“Anything Populist Bores Me.”

“How can we confront and critically examine the issues that are currently smoldering below the surface? How can I address them, what can I learn from them, and how can I deal with them in a productive way?” This is how RWTH alumnus Marcel Odenbach (71) describes the goal that he is pursuing as an artist.

Odenbach is a collagist and one of the three most internationally recognized German video artists. He is also known as a pioneer of German video art. Born in Cologne, he set out on this path at RWTH, where he studied architecture, art history, and semiotics from 1974 to 1979. In his study of semiotics, which is the science of sign systems, he used video as a means of getting in touch with people. “This had a huge impact on me – it was a decisive moment that led me to become interested in video as an artist.” Today, Odenbach's pieces (collages and video art) are exhibited all over the world, for which he has received numerous prizes and awards. Most recently, the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne presented Odenbach with the Wolfgang Hahn Prize for his “Schnittvorlagen” – a prize that is worth 100,000 euros.

Dealing With Complex, Multi-Layered Topics Through Art

But what keeps such a well-known artist awake at night and what is the focus of his art? “For me, living and engaging with other cultures and foreign countries has always been very important to find out who I really am” says Odenbach. The themes of his artwork are, in particular, colonialism, slavery, and racism – complex topics that are still “smoldering below the surface” in society today and that keep re-emerging. “For a while, I believed that by addressing these issues, they would become a thing of the past, but I was only kidding myself. We're seeing it right now; it's all coming back. I would never have believed that there would be another war in Europe.” He does not like populist statements on these complex, multi-layered issues. “Anything populist bores me.”

Confronting large and complex issues through art – that is what Marcel Odenbach does on a day-to-day basis. His current collage pieces are created from an archive of images – cutting templates or “Schnittvorlagen” – which serve as matrices or models. These are used and re-used again and again to create new work.

Some pieces take two months to complete, others seven. The images are taken from magazines, postcards, or any paper material that Odenbach finds useful. The material is then copied and colored to become a Schnittvorlage. It is a complex process. “I always say it's a bit neurotic,” says Odenbach, laughing. During the interview, he shows us an example of the material he uses for new collage pieces: “I thought that was incredible. This is a photo of a beach in Ghana. Breakwaters were built out of old computers and televisions, which is, of course, utterly absurd, as this poisons the water. But it is our fault that the water is rising, and it is our waste that they’re using. That is the dilemma facing Africa at the moment.”

Marcel Odenbach addresses complex themes not only in collages, but also in video art. In April 2024, he began filming a video about Paul Schultze-Naumburg – a Nazi architect, art historian, and co-creator of Nazi cultural ideology, who also built the Saaleck Workshops. This piece is scheduled to be exhibited at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn in April 2025.

And what about teaching? “At some point, you have to hand over the reins to the younger generation. The COVID-19 pandemic made it emotionally easier for me to say farewell,” says Odenbach about retiring from his position as a professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 2021. However, this does mean that he has more time for work in the studio, as he continues to be actively involved with the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, alongside his work on panels for Germany’s “Kunst am Bau” program, and his numerous exhibitions around the world. “The way you see me here today, in the studio, that happens maybe three days a week.”

Success Came Early

As a “tinkerer” (Odenbach’s term) from a family of architects in Cologne, studying architecture at RWTH was an obvious choice. At the beginning of his studies, he had no idea that one day he would want to make art on his own.

He was supported in his endeavors by Professor Hans Holländer († 2017) at the Chair of Art History. “He always said that real art historians make art themselves,” says Odenbach. This idea helped him in his ambition to become an independent artist. His first success came when he was still a student: in 1975, he held his first exhibition. A few years later, he received his first scholarship. “The situation back then was very different to today. There were many more prizes, scholarships, and opportunities.” Of course, Odenbach was influenced by other artists; in particular, Andy Warhol's political pieces from the 1960s are among his favorites, such as the “Thirteen Most Wanted Men” and the “Electric Chair” series. He speaks of his own pieces as if they were his children: “My ‘new baby’ is usually my favorite and the one I'm closest to emotionally. Often I create a piece, submit it, and then I close the case – it is a bit like a child moving out. But there are three special pieces that I won’t give away.”

“Novelty Can Usher in Positive Change.”

Marcel Odenbach's studio looks like the kind of space you would expect an artist to work in: Photos, newspaper cuttings, and other images hang on the wall, there is paper on the floor and templates for the current collage on a large desk. The house in which Odenbach's studio is located is scheduled to be demolished next year. But he remains optimistic, saying: “Any novelty can usher in positive change.”

– Author: Siba Fitzau