ARTIST STATEMENT

BIOGRAPHY

THE MYSTIC

OTTO RAPP

Born in 1944 in Felixdorf, Lower Austria, I lived and was educated in Vienna, where later I worked as a clerk in the Transport and Insurance Business. After completing service in the Austrian Air Force, I traveled throughout Europe, eventually settling in Stockholm, Sweden.

As a Painter I was initially self taught, studying in the various Galleries and Museums. In Vienna, I was often ‘hanging out’ at the Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste, where I admired the work of the “Wiener Schule des Phantastischen Realismus” represented there by the Professors Ernst Fuchs, Rudolf Hausner and Arik Brauer.

In Stockholm, I found out that I was washing dishes in the very same Restaurant where years earlier another Viennese Artist, Fritz Hundertwasser, the ‘Austrian Gaudi’ as he was later known as, had worked the same job. Encouraged by an art dealer in Gamla Stan, I began to paint more seriously. Busking on the streets of Gamla Stan with a Dutch artist, my very first painting was sold to a passer-by by my artist friend while I stood in the employment office line - this paid for a lavish meal for both of us that day.

Traveling around in 1968, I wound up in Western Canada where eventually I settled in Lethbridge, Alberta, the place I still call home today. It was in Canada where the majority of my mature work was produced (under the sponsorship of a small Lethbridge Gallery).

Working for the Canadian Pacific Railway, I quit in 1977 to attend the Bachelor of Fine Arts Program at the University of Lethbridge, graduating (with great distinction) in 1982.

In Canada, I participated in many exhibitions, and held several Solo Shows, culminating in the pivotal 1994 showing at “The Prairie Art Gallery” in Grande Prairie, Alberta, which earned me the moniker ‘The Mystic’.

Throughout my years in Canada, I had been the subject of many reviews and newspaper articles as well as local television shows in Calgary and Lethbridge while being active as an artist, art instructor, curator, studio technician, art critic and juror.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts, magna cum laude
1982
University of Lethbridge

REPRESENTATION

SOLO EXHIBITS

June 1972 - House of Fine Art,
Lethbridge, Alberta

May 1976 - Palliser Hotel, Oval Room,
Calgary, Alberta

January 1981 - “Retrospective - 10 Years”
The Lethbridge Public Library Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

May 1982 - Otto Rapp
House of Fine Art, Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

September 1983 - “Bogomil’s Universe”
Bowman Arts Center
Lethbridge, Alberta

April 1988 -

“Otto Rapp - Paintings and Drawings”
Trul’s Art Gallery and Restaurant
Lethbridge, Alberta

June to July 1994 - “Art Of The Mystic”
Prairie Art Gallery
Grande Prairie, Alberta

GROUP EXHIBITS

October 1976
“What’s New”
Edmonton Art Gallery,
Edmonton, Alberta

June 1977
“Small Prints and Drawings”
Print and Drawing Council of Canada
University of Calgary Art Gallery
Calgary, Alberta

April 1978
“Juried Student Show 1978”
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

July 1978
“Alberta: A Selfportrait”
Commonwealth Games
Student Union Art Gallery, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta

December 1979
“Sixpack”
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta
Six Person Group Show

April 1980
“Selections from the University of Calgary Collection”
Nickle Arts Museum
Calgary, Alberta

September 1980 to March 1981
“Not Just Another Print Exhibition”
Alberta Culture 75th Anniversary
Travelling Group Show, touring the Province of Alberta

November to December 1980
“Some Drawings By Some Albertans”
Alberta Culture 75th Anniversary
Alberta College of Art
Calgary, Alberta

May 1981
BFA Exhibition
The University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

August 1982
“Summer of 82”
Bowman Arts Center
Lethbridge, Alberta

April 1983
“Then And Now”
25th Anniversary Art Exhibit
Bowman Arts Center
Lethbridge, Alberta

Spring 1983
“Canadian Drawing Survey”
Centre Sadye Bronffman
Montreal, Quebec

November 1984
“Works On Paper”
Bowman Arts Center
Lethbridge, Alberta

May 1985
“CNIB Art 85”
CNIB Edmonton Center
Edmonton, Alberta

May 1986
“UofL Nursing Scholarship Benefit Show”
Auditorium St,. Michael’s Hospital
Lethbridge, Alberta
Invitational Group Show

May to June 1986
“The Radish Factory Exposition”
The ‘Radish Factory’ Warehouse
Lethbridge, Alberta
Multi-Media Group Show

August 1986
“The Radish Factory”
Lethbridge and District Exhibition Pavillon
Lethbridge, Alberta

September 1986
“Realism”
Bowman Arts Center
Lethbridge, Alberta

October to November 1986
“By Means Of Line”
Muttard Gallery
Calgary, Alberta
Invitational Group Show

October to November 1986
“Portraits”
The Radish Factory Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

February 1987
“As It Stands”
The Radish Factory Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta
Sculpture - Group Show

March 1987
“The Radish Factory At Ag-Expo”
Lethbridge and District Exhibition Pavillon
Lethbridge, Alberta
Juried Group Show

February 1987
“Charity Art Auction”
Lethbridge Community College Foundation
Lethbridge, Alberta
Invitational Group Show

April 1987
“S.O.S.”
Shirley Hamilton - Reid Spencer - Otto Rapp
The Radish Factory Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

June 1987
“Surrealism”
Otto Rapp - Susan Fraser - Claus Cumpel
Edmonton Public Library Foyer Gallery
Edmonton, Alberta

July 1987
“Claus Cumpel and Otto Rapp”
Rice Gallery - Citadel Theater
Edmonton, Alberta

February 1988
“Charity Art Auction”
Lethbridge Community College Foundation
Lethbridge, Alberta
Invitational Group Show

November 1989
“Rugero Valentini, Italy and Otto Rapp, Austria-Canada”
Medicine Hat Lodge Ballroom
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Two Person Show and Sale, organized by Rick Filanti as a benefit for the ‘Medicine Hat Saamis Tepee Association’

July to September 1991
“Allied Arts Council Rental Exhibition”
Yates Center Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta

May to June 1992
“Allied Arts Council Rental Exhibition”
City Hall Council Chambers
Lethbridge, Alberta

October 1992
“Food For Thought”
Lethbridge Community College Food Court
Lethbridge, Alberta

October 1994
“Handpainted Mailboxes”
Prairie Art Gallery
Grande Prairie, Alberta
Fundraising Auction, Invitational Group Show of 29 Alberta Artists

February 1996
“Art In The Mall”
Alberta Winter Games
College Mall
Lethbridge, Alberta

May 1996
“Annual Figurative/Portrait Exhibition”
Yates Center Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta
Juried Group Show

ARTICLES

TALES FROM THE CRYPT BY OTTO RAPP
Excerpt from the critique by
J. Brooks Joyner, Editor Visual Arts, The Albertan,
Saturday, May 29th, 1976

The exhibition is an omnipresent reincarnation of surrealist forms, attitudes and content painted what can only be termed as a magic-realist formula. Rapp capitalizes on a curious combination of dream world juxtapositions, sensuous nightmares and archetypes. His work is an apotheosis of the paranoiac-critical activity and unconscious turmoil in visual images that so delighted the surrealists.

His works are frightening, covertly symbolic and require in many cases a significant understanding of past iconographic detail in the development of Western Art.

One painting, entitled “The Deterioration Of Mind Over Matter” is a frightening picture of a decomposing human scull firmly ensconed on some devilish birdcage in which the raw gore of mans physical being lies lifeless at the base. The parting flesh of the scull is secured by a tromp-loeil safety pin. This is truly an image that could have been utilized in the former issues of “Tales From The Crypt”, in fact it brings to mind in its own scary way the imaginations of Edgar Allan Poe. The poem, “The Conqueror Worm” comes to mind immediately:

But see, amid the mimic rout
A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes! - it writhes! - with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And the angels sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.

One painting that seems to summarize Rapp’s attitude is his “Monument To The Unborn War Hero”. A large painting which includes scenes of brutality; tyranny; the soldier in various historical periods; images of Hitler; human sculls; alarming pictures of wolves; warplanes overhead and a very bold nude female figure giving birth to what appears to be a crucified figure of man. It is his visual summary of the consequences of war.

Rapp is an accomplished artist, and like so many European artists who have settled in Canada, he has a strong command of modern surrealist imagery.

(Note: J. Brooks Joyner was also Director of the Nickle Arts Museum at the University of Calgary, and Lecturer at the University of Edmonton. Later became the Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, and is currently the Director of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska)

THE ART OF THE MYSTIC
Excerpt from the exhibition catalogue
“The Art Of The Mystic”,
16th June to 17th July 1994, written by
Elizabeth M. Ginn, Director/Curator
‘The Prairie Art Gallery’, Grande Prairie, Alberta:

Otto has studied a variety of subjects, including world religions, philosophies, history, anthropology and the physiology of humanity.

It is this breath of knowledge that has allowed him to present the work that he does, exploring the archetypal myth that crosses the boundaries of Eastern philosophies, Christianity and the mythologies of early Romantic belief systems.

Otto Rapp is an example of an obscure approach to the tradition of making art. At the same time, he is very much a traditional artist in his approach to a subject that is rarely seen on this continent.

In the 16th Century the Flemish artist Hieronimus Bosch explored the shadow side of humanity by presenting work that related to his interpretations of ‘madness’ and ‘heaven vs. Hell’. In the early 18th Century, the Italian artist Guiseppe Archimboldi presented the ‘bizarre’ by creating works that utilized symbols of every day life to create disturbing portraits related to the four seasons and the muse.

Otto refers to his work as stemming from “The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism”. What is specific to his approach is based on a manifesto that stresses the collective unconscious readily presenting itself with imagery that is intuitive, and at the same time readily within the grasp of identity. For example, one knows what a rhinoceros is, but when examining the rhinoceros in ‘Rhino Rider’ it becomes obvious that the skin contains a myriad of imagery. As in other pieces, the art of camouflage conceals. One has to look beyond the obvious.

‘Bogomil’s Universe’ is Otto’s own inner universe, constructed to represent his alter ego. The Bogomils were a gnostic sect in 12th century Romania that rejected the material world in search of pure spirituality.

When looking at the work of a particular artist, one wonders what precedes the work. What are the influences? What is the intent? Why does the artist do what he or she does? How is the public supposed to react to art per se?

This exhibition certainly sets up in the mind of the viewer a response to all the preceding questions. Everyone brings his or her own perceptions, experiences and opinions to an art exhibition. Resulting responses are contingent on these factors.

In simple terms, what is seen at first glance (first impression) rarely gives an honest or complete ‘picture’ of intent. All is in a state of transition, subject to interpretation. By exploring the symbology and myths associated with his own inner universe, Otto has entered a meditative journey, akin to the journey of the shaman, employing archetypes of a universal nature. He has challenged conventional thinking, broken cultural mores and taboos, thereby extending his own understanding of universal, hence cultural differences and beliefs. Otto Rapp is a mystic, extending opportunity to the viewer to experience their own personal symbolisms.

OTHER INFO

Born: December 15th 1944 in Felixdorf, Nether Austria

Education:

1950 to 1958
Volksschule, Hauptschule
Wien-Favoriten
Vienna, Austria

1959 to 1962
Berufsschule fuer Grosshandel
(Tradeschool for Wholesale Business)
Vienna, Austria

1978 to 1982
University of Lethbridge
Art Department – Visual Arts Major

Diploma:
Speditions-Kaufmanns-Gehilfenbrief
Kammer der Gewerblichen Wirtschaft fuer Wien,
Fachgruppe Spediteure
Vienna, Austria

Degree:
Bachelor of Fine Art (with Great Distinction)
University of Lethbridge
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Awards:
1979 – Prize in Studio Art
The Faculty – Department of Art
University of Lethbridge

1979 - Beta Sigma Phi Scholarship
Beta Sigma Phi
University of Lethbridge

1980 - Certificate of Merit
The Minister for Advanced Education and Manpower
Province of Alberta, Canada

SCHOOL INFO

0 - 0, University of Lethbridge