Wir überwinden Grenzen

Laudatory speech by Mayor Michael Beck - July 4, 2007

Ladies and gentlemen,
dear Roland Martin,

Just a few days ago it made the headlines: A mammoth sculpture, just four centimeters long and weighing 7.5 grams, found very close to us, in the Swabian Alb. The find is 35,000 years old - and thus, according to Tübingen archaeologists, the oldest work of art known to mankind.

This makes one thing clear to me: culture is a basic human need. Even in times that were still miles away from what we call civilization today, people were culturally active:

They created works of art.

They made music.

They told stories or acted them out.

And they certainly did not yet distinguish between high culture and everyday culture. Every new knowledge, every new achievement, every new form of expression and new technology was perceived as part of culture until well into the modern era - which is still reflected linguistically today when we speak of cultural techniques or cultural circles.

When the local council decided in 2005 to award a cultural prize in future, it had a broad concept of culture in mind. Our prize is not intended to be a classic art prize or literature prize that focuses exclusively on artistic achievement. Rather, it is a prize that honors a holistic cultural achievement. An achievement that is also reflected in society. We want to honor personalities who contribute to the culture of our city through both their work and their impact. To the culture of life, to the culture of discussion - and, if need be, to the culture of debate.

Future recipients of this award therefore do not necessarily have to be representatives of the disciplines that we have referred to as the "fine arts" since the Enlightenment, i.e. the visual arts, performing arts, music and literature. Let us surprise you.

The man we are honoring today once said about his work:

"I try to give reality an aesthetic form. The interpretation of man and his environment is my concern."

The demands that Roland Martin himself places on his work therefore correspond to what we had in mind for the Culture Prize: social relevance, a connection to life, a close connection to our city.

And when we honor Roland Martin today, all of this plays a role:

- Roland Martin is a native of Tuttlingen, his family history could certainly be traced back to the Middle Ages if the town fire had not destroyed the archives. And to this day, he embodies a deep identification with our town like hardly anyone else.

- As a cultural figure, he has built up a reputation that radiates far beyond Tuttlingen and has made a significant contribution to Tuttlingen's reputation.

Yet his career as an artist was not predetermined. And if you take a look at his biography, you will see a life characterized by ambition, courage, drive and straightforwardness.

Roland Martin was born in Tuttlingen on July 29, 1927. His parents were down-to-earth Tuttlingen residents and owners of a dairy business in Bergstrasse. And like many people of his generation, the Second World War left its mark on his late youth: at the age of 17, he had to go to war, became an air force helper, had to do labor service and was taken prisoner.

After the war, he graduated from high school in 1946. And from then on, his path led him single-mindedly towards art.

- From 1946 to 1951, he studied under Hans Ludwig Pfeifer at the Bernsteinschule - the nucleus of post-war modernism in the southwest, where teachers such as HAP Grieshaber also taught and which, in addition to Roland Martin, also produced personalities such as Franz Bucher and Emil Kiess.

- In 1948, he enrolled for a semester at the Freiburg Art Academy under Professor Wilhelm Gerstel

- And from 1951 to 1952 he was a student of Professor Fritz Nuss.

He then returned to Tuttlingen in 1952 - and embarked on a career that continues to this day. A career as a freelance artist.

Throughout his career, he always worked entirely on his own responsibility. He never took on any public employment. He was never an art teacher, cultural advisor or lecturer. He was always on his own.

And the early years in particular were not easy. Because in the years after the war, the number of potential art buyers was rather low. Roland Martin took the plunge anyway. He moved into an apartment in Königstraße and set up his first studio in Tuttlingen - in the former hospital morgue.

There were pragmatic reasons for a young man working in a place of death - the space was cheap. But the first works that Roland Martin produced on behalf of cities and municipalities also had a connection to death. Because when art was financed from public funds in those years, it was usually memorials:

Monuments to the dead, wounded, missing and displaced persons of the war.

In line with the wishes of his clients, these works were still very naturalistic. But in the years that followed, his works became more abstract. He developed his own style, which attracted attention far beyond Tuttlingen. Large commissions followed - for example a moving stele for the Olympic village in Munich.

But just a few years later, he made a radical U-turn. He once again made it clear that he had a mind of his own. And that he would assert it:

In the mid-1970s, when any form of representationalism was absolutely frowned upon, Roland Martin suddenly began working with figurations. He created the first of those figures and, above all, groups of figures with which he is identified today. He once again focused on the depiction of people - years before the new realism that is once again shaping the art scene today.

Today, it is impossible to imagine public spaces without Roland Martin's works. Even in Tuttlingen. Be it the medical technician on the market square, be it the "Kannitverstan", which we present in a scaled-down form as an honorary gift. Be it the numerous jobs in companies or public authorities - whether at Aesculap, Paul Leibinger or, of course, in our town hall.

His work belongs to us. They belong to Tuttlingen. They are part of our lives.

And the same applies to Roland Martin as a person.

Long-time friends and companions describe him as "the Tuttlingen man himself". He is like this city:
- with rough edges
- direct and blunt
- hard-working, even in old age
- and at the same time straightforward and absolutely reliable.

In other words, if you were to create a prototype for "the Tuttlinger", you would probably end up with a person who bears a striking resemblance to Roland Martin.

- He is a person who does not keep his opinions to himself. A person who always gets involved in public discussions and doesn't go easy on anyone. That doesn't always make it easy. But anyone who has dealings with Roland Martin knows where he stands. Because he is not someone who smooths things over for reasons of diplomacy where there is nothing to smooth over.

- He is a sociable person who cultivates friendships - and has done so for decades. For example, he has been friends with Hermann Binder, Siegfried Gagstatter and Helmut Hauser since his school days - and that was over 70 years ago.

- And he gets involved, is helpful, you can rely on him. Because for Roland Martin, Tuttlingen is not just where he was born, lives and works. For him, Tuttlingen is also a permanent task.

That was already the case in the 1950s. Roland Martin was one of the people who brought jazz to Tuttlingen, turned the "Schützenkeller" into the "Club d'or" and brought legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Joachim-Ernst Berendt to the town. And he also passed on his love of jazz, music and art to his children.

However, his involvement in the Kunstring, which later became the Kunstkreis Tuttlingen, had the most lasting effect on Tuttlingen. Together with artists such as Manfred Wahrmuth, Udo Braitsch and Gerhard Opitz, the bookseller Willi Kuder, the art teacher Wurzberger and pastor Helmut Ensslin, he helped to establish the association, which still shapes the program in these rooms today with four exhibitions a year.

And that's not all: his commitment has changed the role of art and culture in general.

He teaches people to see.

He opens up new perspectives on the seemingly familiar.

He can inspire people and win them over to new ideas and projects.

In the past, people in Tuttlingen didn't have the time or money for culture. Or at least they thought they did.

The fact that today people in Tuttlingen create and at the same time have a strong sense of culture - that is also to Roland Martin's credit.

He has helped shape the culture of this city.

He has enriched our lives.

With today's award, we would like to give something back to him. And what could be more natural than having a cultural award designed by an artist? The graphic depicting our cultural award is part of a series. The other two parts will be awarded during the course of the year as social and sports prizes.

In future, all three prizes will be designed by different artists. This year, Hans-Uwe Hähn, the director of our youth art school, will kick things off.

Ladies and gentlemen, as I mentioned earlier, friendships with Roland Martin last a long time. Another of his companions is the composer and music teacher Siegfried Burger, whose piece we had the pleasure of hearing earlier.

The Baynov Ensemble will now perform another work for piano exclusively for Roland Martin, before I invite you to take a culinary trip around the world at the buffet.

 

^{from: www.tuttlingen.de/showobject.phtml, 12.8.2008}