Tomas Schmit
10.07. – 14.08.2005

Tomas Schmit (born in 1943, lives and works in Berlin) became known for his early Fluxus actions such as “zyklus für wassereimer (oder flaschen)” (1962). He participated in almost all international Fluxus festivals, in the famous action “24 Stunden” (24 Hours, 1965 in Wuppertal), and in the organization of the Fluxus event that took place at the Technical University in Aachen in 1964.

After his period of actions, he turned to writing and drawing. Since the early 1970s, he has produced drawings, editions, original reproduced drawing series, books, texts, and a film on DVD entitled “e-constellations” (2004). His latest medium is an audio CD (2005), on which he reads his own texts from the years since 1970.

Artistic reflection on scientific questions forms the basis of Tomas Schmit’s work. The themes underlying his texts and drawings are expressed, among other things, in questions about evolution, brain and behavioral research, and perception problems. In addition to his three catalogs of works (1978, Kölnischer Kunstverein; 1987, DAAD Berlin,
Sprengel Museum Hannover; 1997, Portikus Frankfurt) , which he conceived as artist’s books and in which he provides all works with texts and introductions, he published the book “erster entwurf (einer zentralen ästhetik)” (first draft (of a central aesthetic)) in 1989, which met with great interest in the scientific press
. Cyberneticist Prof. Dr. Valentin Braitenberg writes in a review of the book in “Spektrum der Wissenschaft,” Aug. 1990: “I intend to recommend this book when, as often happens, a physicist or other beginner asks me for an introduction to brain science.”

The Kunstverein Bremerhaven will present Tomas Schmit as an illustrator and source of inspiration for the younger generation, who today use drawing as an independent artistic medium.

Curated by Jürgen Wesseler.