Dieter Roth

1. Dieter Roth Presented by: Victoria Mcgillicuddy Annie Edwards Joe O’Donnell

2. Artist Profile: Name: Dieter Roth (Also known as Dita Rot) Born: 21st April 1930, Hannover Germany Died: 5th June 1998, Switzerland (age 68) Areas of Work: • Book Art • Prints • Sculpture • Found Materials • Rotting Food

3. Key Points - Location 1930 • Sent from Nazi Germany to Switzerland to live with Foster Parents • Received Graphic Design training in Bern Switzerland • Took a particular interest in Avant-Garde designand poetry Dieter Roth moved relatively frequently, living in places such as: • Reykjavik • London • Basel • Hamburg • Rhode Island Roth’s movements heavily affected his works, demonstrated by the wide variety of his works

4. Key Point – Decomposition • Dieter Roth frequently used materials that could decompose in order to show the passing of time with no attempt to preserve, conserve or intervene with the work • Interested in chance and works uncontrolled by Artists • The factors in which the Art is created, such as temperature, light, bacteria and insects would affect Artworks after the Artist declared the work complete – This was an aspect key to Dieter Roth. • Roth had a key interest in grease stains, mold formations, damage from insects, and blotches of rotting organic material. • Roth’s work got to the point where it relied upon natural aspects of his pieces, to the point where nature itself became the Artist

5. Key Point – Other facts • In 1949, Dieter Roth suffers a nervous breakdown and attempted to take his own life. • Dieter was known to have been suffering from heart problems during his life • In 1969, because of the decay involved in Dieter Roth’s work, his Düsseldorf Academy studio work was cleared out and destroyed. • In 1975 Dieter Roth founded the Zeitschrift fur Alles journal, which chose to publish anything that was submitted to it • http://www.artnet.com/artists/dieter-roth/ - Online Auction, where Dieter Roth’s work is being sold today • Most famous for his book Art, in particular “Literaturwurst”

6. Works of Art Dieter Roth

7. Self Portrait as a Drowning Man Year:1974 Medium: Acrylic paint, watercolourand glue on cardboard Dimensions: 800 x 1003 mm Ownership: Tate, Purchased 1977 Roth’s many self-portraitsare often objects or representations that make no visual reference to his physical appearance

8. ''When I was young I wanted to become a real artist,’’ ''Then I started doing something I felt wasn't real art, and it was through this that I became a well-known artist.'' Dieter Roth

9. Literaturwurst [Literaturwurst] Dieter Roth

10. ''Here lies the carcass of a man who didn't know who he was and where he was heading.'' Dieter Roth on his own death