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]

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

External links

• Official website (German)