Münsters Geschichte von unten / Münster’s History from Below

Silke Wagner always places social, societal, and ecological themes at the center of her work. She made (and personified) history with her contribution to the 2007 Skulptur-Projekte, which is entitled Münster’s History from Below, and features a statue of Paul Wulf. The anarchist Wulf — who was raised in a children’s home and labeled mentally ill during the Nazi era — had been leading fruitless lawsuits against the state, chronicling the times, and asking uncomfortable questions since 1949. With the help of sociologist Bernd Drücke, they created an account of Wulf’s life story. The larger than life statue is wearing a cloak that has been turned into a sort of advertising pillar. It displays documents about his life, as well as materials on the political history of Münster, such as the urban warfare that took place or the anti nuclear movement. An important part of this work was done in collaboration with the Umweltzentrum-Archiv-Verein: a website on Paul Wulf and the digitization of the archive, offering in-depth access to the complex topics addressed by the sculpture. The holdings of the Umweltzentrum-Archiv Münster were merged with the Archiv für alternatives Schrifttum (afas) in Duisburg in 2011.

Executive artist for the sculpture of Paul Wulf:Herbert Rauer
Technical implementation: Stephan Marienfeld

www.skulptur-projekte.de

www.paul-wulf.net