Workshop pittura oscura
with Winfried Muthesius
Name Challenges, Reflect on the Past, Develop Perspectives!
Remembering is important. Remembering without looking to the future, however, remains fruitless. Remembrance culture is about recognizing connections and translating them into today's time; "What does what happened then mean for us today?". This is the bridge that pics4peace builds.
Würzburg, for example, was almost completely destroyed in the last days of the World War II, on March 16, 1945. Many people died. But even before that, many fates were decided: People were degraded to objects. Jews, homosexuals, Sinti and Roma, people with disabilities and opponents of the regime were betrayed, persecuted, deported, tortured and killed. As in many cities in our country.
- When did all this begin?
- Could anything be sensed in the run-up to the Nazi takeover?
- What is going on in our society today?
- In Germany, Europe and the world?
- What about the new war in Ucraine?
- What is it doing to us?
- What does it mean for each of us today?
Artists Are Seismographs Of Our Society
That is why we approach the political debate on the challenges of our time with artistic means. With Winfried Muthesius from Berlin, we were able to win over an internationally recognized artist for pics4peace, who has been dealing with historically or socio-politically relevant topics since the beginning of his artistic work. The technique pittura oscura developed by him not only brings painting and photography into one of them, it also makes it possible to superimpose time levels. This allows the artist to compare the challenges and problems of our time with what happened in the past, and from this to develop a real perspective for the future. All in one art work. In a workshop, Muthesius shows young people how they can implement this with their own artistic methods.
Art as a Means
to Awaken Potential
Art is also a medium that young adults often use.
They rap, sing, paint, take pictures, spray graffiti, shoot videos, write poems, slogans, short stories or poetry slams and post it on the net. This is how they express what moves them, what scares them, what they reject, what needs to be changed and what is important to them.
This creative potential is taken up by pics4peace.
pics4peace takes the statements of young people seriously. With events, workshops, dialog forums and online campaigns, the initiative creates analog and digital platforms that make known what is important to young people, transport their concerns to decision-makers in politics and society, and promote exchange between the generations.
