Art Gallery

Stimmen, Nachtdurchwachsen, Stränge

Curator: Necmi Sönmez

11 January – 12 March 2005

Stimmen, Nachtdurchwachsen, Strange The title Voices, Growing Through The Night is developed in inspiration of a verse line ("Stimmen, nachtdurchwachsen, Stränge") in Paul Celan's Sprachgitter. Known for his unique "hermetic images," Celan (1920-1970) wrote his poems in German although this was not his native language. Because the language he introduces in his poetry bears revelations that are different from the meanings of its daily usage, it is defined as a hermetic language which illuminates concepts that also include their opposites. An atmosphere that is shaped by "obscurity" and "silence" is seen in the foreground of Celan's poetry. While on one hand he ruptures the syntax of the German language with these concepts, on the other hand he creates frameworks for specific "pictures" (images) through paradoxical departures that drag meanings into meaninglessness. The reader is not oriented in how to interpret these frameworks. The radical attitude, which the poem assumes in transforming this image, plays an important role in Celan's axis of creating.

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