Great success for ´Paul McCartney paintings´ in Siegen
37.500 people visited the exhibition at the Kunstforum Lÿz
Siegen. ´Paul McCartney paintings´ opened its doors to the world in Siegen. It was the
very first time that Paul McCartney showed his works as a painter. The Kreis
Siegen-Wittgenstein together with the department Wirtschaftsförderung and the
Kultur!Büro took a risk: although Siegen is the birth place of Peter Paul Rubens, it has
had no experience of holding large scale art exhibitions and was sceptical as to whether
enough visitors would be attracted to the Lÿz exhibition and make the investment
worthwhile. Sunday, the 25th of July, marks the end of Siegen`s most important cultural
event to date. Wolfgang Suttner, director of the exhibition, can be more than satisfied
with the results: 37.500 visitors, 30% from abroad, came to the 12 weeks exhibition. On
top of this, approximately 9.000 catalogues and more than 11.000 posters were sold. The
number of admissions was almost double of that anticipated by Mr. Suttner.
The international audience was fascinated by the colour and expression of Paul McCartney`s
art, who is obsessed with painting. People were informed about the event in the south
Westphalian city via Internet, TV-reports in 185 countries and a press response amounting
to about thousand millions of printed copies. It was not only the intensive marketing by
the Kultur!büro that lured so many people to Siegen. The attraction lay in Paul
McCartney`s personal and sensitive art which is characterised by its diversified subjects
and is situated somewhere between the two poles of objective realism and gestural
expression. Many people, critics amongst them, were surprised by the artistic qualities of
the pop-idol who, behind the scenes of the music business, has long since made a name for
himself as a painter. Along with a one-page dedication in the New York Times there were
reports in South African and Japanese newspapers and the London Times even sent their art
critic John Russell Taylor to the ´Rubensstadt´. He praised:" Paul McCartney`s
paintings are a living testimony to one who live and breath in colour."
It was almost 5 years ago, when Frederike Suttner, the daughter of the district art
expert, heard, that the musician also painted. So she persuaded her father into holding an
exhibition. Finally, Suttner`s vision was realised when he made contact with Paul
McCartney and discovered an exciting and modern painter. The Kultur!Büro team not only
planned the exhibition conception but also took care of the organisation, distribution of
catalogues, advertising and public relations and has established a friendly relationship
to Paul McCartney and his managment. The artist is highly-satisfied with the responses to
his paintings and his video installation. Particularly, since there have been so many
differing interpretations of his paintings and less than 10% of the public and critics
gave negative views. Plans are being made for further exhibitions elsewhere with the
´Siegen-outlay´. That means: the photo documentation of Linda McCartney, the arrangement
of the paintings and the video installation ´feedback´ will remain integral parts of the
exhibition. Within the next months Paul McCartney will decide upon where the exhibition is
to take place again. There are offers from different German cities, from Britain, Kiev,
Vienna, Bratislava, Seoul and Athens. First of all, the paintings will be returned to
Britain next week while the staff of the Kultur!Büro. brings the rest of the exhibition
to a close. Catalogues and posters will still be distributed and additionally, the
cultural and financial results have to be reflected. One thing is certain: ´Paul
McCartney paintings´ was an eye-opener for many art buffs and captured the interest of
many newcomers in the field of modern art.
PAUL McCARTNEY paintings ,
Kunstforum Lÿz, Siegen, 1. Mai bis 25. Juli 1999
Konzeption & Organisation der Ausstellung: Kultur!Büro. Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein
Paintings © Paul McCartney. Photographs of the artist © Estate of Linda McCartney
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