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POSTHUMAN: THE ART OF JOACHIM LUETKE

ISBN 3-522-71-2
Weitbrecht Verlag
large format

Posthuman departs from the usual art books because it isn't about representation of an artist's work - it's a work of art in itself or, perhaps more accurately, an exhibition of art. A lot of the pictures or collages probably don't 'exist' outside the book, and unconventional close-ups are used to highlight details. Many people must view Joachim Luetke's sculptures and pictures as nightmarish or obscene, but to me they represent true beauty. Machines become human, humans become machines, visits to the western lands, Egyptian mythology creeping in through the grey room. I can see echoes of Wiener Aktionismus and NSK in Joachim Luetke's art. Luetke shares with the former a fascination with death and katharis, and with the latter the use of metal blades and imagery from the Third Reich. He has, however, created his own universe. For instance 'Dark Karma' is a sculpture of small children holding their chicken claws together as hands looking like mummies from the future, wholly on top of a TV with a cutting blade as a gloria. If this is the future we do have bad kharma. At the same time the children have an eerie beauty to them, a stillness that transcends any definition of time or space. Joachim Luetke's art has been a revelation to me because he has managed to combine so many elements that fascinate me: darkness, innocence, medicine, machines...I urge everyone who is interested in the subject matter at least to check out his web site and get a copy of Posthuman.

JONAS KELLAGHER - 8 August 2000

http://www.luetke.com