29 March to 29 June 1997
The Diözesanmuseum as Guest: Paul Thek
Church St. Peter in Cologne

What happens if a museum brings its works of art into a church? In the nave of St. Peter, Paul Theks “Fishman in Excelsis Table” hangs from the ceiling. The Fishman, a body casting of a young man surrounded by fish and algae skeletons, red wires and lumps of wax reminiscent of veins and pieces of flesh and partially covered linen cloth, stretches his arms over his head like someone diving into water. In this state between hovering, diving and swimming, between life and death, he may evoke many associations – especially by being placed in a church celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ – as well as raise the question regarding the conditions of human existence. In a different way the same topic is addressed by the contained world of the aquarium on the side altar. A snail of unfired clay can be seen amongst moss and daffodils. The snail as a hermaphrodite, renewing itself from itself, and bulbs, which become blooming flowers, are symbols of the renewal of life, gaining an additional Christian dimension when shown in the space of the church. In the side chapel, the swings bearing feathered fish (1969/70) appear strange, as do the spinning tops covered with down (1969) and the “Portable Ocean” (1969), a little wagon filled with building blocks pulled by a comet. As children’s toys, these objects are useless, the artistic treatment having relieved them of any purpose. Painted in blue and white, the building blocks are brought into connection with the primordial element of the ocean and the eiderdown turns the spinning tops and swings into delicate, scarcely touchable objects which may not easily be grasped. Still this purpose-free interplay has an internal order and bridges the discrepancy between what may be depicted and what is merely imaginable.

Art museum of the
Archdiocese of Cologne