Statues - Hither & Thither

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Tübingen
Lkr. Tübingen
Baden-Württemberg

Marktplatz 5
(Innenhof)

Auseinandersetzung

Debate

Karl-Henning Seemann
1979

Description

Bronze sculpturegroup, showing a fat and a thin man, showing a discussion between a Gôg (an inhabitant of the old town of Tübungen) and a professor of Tübingen university, inspired by Gôgen-Witz (Gôg-joke), probably this one:

Em guada
Ein Tübinger Professor begeht einen gewöhnlich offenen Fußweg zur Zeit der Weinlese, in der der Weg für Unbefugte verboten ist.
Ein Gog ruft ihm zu: "Machschd, dass d' aus meim Wengert raus kommschd, du Siach, oder i hau dr d' Laif a´, dass d´ uf de Schdompa hoimgraddla muaschd."
Der Professor: "Ach entschuldigen Sie, ich habe das Verbot übersehen." Wengerter: "Drom sait mr´s jo au em Guada"

Translation by Helena Amen:

Amicable (im Guten)
A professor from Tübingen is walking on an usually open path at times of grape harvest, when entry is forbidden for unauthorized persons.
A Gog calls out: "Wretch! Get out of my vineyard, or I chop off your feet so you'll have to crawl home on your stumps!"
The professor: "Oh, I'm sorry, I missed the forbiddance."
Vine dresser: "That's why we said it nicely."

And her explanation:
The 'joke' is, that people in this area are really straight-forward and sometimes even are loud or harsh, but they don't mean it.
While the artist might have been inspired by this joke, the sculpure itself leads even further: the joke 'just' referrs the conflict between elites (professor) and 'normal' citizen (Gog). The sculpture itself doesn't show those two people, but a model of generations: It's the conflict of young generation of '68 and the older 'war-generation' (sorry, I lack a better word for it), which was pretty up-to-date back when he created the sculpture.

The same sculpture were placed in Tübingen, Düsseldorf and Braunschweig (on the sculptor's website it says 'Stuttgart' whre obviously Tübingen is meant).

Sculptor

Karl-Henning Seemann (Wismar 1934), German sculptor from Löchgau, Baden-Württemberg (Webpage – Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Tuemarkt, Figuren un Skulpturen.
Dampfwalze, Gogawitz.

Locatie (N 48°31'14" - E 9°3'13") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: debw226; Photograph: 30 September 2014 / updated: 16 August 2020
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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