First sketch for creating an own typography based on the "skyline" of the Ruhr Area.

At the moment I am researching how folklore stories can be passed on from one generation to the other. These documentations show the different transmission of folklore knowledge.

The "Steigerlied"/ "Under-foremen" song, also known as "Glueck auf" march, is an old miner's song, which has become a German folk song. The content reflects the hopes of the miners to return safe and healthy to their wives and families, after the hard and dangerous work in the mines. Other sources say that the refrain of "luck"/"Glueck auf" implores the mountain to open itself in order to mine the coal safer. I like this video as it includes the "Steiger" song and shows the hazardous and harsh conditions underground in the coal mines in the past. I may take the song as my folklore story as it is compact, tells a story and is related to my home area.

This is one of the modern hymnes of the Ruhr. Herbert Groenemeyer, one of the most famous artists in Germany praises his hometown "Bochum" with his same-called song. The venue of the concert, an industrial site in the Ruhr, is just amazing. It looks very surreal, even for me, who grew up in the Ruhr. Any way, what a great song, what a great performance and especially the amazing lyrics makes me homesick... big time!

Here some parts of the lyrics:
tief im westen wo die sonne verstaubt
ist es besser viel besser, als man glaubt
tief im westen
du bist keine schönheit
vor arbeit ganz grau
du liebst dich ohne schminke
bist 'ne ehrliche haut
leider total verbaut
aber grade das macht dich aus
du hast 'n pulschlag aus stahl
man hört ihn laut in der nacht
du bist einfach zu bescheiden
dein grubengold hat uns wieder hochgeholt
du blume im revier
-
far in the west
where the sun gets dusty
it is better, much better than people think
far in the west
you're not a beauty
due to working you are quite grey
you love yourself without make-up
you are an honest soul
Unfortunately, totally built up
but that is just what makes you up
your pulse beat is out of steel
it can be heard loud at night
you're just too modest
your pit gold has risen us again
you flower in the ruhr

(photo: dpa)
The "Ruhr Theatre Festival" is an important cultural event in Germany and is the oldest and one of the biggest and most renowned theatre festivals throughout Europe. From 1st May to 14th June my hometown, Recklinghausen, in the north of the Ruhr Area, changes into a world stage for productions of famous directors and performances of awarded actors. It arose out of "coal for art, art for coal" :
Actors and directors from the theatres of Hamburg drove in severe postwar winter of 1945-46 to the Ruhr Area in order to ask for coal for their theatres. Miners from the Koenig Ludwig 4/5 pit in Recklinghausen delivered truckloads of coal and saved several theatres from closure. Impressed by the solidarity of the miners, the people from the theatres of Hamburg returned to the Ruhr and thanked by preforming in front of the pit men the following summer. That was the birth of the Ruhr Theatre Festival. Afterwards the trade union federation Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) set up the Ruhr Theatre Festival, known originally as Culture for the Miners. The festival was established even prior to the two German States, which were found in 1949.
I think this is such a great story. It shows once again the solidarity and willingness of the people in the Ruhr Valley. Moreover the phrase "coal for art, art for coal" is such a great starting point for my project as it stands for the recent developments of the creative industry in the Ruhr. (article: Der Spiegel)

Cristiana Couceiro is a freelance illustrator, working and living in Lisbon. Her works are mainly digital collages,with black and white images combined with minimal structural layers and details. I like the timeless appearance and its selective elegance. One of her recent projects was the advertisement of Stella Artois.

These works are from the German typographer Jan Tschichold, who published the book "Die neue Typografie", which was a manifesto of modern design and typography. He was avant-garde in dividing a page in pleasing proportions. Some of his work can bee seen in the Folkwang Museum in Essen.

I chose this video to show how the Ruhr Area has been before and after the second world war. This is the image of the grey,dirty and ugly "Coal Pot", which still exists in people's mind. The video is called "A family of the industrial Ruhr" and shows the daily life in the Ruhr after the Second World War. It is definitely worth watching, especially the first 3 mintues.

This is another video, which gives a more coherent view about how this Area changed recently.

This is the image video of the RUHR2010. Although I do not really like it, I think it shows some of the aspects, which characterise this unique place on Earth.

RUHR2010

I pretty soon decided to research stories from my home area, the Ruhr Area.
It is such a great timing as my home area is the European Capital of Culture 2010. Therefore there are and will be many events and festivals which just deal with the history of my home and its unique massive transition and change from coalmining and steelmaking to the creation of a location for the arts.
I am really enjoying to see that the concept of the "Ruhr2010" places the Ruhr Metropolis in its historical context, revealing its roots and highlighting its search for the future. (image: Copyright Ruhr2010)

Folklore brief

My new brief is all about re-telling a story. A story that has been important to me in my life so far, one which inspired or influenced me, one that has significance to me, my friends, family and culture.
To get started, the caravan of the Museum of British Folklore stopped in front of LCC and let get us a first idea of folklore art. (image: Copyright The Museum of British Folklore)