DIE VERWANDLUNG

Siggi Hofer or Franco Kappl. Or the coloured crayon drawings of Siggi Hofer which are evocative of innocently violent illustrations like those in books of fairytales. A young donkey cranes his neck up high and screams as his legs are clenched by the hands of an, in other respects, invisible being.

Or an old little donkey with a crumpled face. The donkey kicks out backwards in order to defend itself against a snotty-tongued wolf. One of Siggi’s mommy-memories says that the woman who runs the bar in a valley in South Tyrol woke up her children and sent them down into the bar when the occasional nighttime brawls between the customers were looming.

Or a self-portrait of Siggi when he was a teenager. The title of the picture is taken from a text by the poet Norbert C. Kaser; on the 28th of June, in 1978, he wrote, “es ist kalt sehr kalt auch in mir.” How badly does a little bit of violet belong to the face of a young man! We have to remember that for the future. How vivid is Siggi’s red mouth: quite chafed from the versatile work of enjoying.

Or Franco’s daddy-memory according to which the bedridden was staring into the air all day long. One day, he wished for a freshly painted living room ceiling from his son. Therefor, the son had to cover the man limited to the sofa with tarpaulin before even starting.

Or Franco’s giant painting, acrylic on canvas; black, grey, and white, and a hint of colour, here and there. The paintings only recently came into existence and they will, in future and forevermore, appear as if they were fleshly painted. Gestural painting not as attitude, but as stylistic device that one applies, and then again doesn’t, or the attempt to be controlled spontaneous or spontaneously controlled. A difference for the whole thing and a pure question of nerves.

words: Bernhard Seiter
translation: Stefan Thyri