IRXNSCHMOIZ – „About Myself“
Even as a child, I was interested in, fascinated by, and enthusiastic about geometric objects, shapes, and structures – as well as abstract and surreal works and expressionist color patterns – regardless of whether they were man-made or naturally formed. To this day, nothing has changed in this regard. My understanding and perception of my environment have always been predominantly visual. Over the years, I have largely managed to channel my pronounced tendency toward perfectionism outward; yet, I always strive to achieve the optimal result in my own work as well – provided the effort required remains reasonable.
The mindsets prevalent in the technical and graphic professions within my childhood home shaped my tendency to view the world through a predominantly technical and geometric lens. My creative talent manifested itself early on through daring constructions built with LEGO® and Fischertechnik®, in my school art and shop classes, and during my first forays into photography. Consequently, completing a degree in engineering was a logical next step.
Alongside my career in international plant engineering, my interest lay in collecting microcrystals – minerals in their flawless, perfect, purest, and most vividly colored forms. Closely related to this theme, and combined with my technical background, my interests expanded to encompass objects of industrial heritage and geotourism: the surface facilities of former mines and their spoil heaps, power plants, vintage machinery, processing factories, smelters, blast furnaces, coke works, and the like – many of which could be classified as „lost places“.
For a long time my photographic work in this field was purely documentary in nature; however, over the last fifteen years, it has gradually evolved toward a more artistic and interpretive approach. I was particularly and enduringly impressed by the spectacular large-scale sculptures situated atop the repurposed slag heaps and rubble mounds left behind by the mining industry – specifically in the Saarland, and most notably in the Ruhr region. There they were again: the geometric objects, shapes, and structures – the rich possibilities for creative reinterpretation through the lens of photography. This marked the starting point of an intense and all-consuming interest in „public art“ in its entirety. Before long, I began to view various urban spaces as open-air art galleries. Initially, I set out specifically to seek out murals by high-caliber artists. There are so many of them…
Increasingly often, however, my eye – honed by years spent crawling over old mining slag heaps in search of mineralogical „treats“ – began to get snagged on the „graphic legacies“ left behind by certain contemporaries along my urban wanderings; the result was that I suddenly began to notice these elements quite consciously within the cityscape. Once sensitized in this way, I realized that cities are bursting with „unauthorized graphic elements in the public sphere“ – things I had previously failed to notice (or simply ignored).
For several years now, however, these elements have exerted a fascinated pull on me; I even actively seek them out; I love them. Graffiti, Graphics, Color, Lines -everything I have always loved! Even the occasional piece of anarchic nonsense, along with many pieces featuring commentary on current political affairs, they left a palpable impression, or at the very least, often left me with a temporary, amused grin on my face. Perhaps this is due to the fact that – classified today as a member of the „Baby Boomer“ generation – I grew up and was socialized in West Berlin immediately after the construction of the Wall, and moved into my first apartment in the immediate vicinity of the „true“ West Berlin neighborhood. What a fucked-up area that was!
The left-wing, alternative, and anarchist scene in Kreuzberg during the 1980s sensitized and politicized me. Today, this helps me to spot, understand, contextualize, and evaluate the „legacies“ left behind in the urban landscape – even if I do not share every view proclaimed there. Back then, I often walked along the strip of land between the Wall at Potsdamer Platz and Mariannenplatz, photographing interesting subjects. I was using analog film, of course! And frequently in black-and-white with a strong red filter, and even with bringing things full circle after more than 35 years for Graffiti!
Shapes and colors have simply always fascinated me; here, they serve as historically unique documents! The same applies to my father’s photographs, whose passion for photography I have inherited. Shortly after the opening of the Wall, my young family and I managed to escape to West Germany: completely overcrowded public transport, grocery stores stripped bare of goods, and a firsthand encounter with the „shortage economy“ of the Soviet Occupation Zone – which had effectively been exported to the West. Life in Berlin had become an ordeal.
For about ten years now, my travels have led me to the highlights of street art – or urban art – located north of the Cologne-Dresden line. Occasionally, I even venture south of the Main River – the so-called „Weißwurst Equator“ – to places like Nuremberg, Stuttgart, and even Munich. Yet, graphic motifs and the exploration of „lost places“ have by no means been forgotten. I really like all the different genres described, but to summarize it in some words: My true passion lies in the finest „wild style“ lettering, photorealistic-looking pieces, zany characters, whimsical paste-ups, and quirky artistic leftovers.
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INFOTHEK
Photographer: IRXNSCHMOIZ
Hashtag: #irxnschmoiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kampagne24
Profile Page: https://vagabundler.com/culturists/irxnschmoiz
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