Stefan Strumbel

Stefan Strumbel

Transformation folkloristischer Klischees

In his prints, objects, and installations, Stefan Strumbel (b. 1979) overdraws the features of cultural products and cult objects from his native Black Forest by adding stylistic elements from Street and Pop art. He places cuckoo clocks, wooden masks worn during the local Carnival celebrations, or crucifixes in new and sometimes provocative contexts. For instance, he will supplant original elements of the cuckoo clock with motifs associated with violence, pornography, and death. The critical engagement with the idea of the “homeland” is a central theme in Strumbel’s art. “Home” must here be read as a metaphor for experiences of socialization and the cornerstone of personal identity—an identity that, in a globalized and increasingly digital world, takes on an anachronistic aspect. Local tradition thus becomes a cultural construction; the cuckoo clock turns into an alien element and vehicle of the transference of individual identity. The aggressive defamiliarization of traditional attributes and the garish colors of Stefan Strumbel’s works have proven widely popular. His objects are collected by Karl Lagerfeld, Hubert Burda, and others.

With essays by Raimar Stange and Florian Waldvogel.