Wolfgang Laib

   Wolfgang is a German sculptor that lives and works in a small village south of Germany, he drew parallels between the healing capacity of his own work and work of Joseph Beuys. Wolfgang only uses 5 materials in all of his work (pollen, beeswax, marble and milk) they are all symbolic and active qualities. I see the effect of his scattered pollen installations, vibrant squares and rectangles to be natural substances that he has collected from countryside around his studio and it all depends on the contrast between fragility and vibrancy. He says that he has spent long period of time gathering the various pollen and other materials. 


   I read that Wolfgang had traveled all over the world as a child. Before he became an artist he studied medicine, but then later on found out that the field of medicine treated the body with the expense of the soul. I learned that Laib believes that art is a spiritual healing, the natural materials are important to Laib. He is creating simple forms that strive to communicate the universal level and transcending language.






1. Milkstone: Marble and Milk -  This is a thin flat marble rectangle, the top surface is smoothed to a shallow dish, and then the milk is poured. When you have a finished product of milkstone, the milk is not longer food for the body -  its something that is more universal. 

2. Rice House: Marble and Rice - The rice on the plates are not there to be eaten. The house is made of marble and its in the shape of a Muslim Tomb or a Medieval Reliquary, but instead of putting the bones of saints he contain food. Which is why there is rice around it. He turns bones into food.






3. House: Beeswax - the beeswax, it is exploiting and its strong smell as well as its color and texture in environments through which the spectator could walk. he uses huge quantities of the golden-colored beeswax to somehow create a passage. When displaying the installation he kept them in a cool temperature room.






Conclusion: I really enjoy his work because like Mark Bradford, his work is unique and has its own background -  connects to where he is living and he uses the materials around him in the nature. I agree with him when he says that "art is a spiritual healing and the natural materials are the important medicine. God is a natural material and he helps healing.