The artist Johanna Knöpfle and the „Aesthetics of Relationships“ 23. September 2023

#interview

Our 1:1 CONCERTS series “IN TUNE with Nature” will take place on 30th September 2023. Nature itself will be the central theme and listeners will enjoy a 1:1 CONCERT in the beautiful Linzgau landscape: in the forest and fields and in the Salem Castle Park. For this occasion, we are cooperating with the visual artist Johanna Knöpfle who will design the concert venues incorporating the topics of nature and art. For the first time, the venues will not be staged by the hosts themselves, but developed from an artistic position. Here we introduce Johanna and talk about her approach.

Johanna, which are the central themes and topics of your artistic work?

The central theme of my work is the relationship itself. I translate my own experiences and observations into an artistic language in order to depict the many facets of a relationship using a wide variety of materials and techniques. Relationships are always relevant, whether with another person or living being, with oneself, nature or a place, social issues, the future or the past. For example, I worked on my relationship to music in 2016 in the installation "The music I would have made”.

How do you transport your topics towards your audience?

First and foremost, of course, about the artworks and about dialogue. Since 2017, I have been running the showroom "L wie Materie" („L for Matter“) together with my husband Matthias Schenkl, where there is always first-hand background knowledge about my works. The showroom is my base station where I present my own works throughout the year, curate guest exhibitions, engage in art education and of course organise events, such as the wonderful 1:1 CONCERTS. Whenevery you drop by, there's always something to see! 2022 also saw the publication of a comprehensive volume of all my art works entitled "The Aesthetics of Relationship, the Disassembly of Aesthetics”. 

This “catalogue“ is available at "L wie Materie", along with several other works. Furthermore, my works are also present on my website and in exhibitions at home and abroad. I am always happy to receive new enquiries, as each new location brings a different context and new people. 

During the severe lockdown of 2020, 1:1 CONCERTS have alredy “visited“ "L wie Materie ". How did you become aware of our project back then?

The pandemic has prompted me to find new forms of presentation. For example, we created a Lyrical Advent Calendar with poems and song lyrics and an exhibition about the windows of the "L wie Materie". It was a huge success because people could simply look inside from outside and get their artistic input in the fresh air. Through our exhibition activities, we were also able to make a contribution in solidarity with the guest artists and continue to present interesting positions.. 

A friend who knew someone from the Stuttgart State Opera told me about 1:1 CONCERTS during that time. I was immediately enthusiastic! Since I love interdiciplinary work, the idea immediately struck a creative chord with me. Without further ado we decided to create such a meeting and concert place here in Salem. Musicians from the Stuttgart State Opera and the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra of Constance realised the concerts in our "L wie Materie". The guests sat in the middle of a photographic installation by Matthias Schenkl.

Inspired by the 1:1 CONCERTS, in 2021 I further developed the idea of a non-verbal encounter between art, music and people with the musician Bernhard Klein, who is also playing in Salem this time. Bernhard composed a piece to one of my paintings. By looking at the artwork in connection with the music, we created a new level of perception.

For our cooperation „IN TUNE with Nature“, you will stage three concert venues in nature. Can you describe how this is going to be? What can we look forward to?

Art in nature is a challenging endeavour. In my opinion, you don't have to "add" anything to nature per se. So when I am commissioned to design a venue, as I am now with the 1:1 CONCERTS, I either try to change as little as possible and work with the given locations and materials, or deliberately insert an artificial aspect that interrupts the natural form. To do this, I have to familiarise myself with the location at the appropriate time, observe the lighting conditions and moods in order to be able to react to them. You can look forward to venues that make you want more: more music, more art and more encounters.