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+--- Thread: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist (/thread-3123.html)
The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - Ben Trovato - 09-03-2020
I would like to bring your attention to the Austrian artist August Walla (1936-2001), who suffered from schizophrenia and spent most of his time in psychiatric institutions (or at least under medical supervision). There, he was encouraged to express himself artistically, and became a member of the “Gugging artists” who received praise and appreciation from modern painters and art collectors. His works now are on display in several museums. His life, and also his clinical record, are well documented.
Walla’s style involved the inclusion of text into his paintings. Some are pure text, but most of them combine text and figurative illustration. In those cases, the text is somewhat integrated into the picture and used to fill any voids between the figures, obviously following aesthetic principles as much as its inherent “meaning”.
Some of his texts are (kind of) understandable and some are not, some appear to be meaningless. To him, they were undoubtedly meaningful. In some sense, he used his art to communicate; in some sense, to follow an urge to express himself and his religious and cosmological beliefs (which are actually quite complex). Very likely, he attributed some magical component to his work.
He “chose” painting as his form of artistic expression because he knew this from his early education, and because was encouraged by his environment. In Gugging, the necessary materials were also supplied.
In his extensive oeuvre, a small number of topics prevail – family, religion, politics. Single works as well as series of his works are extremely repetitive. He even will repeat single words or letters for a couple of times.
He invented “languages”, using dictionaries. Also the words he invents are used very repetitively, or he combines them to create „new“ words. Walla even created a rune-like set of characters that he used occasionally. But mostly he wrote “plain text”, using capitals and an idiosyncratic punctuation.
Some of his work reads like this (and I will deliberately start with one that is not really representative, but really touching: #1, then introduce some “weird” ones: #2-5 and finally some “meaningless” examples: #6-8).
Quote:[Text1]
Ewigkeitvorherzeit von Ewigkeitzeit.?
WELTALLENDEFINSTERNIS UND DIE EWIGKEITENDEZEITRIESENUHR MIT ZEIT VOR DER EWIGKEIT UND MEINEM VERJÜNGERUNGSWUNSCH 11 JAHRE JUNG ZU WERDEN.?
Interlinear translation:
Eternitybeforetime of Eternitytime.? UNIVERSEENDDARKNESS AND THE ETERNITYENDTIMEGIANTCLOCK WITH TIME BEFORE THE ETERNITY AND MY REJUVENATINGWISH 11 YEARS YOUNG TO BECOME.?
Quote:[Text2]
Walla August.!
BIN DER HEILIGE GOTT SAÄRIL.! GOTT SAÄRILL.! GOTT ALLAH.
SONNE HINTERM BISAMBERG IN DEN BEZIRK KORNEUBURG AN DER DONAU?
SARARILL UND ALLAH.! KPÖ I 1 II 2 I 1 III 3
Walla August.! AM THE HOLY GOD SAÄRIL.! GOD SAÄRIL.! GOD ALLAH! SUN BEHIND BISAMBERG IN THE COUNTY OF KORNEUBURG [home of August Walla] BY THE DANUBE? SARARILL AND ALLAH.! KPÖ [=Communist Party of Austria] I 1 II 2 I 1 III 3
Quote:[Text3]
STERN, ADOLFE. STERN, MEMMAK.? STERN, GUURU.? STERN, MERKUR. STERN, PANKI. STERN MARS.! WENUS. ERDEN.! SATURN. URANUS.! BLUTO.! SONNE. MOND.! STERNE.
Stern, pl. Sterne = star; Erde = Earth. This was written on a window pane.
Quote:[Text4]
HHH
ICH BRAVER HALBTEUFEL DANKE, DEM GOTTESSOHN JESUS CHRISTUS WENN ICH HEIMKOMME NACH KORERNEUBURG
Ich lobe solchen braven Menschen die heimbringen dem braven Burschen August Walla.!
HALBTEUFLEIN AUGUSTIN ALOIS WALLA GEORG.! TEUFEL MIT BLONDEN HAAREN, IST EIN SÜSSER STROLCH, ALS STRITZIBUBE.!
Sepp.! Sepp.!
GESPENST.! SÜSSER BRAVER STRITZIBUBE IST DA GLÜCKBRINGENTER SO DUNKELBLONDER KIRCHENEHRLOSER FREUNDLICHER TEUFEL ALS SO HALBTEUFEL HIER.!
In the following translations, I had to smooth some things out for the sake of readability:
HHH I GOOD HALFDEVIL THANK, THE SON OF GOD JESUS CHRIST WHEN I COME HOME TO KORNEUBURG. I praise such good men who bring home the good lad August Walla.! HALFDEVIL AUGUSTIN ALOIS WALLA GEORG.! DEVIL WITH BLOND HAIR, IS A SWEET HOODLUM, A RASCAL.! Sepp.! Sepp.! [=short for Joseph] GHOST.! SWEET GOOD RASCAL IS HERE LUCKY SO DARK BLOND CHURCHDISHONOURABLE FRIENDLY DEVIL AS SO HALFDEVIL HERE.!
Quote:[Text5]
+ WALLA AUGUST + SO BILDL FÜR BRAVN BRAVN BRAVN HERR KURT HOFBAUER + BILDL EIN BRAVER BUNTER PAPAGEI + DU LIEBER GOTT ALLES BÖSE KOMMT WIEDER, UND ALLES BÖSE VERGEHT WIEDER + PAPAGEI MARIA + 1997.! +17
+ WALLA AUGUST + SUCH PIC FOR GOOD GOOD GOOD MISTER KURT HOFBAUER + PIC A GOOD COLORFUL PARROT + YOU GOOD GOD ALL EVIL RETURNS AGAIN, AND ALL EVIL PERISHES AGAIN + PARROT MARIA + 1997.! +17
The picture does not show a parrot, but a box of watercolors.
Quote:[Text6]
Jeaobek Jeaobek Adolfe, gpatb autbnaa akgn tb akgntb Adolfe, Gor. Saaahnh jmn Hego Aoxbhego Bocefskoheuheago.?
(all gibberish except for „Adolfe“, which is followed by a swastika)
Quote:[Text7]
KISI KOMISER SAIRE KISI OGUSTO LAP LASTIRMAK KISI KOMISER. SAIRE PUT GOTT, KOF SLAMNÜNYA SAIRE KOF EZELF.! Lied.! KITLEMEK ISLÄM. PUT SAAAHNHX PUT PUT PUT SAAAHNHX.! FAKAT FAKAT MEK ESYA=KOMISER. MEK ESYA, KOMISER.
(all gibberish except for “OGUSTO” which sounds like Italian/Spanish… = August; “GOTT” = God; “Lied” = Song; maybe “ISLÄM”?)
Quote:[Text8]
MELICIDIUM ETTOQUE PÜPUS + ISCRIX + GRÄMEN ET LIQUOR TRUTTANUS MELICIDIUMTRUTTANUS ISCRIX AUGUST + GRYPS + GRYPS COMPOS GRYPSCOMPOS.! CAELESSARARILLH, SARARILLH.!
(Latin. Isn’t it?)
So, if you are still with me, I would like to bring up the question: if we would examine the texts of Walla – especially those which seem to bear no meaning - the same way we examine the VMS, would the results be similar?
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - -JKP- - 09-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - RenegadeHealer - 10-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - Ben Trovato - 10-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - Ben Trovato - 14-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - Alin_J - 14-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - Ben Trovato - 16-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - MarcoP - 16-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - Ben Trovato - 16-03-2020
RE: The Textual Work of August Walla, mentally disabled artist - MarcoP - 16-03-2020