Hommage à Fruhtrunk, Munich and Paris, Catalogues
1986
FARBE FÜR DAS LENBACHHAUS, Munich, Catalog
1989
GEGENSTAND FARBE, A11 Gallery Thomas, Munich
ELEMENTARE MALEREI und SKULPTUR, Berufsverband bildender Künstler (BBK), Munich, Catalog
WORKSHOP, FARBE IN UNSERER WELT, Intl. Youth Conference, Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland
MEDITATIONEN, Gallery Thomas, Munich, art cologne
1990
BLAU - FARBE DER FERNE, Heidelberg, Germany, Catalog
1991
TARKOWSKIJ-SUITE, Gallery Dr. Luise Krohn, Introduction Michael Bockemühl, Badenweiler, Germany
Art Basel, Art Frankfurt
1992 - 94
Art Instructor at James Madison Unversity, Harrisonburg, Virginia
SELECT, James Madison University
OBERFLÄCHE, Gallery Unterm Turm, Stuttgart, Germany, Catalog
WORKSHOP DREAMS OF FLYING, James Madison University in collaboration with University Würzburg, Germany
JMU-Faculty Exhibition, Sawhill Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA
2017
PERFORMANCE ICON LEGACY-FAKE ART, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, White House Gallery, McGaheysville, Virginia, USA
2018
#VIDEO-PERFORMANCE REMEMBER 9/11-TOUCH AND HUG, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, White House Gallery, McGaheysville, VA
2019
NEW APPROPRIATION ART PREVIEW, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, Munich, Germany
2020
7 DAYS SIGNATURE, Kurt Petz and Petra Linck, Munich, Germany and Massanutten, Virginia, USA