„Marc Allgaier zeigt ein Gespür für die Thematik des Wandels. Sei es der stetige Ansporn der Technik nach Fortschritt oder auch der globalen Veränderung des Klimas. Der Stuttgarter Künstler beschäftigt sich damit in verschiedenen Medien von Grafik über Fotografie und Collage bis zur Malerei. Er selbst sieht seine Arbeit als Suche nach neuen Lösungen. […]“

Marc Allgaier stellt aktuell im Schlössle in Oberlenningen aus. Seine Werke thematisieren Risiken und Chancen des globalen Wandels. – Teckbote 11. September 2023

Wer seine Kunstausstellung „Natürliche Umgebung“ betitelt, liefert nicht nur Ironie, sondern eine Menge Denkanstöße mit. Im Falle von Marc Allgaier kommt solche Mehrschichtigkeit nicht von ungefähr. Er stammt aus Lenningen, ist gelernter Grafikdesigner und hat Kommunikationsgestaltung studiert. Der Umgang mit traditionellen und neuen Medien gehört zu seinem Handwerk. Ebenso die Reflektion gesellschaftlich brisanter Themen wie Ökologie und Nachhaltigkeit. Die ästhetische Vielfalt des Papiers führt Allgaier mit einer begehbaren Installation vor Augen. Massivität und Leichte des Materials beeindrucken beim Gang durch das höhlenartige Gebilde ebenso wie sein statisches Vermögen, das dem Papier zu architektonischer Qualität verhilft. Die einst revolutionäre Schwelle zwischen analog und digital hebeln Allgaiers Werke gekonnt aus. Am Computer entstandene Collagen finden sich als gerahmte Exponate hinter Glas wieder. Die tradierte Haltung, analoger Präsenz einen höheren Grad an Wirklichkeit zuzusprechen, unterlaufen Allgaiers Artefakte souverän. Zugleich stellen sie jene Form globalen Wandels aus, den der Künstler als „neue Technik“ betrachtet: „Die alte Technik wird jeden Moment von der Zeit überholt“ , erläutert er. Die ständig laufende Suche nach neuen Lösungen sieht Allgai-er als zielgerichtetes, gleichwohl ergebnisoffenes Unterfangen: „Relevant ist nur die ständige Veränderung, das Aufzeigen neuer Möglichkeiten“, betont er.

Allgaiers rastlos voranschreitende „neue Technik“ bedient sich überkommener Versatzstücke und arrangiert diese neu. In Claude Lévi-Strauss‘ Konzept der „bricolage“ hat sie ein prominentes Vorbild. Auch Tiere spielen in Allgaiers motivischem Kosmos eine wichtige Rolle. Malerisch in Szene gesetzt als unschuldige Lebewesen, die ihrer natürlichen Umgebung entrissen wurden. Tierisches Personal findet sich in einem Milieu wieder, das Selbstverleugnung fordert und zu unbedingter Anpassung nötigt. Für Allgaier auch eine Diagnose menschlicher Zustände: „Beim Betrachten spiegeln wir uns selbst im Tier“, sagt er. Doch bleibt seine Kunst nicht bei pessimistischer Bestandsaufnahme stehen. In der ästhetischen Reflektion sieht er die Chance, Bewusstsein für menschliches Handeln und dessen weltweite Folgen zu schärfen. Fraglos ist es gehaltvolle Kost, die Allgaier auftischt. Dennoch erdrücken die Bilder nicht mit der Last ihrer Fragen. Vielmehr imponiert ihre Leichtigkeit im Wechsel von Material und Technik. Korrespondiert in Allgaiers Malerei figurative Prägnanz mit skizzenhaft geworfenen Gesten, bannen seine Collagen den Blick mit Detailfülle und perspektivischer Raffinesse. „Die neue Technik schreibt auf ihrer Suche zugleich ihre eigene Geschichte“, so der Künstler. Gelegenheit, diesem Prozess nachzuspüren, besteht in der Lenninger Gemeindebücherei bis einschließlich Samstag, 7. Oktober. Marc Allgaiers Installation im Museum für Papier- und Buchkunst ist noch bis Sonntag, 25. Februar 2024 zu begehen.

Nun ist da noch Marc Allgaier mit seiner Szenografie der Digitalisierung und Veränderung der Welt um uns herum. Eine totale Collage unterschiedlicher Materialien, oszillierend zwischen Vernunft und Ekstase, auf der Suche nach dem wahren Leben. Der Künstler nutzt eine eigene Sprache, um die chaotische Struktur und Umgebung um uns herum erfahrbar zu machen. Es geht nicht darum, es zu verstehen, sondern den künstlerischen Prozess als Werkzeug zur Erforschung des Unterbewusstseins zu nutzen.

Your work emphasizes the blending of the obvious with the subconscious. How do you approach creating art that intertwines these two realms, and how does this interplay reflect your own perspective on life?

You could imagine it as a smiley with one laughing and one crying eve. It’s difficult to capture in words. What is crucial for me is a close observation, which underpins all my work. The process is often intuitive, leaving room for associations drawn from everyday life but also from deeper, sometimes subconscious questions about human existence. Just as life is experienced in multiple lavers, my art reflects these various levels. It emerges from a position of being an observer, a constructor, and a participant in the vast human thought cosmos, which has long become imperceptible to individuals.

In your collage art, you explore the theme of continuous transformation. How do you navigate the balance between preserving elements from the past and reinventing them to create new narratives?

Collages allow me to take existing fragments and place them in new contexts. While the old remains recognizable, it is simultaneously transformed into a new narrative. This process reflects how we as humans constantly reinvent ourselves through memories and experiences. Collages, much like technical inventions, build upon the old and develop something new from it. For this, I often use historical images from old books, which I then reshape, reassemble, combine with abstract forms, and sometimes incorporate my own new photographs of the same scenario. This creates a journey through transience and eternity.

Your pieces like „Mobile-Phone“ and „Der Ketchup“ critically engage with modern technology and consumer culture. What drives your exploration of these societal themes, and how do you hope your audience responds to these critiques?

My fascination with technology and consumer culture lies in their duality. They promise progress and freedom but often lead to new forms of dependency. I aim to prompt the audience to reflect on these issues, without being preachy. I want to encourage a playful and experimental approach to thinking about and solving problems. The goal is to become aware of the issues without falling into frustration and to move positively into the future with new solutions. It’s an invitation to engage with these topics in a playful way.

Sustainability and the use of recyclable materials play an essential role in your design work, especially in stage design. How do you integrate these practices into your creative process, and what impact do you hope to achieve through them?

When I start a stage design project, I spend months beforehand visiting scrapyards, estate sales, or walking the streets to see what bulky waste has to offer. Many objects that have seemingly lost their original purpose can still be used wonderfully for artistic work. This way, I rescue materials from being scrapped and simultaneously acquire pieces with their own story to tell. These stories can either be directly addressed or transformed into new ones by combining them with other pieces. In a way, it’s also a „hunter and gatherer“ thing, an ancient instinct we all carry within us. Beyond artistic aspects, it also highlights that we should assign more value to things again to overcome the throwaway society we’ve unfortunately fallen into and develop more respect for nature and ourselves.

As an artist and curator, how do you balance your personal artistic expression with curating the works of others? How do these roles inform one another?

Curating and creating art are, for me, two sides of the same coin. As a curator, I can initiate new dialogues through the arrangement of works, which also inspire my own creative process and provide other artists with the opportunity for exchange. As a curator, I contribute to a much broader dialogue in society than I would as an artist working only with my own pieces. This dynamic tension opens up new artistic possibilities.

Your technique embraces unpredictability, allowing your art to take on a life of its own. How do you remain open to unpredictable outcomes in your creative process, and how do you decide when a piece is „finished“?

I view the creative process as a kind of developmental dialogue between myself and the artwork. Together, we create a new language, with all the unexpected influences that the work brings along. The task is to strategically allow things to happen and not interrupt this flow. A piece is „finished“ for me when it has found its own rhythm and thus becomes part of my diverse collection of experiments.

You describe life as a „continuous process of construction and creation.“ How does this philosophy influence the themes and techniques you explore in your art?

There’s a famous saying, „nothing is constant except change.“ Essentially, I try to bring this life process into both the materials and themes of my work, whether consciously or unconsciously. It’s the art of transformation, the search for new solutions. An attempt with an open outcome, yet with a goal. The old technique, which is inevitably destined to end, is overtaken by time at any moment. In thought, the new technique reshapes old parts. Could the results produced be the solution? Or where does the meaning lie? I see art as a dynamic process that constantly reshapes and transforms itself.

Your work is often critical of modern civilizations and cultural phenomena. How do you use humor or absurdity to soften these critiques while still maintaining their depth and significance?

Humor is an essential tool for me to make serious topics more accessible. Humor is also something very important to me as a person. Seriousness is also crucial, but without humor, everything becomes a bit too one-dimensional. Absurdity can help shift the viewer’s perspective and encourage them to question things in new ways. Despite the lightness that humor brings, the underlying critique in my work, which is sometimes quite biting, remains and calls for engagement.

How has your background in communication design influenced your multidisciplinary approach to art, including the integration of photography, video, music, and collage?

It first taught me to reflect on what communication really is, how it works, and why there’s so much miscommunication. This led me to understand the importance of visual communication. This insight has given me the freedom to seamlessly integrate different media such as photography, video, and music into my work, creating complex narrative lavers.

Your art often reflects societal changes and technology’s impact on human interaction. How do you think the role of art and design has evolved in addressing these issues in today’s world?

Art and design play a central role today, not only in representing societal issues but also in questioning them. In a time where technology increasingly permeates our daily lives, art becomes a mirror that invites us to reflect on the consequences of this shift and redefine our position within it. However, I would make a clear distinction between design and art. Design follows a real-world task, whereas art can awaken an entirely new or unique world.