HOBart 2007
Pan – playing his pipes
In the Greek mythology Pan was the God of forests and nature. He protected the herds and was therefore worshipped by the shepherds, but sometimes also feared and because of his
appearance – goat-footed and horned – he could terrify people. He got especially furious when
being disturbed while he was having his period of quiet after lunch (Pan’s hour).
In my paintings the archaic figure of Pan stands for life on earth in accord with an intact nature. That’s why I have portrayed him in the light colours of clear water, clean air and springing up plants. Cheerfully and relaxed, he rests on the warm and fertile ground playing his pipes. He is surrounded by an inconspicuous silvery grey rectangle.
Today we need new and modern protecting spirits taking care of preserving Creation. Especially in the fields of research and technology great things can be achieved. The fine line around Pan symbolizes this protective function. Life on earth and earth itself are preserved inconspicuously and very effectively from the white and glaring nothingness.
HOBART has produced innovative products which are revolutionary, especially in the fields of
energy efficiency, water- and climate protection. Hardly discernible to the quick eye, like the grey rectangle in my painting, these technical achievements serve us very well.
My Pan is meant to be the force behind HOBART’S efforts to give people comfort and at the
same time to protect nature and environment sustain ably. As long as Pan plays his pipes in a relaxed way nature and man are fine, and Pan shall not frighten us.
Bernd Himmelsbach
- He was born in 1956 and lives in Lahr, a town in Baden.
- Since his childhood drawing and painting have been an important part of his life.
- He got his first instruction from his father, apart from that he is a self-educated person.
- Training in a graphic profession.
- Since 1995 he has got his own studio.
- Man is one of his main subjects.
- Drawing traditionally in nature or in front of living models is very important for him, for that he uses a sketchpad in diary form.
- Free and sometimes large-format paintings in acrylic and mixed technique are exclusively made in the studio.
- Coarse brushes and the original reed feather are his preferred tools. “My paintings have a lot to do with observation of nature. My aim is to getto the bottom of things by means of abstraction. For example to portray a figure looked at from the point of its movement – to catch the rhythm; to represent the sensation of temperature, the feeling of a cool breath of wind or to reflect the haptic experience of a surface by means of colouring.”
- Numerous exhibitions in the region of Offenburg since 1994.