Art Intervention by Winfried Muthesius and texts by the pics4peaceYOUNGSTERS against extremism, for the freedom of the word.

An event by pics4peace e.V. in cooperation with the City of Frankfurt am Main, on 10/10/2018, 17.00 to 20.00, sponsored by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.

At the site where books branded as "un-German" were burned by students in 1933, on Römerplatz in Frankfurt, Muthesius saws his GOLDEN FIELD into book-sized pieces and burns them. Meanwhile, young adults read texts they have prepared in light of the challenges of our time, 1933 in view and perspective thoughts in mind.

Muthesius' art action is strongly charged symbolically. He carries the image of the Roman into the square. The huge picture weighs over 40 kilograms. Carrying it takes effort. It is reminiscent of the effort of the authors who wrote books or articles before 1933, with content that did not fit into the concept of the National Socialists. Books like those that were burned on Römerplatz in 1933. Then Muthesius places the GOLDEN FIELD in a jig, right where the city of Frankfurt commemorates the book burning with a bronze plaque set into the ground. The artist takes the broom and cleans, as it were ritually, the area around the painting.
Meanwhile, young people slowly and impressively read:

"Crime scene Library.  Crime scene University. Crime scene "At the Römer". 1933. Students storm city libraries, schools, university libraries.  Students. Students like us. The atmosphere is heated. The zeal was great. The action radical. Brutal. .... ."  

 These are texts that they have worked out with pics4peace for this occasion.

The artist now unpacks his chainsaw and destroys the image reminiscent of perfection. The screeching noise of the chainsaw recalls the noisy, partly cheering crowd of 15,000 people who had come to witness the book burning like a fairground event. The speech by the Protestant student pastor ended with a cheered "Heil" by all to the "German people" and to Adolf Hitler.

In the end, rectangular, book-sized pieces remain. The gold on the pieces of wood can still be seen. It is symbolic of the truths and insights that the authors had published in their works before they were burned.

Again, the young people begin to recite their texts. This time it is about today. Today, too, truths and insights are destroyed, hidden, manipulated. The book burning 4.0 wears a new dress. And it takes place predominantly not on streets and squares, but mainly on the net.

Meanwhile, the artist piles the pieces of books, one by one, into a bowl. As in the old days, the pile is lit on fire. Everyone watches as the glittering gold decays to ashes. The voices of the youth admonish and demand. The contents for the texts were developed by different groups of the pics4peaceYOUNGSTERS in different workshops.

For the action, the results were dramaturgically summarized as a condensate by Pia Beckmann in cooperation with the three presenters: Anna, 17, Tobias, 17, and Max, 22. They read with distributed roles, as was prescribed at the time of the book burning in 1933.

 There was a dramaturgy that the National Socialists had ordered. The dramaturgy today, the texts recited by young people slowly, forcefully and calmly, the comparison of what happened then with what can be experienced again today, allow parallels to be recognized and arouse emotions.

 The confession "I WILL" at the end invites people to tune in and join in, to get involved against extremism. Especially since it comes from young people, with voices of innocence, who do not know war and hunger and demand their right to a future in democracy, peace and freedom.

Video of "No News - Book Burning 4.0" in Frankfurt