Is it art or can it go away? Graffiti artist Harald Naegeli (82) has once once more pulled out the spray can. Even in old age, the «Sprayer of Zurich» still gets itchy fingers. He chose an interesting location for his latest work of art: the church wall on the island of Ufenau. Since Thursday, two skeletons have been dancing on the wall in the shape of his world-famous stick figures.
The location is not chosen at random. Because just a few meters from the church, in a small chapel, an exhibition of the artist will take place from May 13th. Under the motto “Ufenauer Totentanz” 37 drawings by Naegelis will be exhibited until the end of October.
The artist appeared in person for the media tour on Thursday. During the tour, Naegeli is said to have snuck away and quietly got to work. At least that’s what the curators of the exhibition claim.
“We had no idea what Mr. Naegeli was up to”
Is the graffiti the work of a rebellious artist or a sophisticated marketing coup? “We really had no idea what Mr. Naegeli was up to,” says Markus Bamert (62), curator of the exhibition, to Blick. In retrospect, however, he admits: “Actually, we should have expected it.” Allegedly, nobody noticed Naegeli’s absence during the tour. “After the tour, we went for a drink with the group, and then Mr. Naegeli was back,” Bamert remembers.
But what happens to the two skeletons on the church wall? For the Einsiedeln monastery, which runs the church on the island of Ufenau, this question is currently not a priority. “Whether this is the right place and how we will deal with this work should lead to discussions in the coming weeks and months,” writes Marc Dosch (52), administrative director of the Einsiedeln monastery, on request.
Naegeli is no stranger to the island
Naegeli’s latest work has hardly caused a stir on the island either. The campaign was noted, according to Daniel Berchtold (30), managing director of the “Haus zu den Zwei Raben” restaurant. “But we don’t intend to use the graffiti for marketing purposes.”
But Naegeli is no stranger to the restaurant, which was opened this year by gastro king Michel Péclard (52). “He designed our wine bottles,” says Berchtold. These are very popular with customers. “They sell like hot cakes,” says Berchtold.
The “Sprayer of Zurich” probably has no consequences to fear
Naegeli does not have to fear consequences because of the graffiti as long as no complaint is made. However, that was very different in the past. In the 1970s he caused a stir in Zurich with his black stick figures. Although the police had put a bounty of 3,000 francs on his head at the time, his identity remained unknown for a long time.
It wasn’t until 1979 that he was caught by a police officer one night and sentenced to nine months in prison. However, Naegeli escaped the execution of the sentence by fleeing to Germany, whereupon an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
In 1983 he was finally arrested and ended up in jail for six months. Today, Naegeli’s stick figures are an integral part of Zurich’s cityscape and have long since achieved cult status.
