(born in Wendorf in 1930)
Johannes, 6 parts, 1995, the five paper works signed, dated, titled, numbered on the reverse Uecker 95 Johannes 0–4 and Das Evangelium nach Johannes Kapitel 1, Vers 1–10 on sheet 4, nail relief dated and signed on the reverse Uecker 95, ashes, glue on paper (1), graphite on paper (4), nails, latex paint, canvas on wood (1), all sheets are pinned to the wall with 4 separate nails (120 mm), each 60 x 40 cm, overall size 60 x 240 cm

This work is registered in the Uecker Archiv under the number GU.13.001/ GU.84.015/ GU.95.005 and will be noted for inclusion in the forthcoming Uecker Catalogue Raisonné.

Provenance:
Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach
Private Collection, Germany - acquired from the above in the second half of the 1990s.

Literature:
Günther Uecker, Anschlag, Zum Schweigen der Schrift, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach 1997, p. 17
Britta Julia Dombrowe, vol. I, Werkverzeichnis der bibliophilen Werke von Günther Uecker, dissertation, University of Cologne, p. 53
Dorothea and Martin van der Koelen (Ed.) Günther Uecker, Opus Liber, Catalogue of the bibliophile books and works, 1960–2005, Mainz 2007, p. 420f, no. L 9504 (colour ill.)

Exhibited:
Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Anschlag - Zum Schweigen der Schrift, 02.03.-07.05.1997
Kunstmuseum Bochum, doing identity - Die Sammlung Reydan Weiss, 25.11.17–4.2.18

Günther Uecker’s 1995 work Johannes is among his bibliophile works – a group of individual pieces including portfolio works, books, large object installations dealing with language, political, religious and fictional texts, which either form the work or are firmly integrated into it.
In “Johannes” two pictures – one made of ash and another of nails – are placed to the left and right of verses 1 to 9 from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. The text is an integral component of the overall piece and is elevated to the status of an artwork, along with the works on either side of it. “Copying the words leads to them being internalised, akin to praying. And if I turn to these words, then artistic activities and legible writing represent a very important process for reaching the originality and ethical expression of writing. It must be passed on to me, otherwise I would just write the words down like a pen-pusher and not understand what I was writing.” (Britta Julia Dombrowe, Cologne 2006, p. 100)
The ash images were primarily created during the period after the accident involving the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. They involve Günther Uecker making a political statement and criticising humanity’s destruction of the environment and people. At the same time, he views ash as not only the remnants of destruction, but also as a symbol of a new beginning, both representing destruction and healing, end and beginning. The start of the Gospel of John (“In the beginning was the Word…”) therefore represents a direct link to the ash image, which symbolises beginning in Johannes.
The fields of nails were constructed from the mid-60s onwards, and can be traced back to Uecker’s positive experiences, offering a highly visual impact. The nails hammered in a free rhythm remind the viewer of looking at a field of corn blowing in the wind. This impression is heightened by the changing surfaces of the nails, with only their heads painted white. Günther Uecker associates the fields of nails with his positive memories of his childhood by the Baltic Sea, where he was able to arrange the fields with great pleasure and in an utterly meticulous manner.
Günther Uecker uses the nail to mark a spot between the polarised principles of light and shade which represent permanent healing, re-creation and purity, as well as destruction, death and darkness. The nail image is the final element in the bibliophile work Johannes and sees Günther Uecker take the words of Chapter 1, Verse 9 of the Gospel according to John and illustrate light and shade as a moving field, and the ever-changing shadows of the nails on the wall and the piece. The language is intrinsic to the artwork and offers a complementary commentary to the artistic works on either side.
The artistic act which affixes the pages of text to the wall using the nails contains an additional linguistic message while also offering new information from Uecker which is integrated into the overall context of the work.
The ashes and nails become cipher-like repositories of information which create an overall bibliophile piece when combined with the language elevated to the status of a piece of art. Günther Uecker wants to make us as viewers aware that every material can ultimately have a communicative effect, thereby granting us an intimate insight into his world of work and his thoughts.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all menthrough him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
John 1, Psalm 1-9, Translation King James Bible

This work is registered in the Uecker Archiv under the number GU.95.005 and will be noted for inclusion in the forthcoming Uecker Catalogue Raisonné.

Provenance:
Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach
Private Collection, Germany - acquired from the above in the second half of the 1990s.

Literature:
Günther Uecker, Anschlag, Zum Schweigen der Schrift, Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach 1997, p. 17
Britta Julia Dombrowe, vol. I, Werkverzeichnis der bibliophilen Werke von Günther Uecker, dissertation, University of Cologne, p. 53
Dorothea and Martin van der Koelen (Ed.) Günther Uecker, Opus Liber, Catalogue of the bibliophile books and works, 1960–2005, Mainz 2007, p. 420f, no. L 9504 (colour ill.)

Exhibited:
Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Anschlag - Zum Schweigen der Schrift, 02.03.-07.05.1997
Kunstmuseum Bochum, doing identity - Die Sammlung Reydan Weiss, 25.11.17–4.2.18

Günther Uecker’s 1995 work Johannes is among his bibliophile works – a group of individual pieces including portfolio works, books, large object installations dealing with language, political, religious and fictional texts, which either form the work or are firmly integrated into it.
In “Johannes” two pictures – one made of ash and another of nails – are placed to the left and right of verses 1 to 9 from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. The text is an integral component of the overall piece and is elevated to the status of an artwork, along with the works on either side of it. “Copying the words leads to them being internalised, akin to praying. And if I turn to these words, then artistic activities and legible writing represent a very important process for reaching the originality and ethical expression of writing. It must be passed on to me, otherwise I would just write the words down like a pen-pusher and not understand what I was writing.” (Britta Julia Dombrowe, Cologne 2006, p. 100)
The ash images were primarily created during the period after the accident involving the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. They involve Günther Uecker making a political statement and criticising humanity’s destruction of the environment and people. At the same time, he views ash as not only the remnants of destruction, but also as a symbol of a new beginning, both representing destruction and healing, end and beginning. The start of the Gospel of John (“In the beginning was the Word…”) therefore represents a direct link to the ash image, which symbolises beginning in Johannes.
The fields of nails were constructed from the mid-60s onwards, and can be traced back to Uecker’s positive experiences, offering a highly visual impact. The nails hammered in a free rhythm remind the viewer of looking at a field of corn blowing in the wind. This impression is heightened by the changing surfaces of the nails, with only their heads painted white. Günther Uecker associates the fields of nails with his positive memories of his childhood by the Baltic Sea, where he was able to arrange the fields with great pleasure and in an utterly meticulous manner.
Günther Uecker uses the nail to mark a spot between the polarised principles of light and shade which represent permanent healing, re-creation and purity, as well as destruction, death and darkness. The nail image is the final element in the bibliophile work Johannes and sees Günther Uecker take the words of Chapter 1, Verse 9 of the Gospel according to John and illustrate light and shade as a moving field, and the ever-changing shadows of the nails on the wall and the piece. The language is intrinsic to the artwork and offers a complementary commentary to the artistic works on either side.
The artistic act which affixes the pages of text to the wall using the nails contains an additional linguistic message while also offering new information from Uecker which is integrated into the overall context of the work.
The ashes and nails become cipher-like repositories of information which create an overall bibliophile piece when combined with the language elevated to the status of a piece of art. Günther Uecker wants to make us as viewers aware that every material can ultimately have a communicative effect, thereby granting us an intimate insight into his world of work and his thoughts.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all menthrough him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
John 1, Psalm 1-9, Translation King James Bible