Peter Lenk

Peter Lenk (born 6 June 1947, in Nuremberg) is a German sculptor based in Bodman-Ludwigshafen on Lake Constance, known for the controversial sexual content of his public art.[1]

Lenk's Imperia in Konstanz harbor

Art
Fountain in Überlingen
Detail of the relief Ludwigs Erbe in Bodman-Ludwigshafen. From left to right: Hans Eichel, Gerhard Schröder, Angela Merkel, Edmund Stoiber and Guido Westerwelle

Lenk's artworks include:

  • Imperia, a ten-meter-tall rotating statue in the harbor of Konstanz, (Germany), depicting a fictional courtesan from a short story by Balzac.[2] Although it was highly controversial when installed in 1993, today it is "the most photographed attraction in the city".[3] A detail from the sculpture, a nude figure of Pope Martin V, was displayed in the Konstanz train station in 2010, but was removed after complaints from the Catholic church and CDU politicians.[3]
  • Ludwigs Erbe, a relief sculpture in the town square of Bodman-Ludwigshafen that shows various German politicians engaged in sexual play.[4][5]
  • A sculpture on the exterior of the office building in Berlin that houses die Tageszeitung, depicting the editor of a competing newspaper sporting an enormous penis.[6][7]
  • A sculpture of Volker Kauder wearing only a skirt made of bananas, like one worn by Josephine Baker, for a benefit auction.[8]
  • A statue of German writer Martin Walser wearing ice skates while he rides a horse that stands on the tails of two giant reclining mermaids in a fountain, at the boat landing in Überlingen.[9]
  • Hölderlin im Kreisverkehr, a monument to German poet Friedrich Hölderlin installed in 2003 in a traffic roundabout in Lauffen am Neckar.[10]

Books

Lenk is the author or co-author of:

  • Skulpturen: Bilder, Briefe, Kommentare (Konstanz: Stadler Verlagsges. Mbh, 2005, ISBN 978-3-7977-0516-7).
  • Magische Säule Meersburg: Skulpturen (with Helmut Weidhase, Konstanz: Stadler Verlagsges. Mbh, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7977-0540-2).

References
  1. "Peter Lenk", Südkurier (in German), 11 November 2008.
  2. Degreif, Uwe (1997), Skulpturen und Skandale: Kunstkonflikte in Baden-Württemberg, Untersuchungen des Ludwig-Uhland-Instituts der Universität Tübingen (in German), vol. 87, Tübinger Vereinigung für Volkskunde, ISBN 978-3-925340-99-4.
  3. "Ende einer Satire – Papst-Figur wieder entfernt", Focus (in German), 14 July 2010.
  4. "Comic Relief: Should Group Sex Be Public Art?", Der Spiegel, 19 September 2008.
  5. "Racy Relief Causes Controversy in Germany", Art+Auction, 22 September 2008.
  6. Hüetlin, Thomas (3 December 2009), "Berlin's History Res-Erected: Giant Penis Sparks Bizarre Media War", Der Spiegel.
  7. Paterson, Tony (5 December 2009), "Phallic insult sparks German media feud: Mural mocking editor incenses new rival who wants to be taken seriously", The Independent, archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  8. "Kauder: "Gut getroffen!"", Neue Rottweiler Zeitung (in German), 25 April 2010, archived from the original on 19 July 2011, retrieved 16 January 2011.
  9. "Literatur: Überlingen ehrt Martin Walser", Die Zeit (in German), 13 February 2007.
  10. Fritz-Kador, Brigitte (20 March 2008), "Eine neue Heimstatt für Hölderlin in Lauffen", Stuttgarter Zeitung (in German), archived from the original on 18 March 2012.
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