The course of Agricola de Cologne’s life is marked by particular living phases due to moving to and living at different places on one hand, and on the other hand by different working phases, lasting always about 7-8 years, when the artist started new artistic challenges.
Fundamental influence had traumatic experiences, which were directing the artist into new directions and artistic fields: 1998 – the terror attack catapulting the artist in a months lasting coma, causing a fundamental loss of the affinity to the “material” and his re-creation as a virtual artist. The years 2008 and 2009 were not less traumaticizing, in 2008 the artist’s mother’s stroke caused a family desaster, and shortly afterwards the artist was physcially so heavily attacked in October 2008 in Caracas and a few weeks later in 2009 in Casablanca causing such traumatizations, that when He returned to Cologne, he was set into an artificial coma for many weeks in order to re-activate his self-healing powers. In 2014, the circumsstances of his mothers death were causing a final break with his family.
While the artist was encouraged from a child by his parents to deal with art, in 1965 his artistic life started when he was given a canvas and oil colors on his birthday. The first phase of artistic working lasted until he started working professional 1980, initiating the second phase lasting until 1988. It was focussed on using water colour and pastel as painting tools, which does not sound really exciting, but he developing his very personal use of thse artistic media and a very rich oeuvre transforming his philosophical ideas into a very individual visual language.
The year 1989 was marked by a re-orientation, whereby the fall of Berlin Wall directed the artist to new directions more or less by coincidence. He founded 1989 the charitable ARCHA Foundation. as its President he travelled in Eastern Europe which was forming the basis for the following Memorial Project – 1000 Years, 50 Years and still so Terribly Young” and a new type of physical art working using different 2D and 3D media in installations. 1998 this kind of art working was stopped by a terror attack which was destroying a basic part of this artistic project.
After returning to life from a many months lasting coma, the artist re-created himself on 1.January 2000 under a new name and a virtual status as – Agricola de Cologne, focussing exclusively on new media and technologies and a new type of art working in form of curating. While he was creating until 2007 a huge number of individual art projects, the 2nd phase starting in 2008 was solely dedicated to curating art & moving images, respectively audiovisual media as a festival director.
According to this obvious rhythm of phases lasting 7-8 years, the year 2015 is representing again a re-orientation.
The direction to return again to physical art work in shape of painting, 3D objects or installation is unfortunately currently no option, after the artist’s health was attacked in Februar 2017 by an heavy accident causing the partial paralization of the left bodyside.
So, the path, he is still able to follow during the coming years, is related to the project, he initiated just a few weeks before the accident, entitled: “The W:OW Project – We Are One World” – http://wow.engad.org – dealing with the Present & Future of planet EARTH under the influence of the human species – integrating previously initiated media art contexts, as well.
