Voices Mag: “LANDschafftKUNST” (“Land creates Art”) is a film project realized in the summer of 2021 as part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden’s outreach program “180 Ideen für Sachsen,” a project supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes and the State of Saxony. This included a program of events with artists and other participating partners throughout Saxony. Aside from that, last year saw the creation of a youth advisory board within the SKD, a body addressing the challenges and possibilities confronted by art in rural Saxony. What can you tell us about this new film produced by Futur III?

Angelina Vollenweider: In the film, realized jointly by Futur III together with the SKD’s outreach program and Hechtfilm, a Dresden-based production company, we follow four artists: Anne Kern at Stadt Wehlen; Garlix – Benjamin Knoblauch at Niederwürschnitz; Suntje Sagerer at Bad Muskau; and Olaf Stoy at Dorfhain. Futur III visited these four artists in their studios to discuss life and work as artists based in rural locations. The sensitive portrayals that resulted look at these individual artists and trace a range of approaches to artistic production in the rural area. Coming from their own individual artistic and personal perspectives, these artists demonstrate the breadth and diversity of art made in reaction to the land.

How does this manifest itself more precisely?

All four were shot in their studios and immediate surroundings, but there are of course different conditions and interests with regard to the artistic creative process in the respective region. Which means that the proximity to nature often plays a role in the choice of subject matter, in addition to being a source of inspiration. Anne Kern for example, who is a painter and graphic designer, goes out into the rocky, forested landscapes of Saxon Switzerland to produce her work, an area already sought out by generations of artists before her for rendering nature up close, from an unmediated experience. Olaf Stoy, a sculptor who also makes use of direct impressions in nature, has a special interest in light changes and how these have an effect on form.

Isn't that also a romanticized idea of rural areas?

Not exclusively, as is shown in the film. You can see that the artists consciously react to the depopulation of rural areas, that they knowingly seek out vacated spots to locate their art in or even as work spaces where rent is affordable. Garlix – Benjamin Knoblauch sprays his graffiti paintings on building facades, among them community facilities that are decorated as part of a yearly raffle that he holds. And in Bad Muskau, conceptual artist Suntje Sagerer is dealing with bare walls, archiving them as photographs that she then reacts to by hand drawing. At the final stage, the drawings are transformed into large-format wall paintings that are then digitally reunited with the original walls. These are artists who, understandably, seek greater visibility and support for their work in the rural context, in addition to stronger networking back in the city. With this film project by Futur III, our aim was to forge new ties between the city and the land but also to shed light on rural areas in Saxony from a diverse perspective. We hope that with “LANDschafftKUNST“ we were able to achieve that.

And here you can watch the film...