Description
The sculpture shows a naked boy sitting on a stone plinth. With his legs stretched out straight in front of him, he props himself with both hands on the seat and looks at the sky with a curious gaze.
Based on a quote from "Sculpture in Berlin" (German Bildhauerei in Berlin).
Historical background
“The sculpture, which was cast in bronze in 1968 and first erected at the corner of Greifswalder Str. at the corner of Naugarder Str., was modeled by Stötzer as early as 1956. The current composition with a modified seat base date from 2000.
The Stargazer is a calm, convincingly formulated sculpture, which Stötzer himself recalled many years after its creation: After visiting Waldemar Grzimek's studio, “I sat down in front of a prototype of a boy's sculpture, which I modeled before creating the cast. The mold itself was very boring, it irritated me. One Saturday it let it go, after drinking. I took the ax and struck it the breast of the form. The head suddenly lifted, looking up. It was good. (...) And then there was an exhibition where I showed the boy (...) in ND (Neues Deutschland) or another specialist newspaper, it was written that the boy was looking at Sputnik. It was wonderful. Yes. It was a boy looking at Sputnik” (Stötzer, 2011, p. 28).
Trebnitz Castle, Education and Movement Center e.V. (Ger.: Schloß Trebnitz, Bildungs- und Begenungszentrum e. V.) ', near Neuhardenberg, held until the end of March 2020 an exhibition devoted to Stötzer and his teacher Gustav Seitz titled "Gustav Seitz and Werner Stötzer, masters of the figure" (German "Gustav Seitz und Werner Stötzer, Meister der Figur"), curated by Annette Purfürst. The exhibition provided an opportunity to discover only with the works of both artists, but also with the themes behind their creation. "Seated Boy" was just one of the sculptures described on it
Based on a quotation from "Sculpting in Berlin" (Jörg Kuhn, Susanne Kähler), (German Bildhauerei in Berlin).
Information about the artists
- Born 1931 in Sonnenberg (Germany) - died 2010 in Altlangsow (Germany)
- 1949-1951: studies at the University of Architecture and Fine Arts in Weimar
- 1951-1953: continuation of studies at the University of Fine Arts in Dresden
- 1954-1958: master class with Gustav Seitz at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin
- From 1958: independent artist
- 1975-1978: visiting lecturer at the Berlin-Weißensee School of Art
- 1987-1990: professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in the GDR.
Artwork review
“This redhead boy seems to want to give his full attention to the flight of the birds. Or maybe he is staring at modern technology in the sky? Who as a child did not want to be a pilot? After all, only a child can be as carefree as this seated boy. A slight smile on his face is like a suggestion to remember our own childhood".
A quote from Karl Heinz Rehe from "Sculpture in Our City" (Ger. Plastiken in unserer Stadt) (p. 23).
