Sculptor Alfred Hrdlicka dead

By David Rogers

Alfred Hrdlicka, one of contemporary Austria’s most-important sculptors, has died at the age of 81.

Hrdlicka, who died on Saturday after suffering ill health for some time and who was no longer able to work by himself, is perhaps best known for his sculpture "Memorial against War and Fascism" in the square opposite Vienna’s Albertina Museum that he created from 1988 to 1991.

The sculptor, an outspoken Communist, caused controversy because of his public sculptures in Austria and Germany. A so-called "League against Degenerate Art" was formed in 1967 in reaction to the unveiling of one of his works.

Vienna’s Cathedral Museum hosted an exhibition last year called "Religion, Flesh and Power – the Religious in the Work of Alfred Hrdlicka."

Vienna Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn called him one of Austria’s most-famous living artists but had a work called the "Last Supper" depicting Jesus and the Apostles in a homosexual orgy taken down.

Hrdlicka was born on 27 February 1928 in Vienna. After finishing training as a dental technician, he studied sculpture and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts.

The first exhibition of his sculptures occurred in 1960, and he represented Austria at the Biennale in Venice in 1964. He taught at a number of art schools in Austria and Germany.

Hrdlicka claimed that "all art comes from the flesh" and that art that failed to deal with people and their problems was nothing more than decoration and entertainment. He consistently rejected awards on the grounds of principle.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer said in response to the news of Hrdlicka’s death that "Austria has lost a great artistic personality". Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann praised the artist as "a great fighter against injustice and the oppression of human beings."

SPÖ Culture Minister Claudia Schmied called Hrdlicka "a titan of international art" and a confident and controversial person. She said: "His life work was an attempt to improve the world. His art will always remind us of that need."

www.austriantimes.at

奧地利著名藝術家赫爾德利奇卡前日逝世，終年八十一歲。他的作品因藝術手法精細及極具爭議性聞名，作品多次被指褻瀆上帝而引起教徒抗議。他年輕時做過牙科技術學徒，後來進入藝術學院，三十六歲代表奧地利出席意大利兩年一度的國際藝術展。他的格言「藝術來自肉體」常被引用，亦於他的後期作品中顯現。

oriental daily

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Maybe you don't know who he is but everyone must have seen his works when travelling in Vienna.