Nana Schulz showcases variety of art, recalls incident in Germany

German multimedia artist Nana Schulz spoke about her artwork during the first 2013 Stephen L. Barstow Art & Design Lecture Series on Tuesday night in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium. (Taylor Ballek/ Staff Photographer)

Several calls were made to the police the first day artist Nana Schulz’s art exhibit was displayed.

It was a lifelike sculpture, sitting on top of a sled in the middle of Germany’s North Sea coast. When the tides rose to their full heights, the sculpture was completely submerged.

“From the shore, it seemed like a real person drowning herself,” Schulz said.

The sculpture stayed in the middle of the sea for six years, until it was indicated on the majority of nautical charts and overgrown with barnacles.

It was inspired by a trip to a wind farm, where everything had a purpose. There was not even a tree in the area unless it protected a structure from wind.

“You cannot find a glimpse of unspoiled countryside,” Schulz said. “So, I wanted to make something that couldn’t fit the functionality of society. Something stupid.”

She related herself as an artist to the artwork.

“It is a lot like artists today. We are allowed to criticize everything, but we are not to be taken seriously.”

Schulz was invited as the first artist at the 2013 Stephen L. Barstow Art and Design Lecture Series. The lecture took place in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium Tuesday night. The audience had the auditorium at capacity.

The lecture series was created to bring artists and speakers to campus. It is made possible by the donation from Midland Architect Stephen L. Barstow, who gave his entire estate to Central Michigan University’s Department of Art and Design after passing in 1992.

The 2013 lecture series has been built around the theme “Alternatives.” Schulz’s work embodied the theme naturally, built around many mediums including paintings, drawings, sculpturing, puppets and stop-motion video.

Art and Design Professor David Stairs invited Schulz to CMU because of her diverse talents.

“She’s had training in music, training in dance and training in sculpture,” Stairs said. “It all comes together in the way her artwork comes together.”

Often times, her artwork carries a message. Shortly after the beginning of the Iraq War, Schulz started a project with her colleague Martin Schräder to capture the intricacies of war in modern society.

“Not one of us was suffering; everyday we waited for the next episode of ‘The Iraq War: The Killing of Saddam Hussein,’ Schulz said. “The media manipulated us in a way we haven’t seen before.”

The project incorporated several pieces, including a replica of an automatic rifle attached to an amputated arm and a microphone podium constructed from manufactured banana boxes. Old socks served as the microphones.

Several videos were shown along with the artwork. One piece, entitled “The Wind Bird” showed one of Schulz’s created puppets being blown from side to side by heavy gusts of wind.

“Every time the wind stops on one side, the wind comes from another side,” Schulz said. “I looped it at the end so it seems eternal.”

She said later on the work was about depression.

Tuesday Reinke said she enjoyed Schulz because of the unique aspects she brought to art.

“It surprised me that she didn’t have an exact point of inspiration for any of her art,” the Auburn senior  said. ” Most artists do, but she just kind of went with whatever ideas she had.”

Sophomore Timothy Griffin enjoyed Schulz’s art because of the sentiments it portrayed.

“I feel like most artists don’t know how to express themselves,” the Chicago native said. “But you can see it in their art.”