Anna Oppermann
Ahornensemble, since 1977

Artist
Anna Oppermann

Title
Maple Ensemble

Year of creation
since 1977

Technology and dimensions
objects, drawings, photos

Year of acquisition
2007

Acquisition of the foundation

Overwhelm and disorientation may be the first impressions that come over a viewer of Anna Oppermann's work due to the abundance of notes, drawings, writings and other information. However, what looks like a hodgepodge turns out to be a differentiated visualization of a broad network of ideas on a specific topic upon closer inspection. Anna Oppermann calls her arrangements of drawings, objects, found objects, photos, photo canvases, slide projections and quotes from others “ensembles”. “An ensemble structure is the presentation of many efforts to recognize a piece of reality, to judge it or even to get a ‘problem under control’ (concept),” she explains herself. She wants the viewer to experience the fusion she experiences make the object accessible.

The artist does not create her ensembles by chance, but rather follows a specific method with four work phases through which each one is constructed. The various phases are initially about recording reactions and associations to the object, which should not be missing from any ensemble. What is important for the artist is: "The chaos must be endured." Through summary drawings and photos of the current condition, the ensemble expands enormously as it progresses. She provides the ensemble that has been created up to that point with texts and quotes from other disciplines, such as psychology or philosophy. Finally, defining an “ensemble-specific” theme is an essential point of the final phase. This is followed by enlargements and reductions of certain parts in order to emphasize important details and to compress others.