Kunsthaus
Zug

_____________________ On 19.03.2024 at 11:41 Matthias Haldemann to Peter Sandbichler

Dear Peter, Then let's tackle the skull... Transport is OK, we have to check everything else here in context. Best regards, Matthias

_____________________ On 19.03.2024 at 11:21 Peter Sandbichler to Matthias Haldemann

Dear Matthias,

I was just very happy about your message.

I will tackle the horse's skull right away. I have already started the preparatory work in the computer so that I can make the representations for you. I didn't just scan the skull, I built it in the 3D program. Very roughly, but it does its purpose to understand the thing three-dimensionally. Yesterday I already made an appointment for Thursday at the Natural History Museum. There I can study a real horse skull. I measure it, take photos and drawings when time allows. I always take these studies very seriously. I'm intentionally doing it analogously. I like to use different mediums to approach the form. However, the conversion into the casting is then completely analogue. I build the negative mold. In other words, I have to turn everything around, think the wrong way. Mistakes happen, something new is created, but it still shows a horse's skull. I'll send you a photo of the production of the mold for a cheetah. Everything is used that somehow serves the form. After casting, I see the result for the first time. Chance plays a big role in the different surfaces of the materials I use to build the mold. You ask, what does that mean financially? The transport of a work with the approximate dimensions of 220x70x70cm from Vienna to Zug and back. Weighs less than 100 kg. And of course, I'm happy to see what you can contribute to the production costs in such a case. For me, this means the production of another skull in my "Skulls" series. It's hard to say how long I'll be working on it, and you can't calculate that. Costs that are definitely incurred are the material costs approx. € 2000.- and one employee for two or three days, approx. 600.-. Any support is appreciated. The sculpture will then also be available for sale. With the black concrete, it is also good for outdoor use. I also had agreements that the institution would be reimbursed for the production costs when it was sold. However, this is a shaky model when it may take years for the work to be sold. All the best Peter

_____________________ On 19.03.2024 at 08:05 Matthias Haldemann to Peter Sandbichler Dear Peter, Thank you very much for the interesting ideas. I can imagine both. The skull in Bucephalus would be ideal. What does the financial side look like for us? Sorry to be so prosaic, but yesterday we had a financial meeting.... Best regards, Matthias

_____________________ On 18.03.2024 at 17:37 Peter Sandbichler to Matthias Haldemann

Dear Matthias, While the impressions from "Us, You, Me" run through my head, my reflections remain on two works that I would like to propose to you for participation in the exhibition in June. Both designs are derived from groups of works that I have been following for a long time. I started the "Skulls" series in 2011, the first "Bones" are from 2020.

I'll send you some thoughts and attach sketches or models of the sculptures I'm working on now, as well as photos of existing works, so you can get an idea of the dimension and materiality.

Skull: The skull as a shell for the brain is the starting point of the "Skulls" series, which I derive from concrete anatomy, but formally implement very freely and greatly enlarged to scale. I am interested in the characteristic recognition value of a specific skull, such as a bull, a cat or a bird, despite substantial deviations from the original. I build the moulds in a very improvised way with waste materials from the studio. Nevertheless, the rough position of the eye sockets and muzzle define the expression in such a way that the animal can be recognized. With my current work on a horse's skull, I am feeling my way towards the "Bucephalus". Kiesler's fluidly decaying, horizontally fragmentary nature, the hard body as a protective cavity, lying prostrate with towering legs that take off like wings. The amorphous forms of my "skulls" with their openings and windings are clearly ambiguous depending on the location; Case, shell or shield. I am currently working on a sculpture in the format 220x70x70 cm, which I cast in black, very light concrete. A material that picks up all the details of the "unclean" shape and reproduces them brilliantly. From a purely technical point of view, the work involves hollow castings. A high-performance concrete proven with glass fibre is incorporated into the mould. The wall thickness of the mould is never thicker than 5 to 8mm. Shell shapes and cavities are formed in a similar way to bucephalus. The material is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Bone: In addition to the "Skulls" series, the "Bones" have been developed, which I don't cast like skulls, but construct them from different wood scraps. The starting point is a found object: the Viennese beef soup bone. As a result, the vertebral bones sawn up by the butcher with a band saw are given straight surfaces that bring them to rest on all sides or tilted over the edges to a standstill. As «Correlatives», the «Bones» are intended for use. When they are moved, they take on a performative character. In two exhibitions in Vienna and Bressanone, they were moved through the space by actors in different constellations on a cardboard floor laid out for this purpose. Due to the variability - horizontally lying, standing vertically, protruding - the curved shapes and views come into the picture more strongly. Alternatively, this happens the same way when you move around the sculpture and look at it from different perspectives. I hope you can imagine something under my description. We are happy to talk about it further on the phone. In the meantime, with warm greetings from Vienna, Peter

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