Untitled (Fish), 1985

The art of Lothar Baumgarten derives mainly from his interest in anthropology and his travels in North and South America. Many of his sculptures, photographs and films relate to native culture and have ecological themes. In 1968 he attended the State Academy for Fine Arts in Karlsruhe (1968) and from 1969 to 1971 studied as Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf, where he was taught by the artist Joseph Beuys. Baumgarten’s themes are characteristically based around a contrast between self and a sense of other and between nature and culture. His work is self-reflective and in his photography he creates images with a sense of place and what that place is all about. His anthropological photographs are concerned with perceptions of tribal life and Western ideas about native culture. His 1997 exhibition in Kassel, DocumentaX, was a collection of photographs taken during his stay with the Yanomani people. In his site specific works, Lothar Baumgarten tackles issues associated with colonialism. Monument for the South American Indian Nations, located in the Museum Fredericianum in Kassel, places the names of native peoples from South America in the base of a skylight. In the Guggenheim Museum, New York, America Invention, symbolic colors and names of tribes are inscribed on the walls. French colonialism is the theme of Access to Platforms, a map of the Paris Metro with the names of train stations changed to become colonial references. In 1974 be was given an award by the City of Düsseldorf. At the 1984 Venice Biennale he won a First Prize. In 1997 he was awarded the Lichtwark Prize in Germany and in 2003 he was winner of the MFI Prize