The Treffpunkt ostZONE events in the Altstadt took place in cooperation with Volkshochschule Dresden e.V., Städtische Bibliotheken Dresden and Verein der Vietnamesen in Dresden e.V..
22.10.2021 – Market café
„GDR Art. Remember“ with the artist Janina Kracht and Nadine Wölk
The artist Janina Kracht – daughter of Friedrich Kracht – introduces us to construction-related and applied art in the GDR. 1958 Founding of the production cooperative of visual artists “Kunst am Bau”: Shaping life and work in the city in the spirit of sculptor Edmund Moeller. Playgrounds are created in the middle of the city, an elephant as a slide. From the unique piece to series production. Which material and how? A molded stone system. Development of concrete form elements with the TU Dresden. 12 basic elements, can be combined in different ways. Friedrich Kracht builds formative buildings in the Old Town, Prohlis, Gorbitz with his comrades. Murals. Fountains. Benches. After reunification, Dresden focuses on the Baroque. Private initiatives save a mural from the sports high school. The fountain at Neustädter Markt is finally a protected monument.
Nadine Wölk likes modules and shapes. Three graphics have been created: The portrait of Friedrich Kracht in front of a facade with his shaped stone elements.
Nadine Wölk
“Parallel to the market café of Janina Kracht about the development of the formal language of her father Friedrich Kracht in the GDR in the context of Kunst am Bau, I have worked out three different graphics in blue and white with document-proof ballpoint pens. The longer I dealt with Friedrich Kracht and Karl-Heinz Adler, the more I wanted to keep the graphics stylistically rather monochrome and reduced in the overall effect and moved away from colored alternatives.
In these three graphics, I first approach Friedrich Kracht in a very portrait-like manner, especially since I could only find one photo of him on the Internet (on Wikipedia). In the other two graphics I move further and further away from him, in that in the end he will only be recognizable as a shadow and outline. Thus the form language developed by him wins gradually more and more the upper hand and as conceived by him, the forms break in the light and shadow or disappear completely in the darkness. They are constantly in the process of dissolving, recomposing or almost disappearing. This exciting interplay between positive forms and their negative counterparts, forms that are often only leftover fragments, have captivated me graphically and formally by their special aesthetics.” (Nadine Wölk)
22.10.2021 – District walk
„On the trail of Friedrich Kracht“ with the artist Janina Kracht
Consistently collective, artistic work. In Dresden. Janina shows us the art in the old town linked to the building activity. Kracht facades with the serial shaped stone system. A column in the pharmacy. Already passed by a thousand times, never noticed. Lonely monuments in unsuspected corners. The impressive design and decor of many courtyards. Conversations about life in the middle of the city. Wall design on the Prager Straße. Mosaic-like? Molded stone system. Now hidden, a second row was built in front of it. Then the many fountains. Harmonious with benches. But only a few originals are still standing. Many dandelions have disappeared. A cold wind blows. On the way back: the shaped elephant in a backyard. Playground and art. Enthusiasm.
Janina Kracht delved into “art in construction” with us. We tried out color combinations on 3D plaster molded bricks that we had brought along. Nobody wanted to leave it gray.
23.10.2021 – Podium discussion
Immigration in the GDR – a conversation with former contract workers from Vietnam
with Hung Cao The (former contract worker), Bui Truong Binh (Chairman – Association of Vietnamese in Dresden e.V.), Hai Vuong Tuan (former contract worker), Martín Iglesias Taboada (Dresden Migration Stories – Ausländerrat Dresden e.V.)
Moderation: Marcus Oertel | Live-Visualization, Dokumentation: Anja Maria Eisen
Bui Truong Binh was one of the first to come from Vietnam. Four hours of German lessons. Four hours of locksmithing. Hung Cao The came in 1979. Work on the machines. Target fulfilled 110%. From the wages they sent home motorcycles and sewing machines. They were doing well. Hai tells about the weekends. Sewing the denim pants. And chill pants. Very much in demand. The fall of the Berlin Wall was followed by the liquidation of the factories. 12,000 Vietnamese in Dresden. Hung shows his dismissal of the Freital clothing factory. Chaos time. Skinheads. Home? Many stay. Steps into self-employment. Textile trade, drinks, cigarettes. Tailor shops. 1998 Foundation of the Association of Vietnamese in Dresden e.V. We are Dresdeners. Wish for the future: dual citizenship. Questions from the audience: Was there racism? No. Luis Mazuze counters: Visiting restaurants without serving Mozambicans. Brotherly country? Anja Maria Eisen creates memory collages.
The project Treffpunkt ostZONE. Remember and Shape is funded by the House of Resources Dresden +. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state program Integrative Measures.
