{"id":910,"date":"2022-01-18T23:21:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T20:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korngold-society.org\/site\/?page_id=910"},"modified":"2022-01-18T23:21:59","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T20:21:59","slug":"melanie-kreuzhofs-interview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/korngold-society.org\/site\/melanie-kreuzhofs-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Melanie Kreuzhof\u2019s interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Melanie Kreuzhof\u2019s style of presentation is new, unconventional and non-conforming, and she avoids classifying herself into any existing school of art. In 2003 she was personally invited to the \u201cBiennale Internationale dell Arte Contemporanea\u201d in Florence where she gained brilliant international acclaim. Her works are currently found in collections in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Monaco, France, Germany and Austria.
Ms. Kreuzhof was interviewed especially for the website www.korngold-society.org. For additional information about Ms. Kreuzhof, samples of her work, or to contact her, please log on to:
www.kreuzhof.com
Troy Dixon (TD): How did the \u201ctote Stadt\u201d project begin?<\/strong>
Melanie Kreuzhof (MK): At the beginning of 2004, the editor of the magazine \u201cSpectakel Salzburger Festsiele Inside\u201d commissioned me to illustrate one of the 16 operas scheduled for performance during the 2004 Salzburg Festival \u2013 \u201cDie tote Stadt\u201d is the opera I selected.
Troy Dixon: Of the 16 opera to choose from, why did you decide on Korngold\u2019s \u201cDie tote Stadt\u201d as the subject of your painting?<\/strong>
MK: I chose \u201cDie tote Stadt\u201d because, of all the operas being presented at the Festival that year, Korngold\u2019s was the only one that had a \u201chappy ending\u201d to any real degree. I listened to the music and tried to \u201cfeel\u201d the story behind the opera.
TD: Could you describe your unique approach to artwork? It\u2019s called \u201cmassurrealism\u201d, correct?
<\/strong>MK: Yes. \u201cMassurrealism\u201d is a combination of mass media and surrealism, both as a word and as an approach to creating artwork.
It is actually quite difficult to explain my kind of artwork. I take digital photos \u2013 in the case of \u201ctote Stadt\u201d I used nine photos \u2013 and then digitally compose the artwork in the computer. After I have something I like, I print out the edited composite on a large printer directly onto canvas. Then the canvas is attached to a wooden framework, and I paint on the picture with acrylic colors and work on the sleeve with objects and analogue collages. Right now there are only about 20 artists worldwide who work like this.
TD: By \u201cobjects\u201d, do you mean real items?
<\/strong>MK: Yes \u2013 actual objects are added to the artwork. In the case of \u201cDie tote Stadt\u201d, I took three strings off my husband\u2019s guitar and made them a central element, representing the reference to the lute in the opera. He was quite surprised when he tried to play his guitar the next time! The silken scarf and strand of hair are also real, secured to the picture. In this way I try to create artwork that one can not only \u201csee\u201d or \u201cread\u201d, but also \u201cfeel\u201d and \u201ctouch\u201d. The objects in my pictures and the overpainting with acrylic make them unique.
TD: The lute strings, scarf, and hair are all important symbols in Korngold\u2019s opera. How did you select some of the other elements that we see in your final product?<\/strong>
MK: I took a photo of Bruegge in Belgium, where Paul, the protagonist, went after the death of his wife Marie. The female figure obviously represents the female elements in the story.
TD: When I look at the hand reaching from the water, I sense it is trying to grasp the ethereal female pictured above it, much as Paul is trying to reach out to his beloved Marie, no longer part of this world. Is this interpretation close to your vision when you composited the work?<\/strong>
MK: Yes, but I wanted to leave it open for the observer who is actually in the air-bubble, Marie or Mariette. The air-bubble stands for his dreams.
TD: You mentioned the \u201chappy ending\u201d of the opera \u2013that must be the significance of the cloaked figure gazing to the horizon?<\/strong>
MK: Yes \u2013 finally Paul got out of his dream and found his way back to reality. He left Bruegge and focused on something new \u2013 not known yet \u2013 in the future. On my picture he does not look back, he just walks to the sunlight.
TD: The elements you\u2019ve combined here all seem rather straight-forward \u2013 we haven\u2019t really discussed or mentioned any abstract ideas, or \u201chidden\u201d meanings\u2026<\/strong>
MK: No. I usually refuse abtraction \u2013 reality is concrete and I try to get to the bottom of it by exaggerating it and by putting it in new contexts. My works have been described as mystic, analytical, fantastic, playful, brutal, visionary \u2013 art as a mirror of our time. Nature and love of life are embodied the same as satire and spirituality.
TD: I understand your husband took a special interest in this piece.
<\/strong>MK: My husband was so excited about my picture \u201cDie tote Stadt\u201d that he purchased it back from the people who commissioned it for the Festival. It is available for public display, however.
Postscript
I remember throughout my life many instances where I found some tangent on a favorite subject or object that led unexpectedly to discovering a new attraction. When attending the Salzburg Festival in 2004, I came across Ms Kreuzhof\u2019s work \u201cDie tote Stadt\u201d reproduced in the Festspiele magazine. There\u2019s a certain attraction in the work that continually resurfaces each time I see it (I have a copy of the page from the magazine hanging near my desk). Remembering another time when certain album covers\u2019 artwork led me to research that jacket artist and discover more about him, I thought there might be others out there in the world who might enjoy Ms Kreuzhof\u2019s artwork, but might not ever find out about it; hence this article and interview. Hopefully someone out there browsing this website will \u201caccidentally\u201d discover they enjoy the works of this particular artist, making the above effort worthwhile
Troy Dixon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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