1 Homo Optimus Maximus, 2010, 93 x 152 x 30 cm, Öl auf modifizierten Gips
3 Homo Optimus 1 und 2, 2010, 66,5 x 103 x 22 cm, Öl auf modifizierten Gips
HAGEN BÄCKER – IMAGES FOR ANIMALS
Hagen Bäcker was born in 1963 in Halle (Saale). This is where he lives and works as a visual artist and formally trained (MA) metal sculptor. He concentrates on painting, installations and sculpture. For some years now he has been involved with mass images taken from the media, mainly in serial work groups. Originals from print and Internet media serve in each case as both his starting point and a thematic basis stimulating him to an artistic reformulation.
By using a painted matrix of dots with overlays and coloured shadings he creates
images which are often irritating and as a rule only recognisable at a distance.
Situations involving installations and three-
In the Halle Mountain Zoo nature and culture intersect. Great pains are taken to keep the animals in surroundings conforming to the needs of their species and also to achieve attractive architecture and to breed animals of various species including those threatened by extinction. Aware of the importance of location Hagen Bäcker attempts to install his "images for animals" in such a way that their appeal to visitors seems almost to be an accident.
When during meetings with artist friends prior to the project the title "Art for Animals" came to be adopted the general reception was enthusiastic as it seemed to be just right for Halle Zoo's "profile". Taking Art for Animals seriously as a project required at the beginning some effort but it was just this effort which gave Bäcker the impetus to develop and realise his ideas.
It is usually human beings who observe the animals in a zoo and their supposedly characteristic behaviour, but Bäcker intends to reverse the situation. He confronts the animals with images depicting typical human situations and the values some of these situations reflect. To this end he has installed directly in front of or behind the compounds five glass paintings that can be seen from both sides and are framed in the traditional way. In this way the zoo visitors will have to put themselves into the position of the animals as they look at both the pictures and the visitors.
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