Doris Schöttler-Boll (born 3 January 1945 in Noerdlingen; died 29 January 2015 in Essen) was a German artist.See her short biography in several issues of the konkursbuch, a feminist journal focused on art and literature, edited by Claudia Gehrke, notably issues 20, 1988 on ‘The Sexual, Women and Art’ and issue 12, 1984 on ‘WomenPOWER. She is known for her de-constructivist works that she initially described as a result of Photomontage and Collage.
Life and work
Studying art in Essen and Düsseldorf (with Josef Beuys) In the 1960s, Doris Schöttler-Boll lived in Bochum where her husband Peter Schöttler was enrolled in the history department of the Ruhr University Bochum. She studied art at the Folkwang University of the Arts, an art academy in Essen.See: J. Weidenfels, ibidem. Simultaneously she was attending lectures in Bochum and was an avid cinéaste who spent much time seeing art films at the Bochum university film club.
Having graduated at the Folkwang academy, she continued her professional education at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf art academy) as a student of Joseph Beuys from 1970 till 1974. Simultaneously she was a key rent strike activist in Bochum, and worked as an artist with the children of the people of the large ‘Girondelle’ tenement house who were continuing their rent-strike. She was bringing paper and crayons or water colors and encouraged the children to express their wishes and longings visually.
The years in Paris When she had completed her studies at the Düsseldorf art academy, Doris Schöttler-Boll went to Paris with her husband who was a student and a translator of Louis Althusser. Since the mid-1970s, she met Jacques Derrida, Pierre Macherey, Étienne Balibar and Louis Althusser, being occasionally invited to their homes together with Peter Schöttler.
Before she went to Paris, she wrote Derrida that she was compelled to ‘steal’ his concept of deconstruction because it amounted to reductionism if she would describe her way of working simply as collage/montage.In German: “dass sie ihm den Begriff der Dekonstruktion entwenden muesste, weil das Sprechen von Collage/Montage zu reduziert sei, um das Spezifische ihrer Arbeitweise zu erhellen.“ – Jacques Derrida wrote her about works of hers he had been able to see that they are fascinating, "da sie wunderschoen sind und viel zu denken geben." - Quoted by J. Weidenfels, ibidem. It was then, in the mid-1970s, that she started to work as a professional (‘free’ and ‘free-lance’) artist; something she continues to do.
A professional artist, curator, and feminist art teacher in Bremen In 1979, Doris Schöttler-Boll went to Bremen, working as an artist but also teaching art and art-related subjects at the University of Bremen from 1979 to 1986. Her courses and exhibitions focused largely on feminist and civil rights issues. An art project and parallel course focused on gender culminated in an exhibition titled Hair – Or Looking for Traces of the Female (Haare, oder Spurensuche des Weiblichen).
Another project reflecting identity led to the exhibition Photo Albums, Portraits, Mug Shots (Photoalbum, Porträtphotographie, Polizeiphotographie; 1980).Doris Schöttler-Boll (editor; author), Photoalbum, Porträtphotographie, Polizeiphotographie. Bremen (Bremen University, Publications of the Social Science Dept.; University Library) 1980. It predated a similarly focused exhibition in the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe ( ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe, Germany) by approximately two decades.
The courses on Women and Art (Frauen und Kunst) led to an exhibition with the same title (Frauen und Kunst, 1982) in the Weserburg, as well as a small catalogue.The literary journal ‘Die Horen’ referred to this feminist art project titled Frauen und Kunst that was conceived, curated and organized by “Doris Schöttler-Boll.” See: Die Horen, Vol. 28, 1983, p. 4, p.186, and p.249. See also the catalogue of her Women and Art exhibition: Doris Schöttler-Boll. (ed.), Frauen und Kunst: Dekonstruktion von Frauen/Bildern durch Collage + Montage (Women and Art: Deconstructing Images of Women by way of Collage and Montage).. Bremen (since 1988: Weserburg Museum Bremen) 1982, 47 pp. Since this point, Doris Schöttler-Boll, who collaborated with noted artists, has worked with children, housewives, students and budding artists.
Again, Essen In 1985, Doris Schöttler-Boll was invited to stay in Essen as Artist-in-residence. Here, she lived and worked in Borbeck castle (Schloss Borbeck).“Doris Schöttler-Boll, Künstlerin, lebt in Bremen und auf Schloss Borbeck/Essen.” - See: Susanna von Moellendorff, Erinnerung an eine gewisse Nacht. Erzaehlung mit Bildern von Petra Gall, Martina Kuegler und Doris Schöttler-Boll. Tuebingen ( Konkursbuch Verlag Claudia Gehrke) 1987; p.110, p.116. During her time in Borbeck she organized the exhibition "Unter einem Himmel (Beneath one and the same sky, 1988)," which received considerable media attention.See for instance: "Unter einem Himmel," in: Kunstforum (Cologne), Dec. 1988. The exhibition featured two artists at a time, a male and a female artist who shared aesthetic interests. The male/female juxtaposition was expected to let the public discover gender-specific traits in their work. Nan Hoover (1931–2008) exhibited together with Harald Falkenhagen, Doris Schöttler-Boll with Timm Ulrichs. Other participants were Tony Morgan, Eu Nim Ro, Norbert Schwontkowski, Toto Frima, etc.
In the summer of 1988, the jury (Atelier-Vergabegremium) of the municipal Museum Folkwang in Essen decided to give Doris Schöttler-Boll a specific form of support that had been awarded already to HA Schult and Herbert Lungwitz: a rent-free, timewise unlimited stay in a municipal ‘art house’ (Atelierhaus). Schult had been given a space at the former Kaiser Otto School. Schöttler-Boll was offered a space at the former Pestalozzi School. This ‘Atelier’ House had been a home for the sculptor Lungwitz “since the (early) 1980s.”Tim Walther writes: “Seit den 80er Jahren Heimat für den Bildhauer Herbert Lungwitz…” See: Tim Walther; ibidem. She renovated the studio, and the space where she lives, at her own expenses and pays for heating and water only.Tim Walther notes her considerable investment: “Sie hat viel investiert, um das marode Innenleben in eine kreative Umgebung zu verwandeln.” – See: Tim Walther, ibidem. But in return for the benefit of being a recipient of such support for artists (Kuenstlerfoerderung), she is very actively engaged in conceiving and organizing projects open to the public, most notably a series of presentations titled “Persons-Projects-Perspectives’ (since 9/9/1999).The writer Florian Neuner has this to say about “Persons-Projects-Perspectives': “Am 4. November durfte ich im Atelierhaus Alte Schule in Essen gemeinsam mit Urs Jaeggi die aktuelle 4. Ausgabe der IDIOME vorstellen. Die Künstlerin Doris Schöttler-Boll hat dort einen überaus lebendigen Ort für Begegnungen und Debatten geschaffen und bringt es fertig, Brücken nicht nur zwischen akademischen Diskursen und den Künsten zu schlagen, sondern auch zu interessierten Laien. Das habe ich woanders so noch nicht erlebt. Seit 1999 veranstaltet Schöttler-Boll im Atelierhaus, das auch ihr Wohn- und Arbeitsort ist, die Reihe»Personen Projekte Perspektiven«, die der Bochumer Künstler Matthias Schamp als einen »Salon des 21. Jahrhunderts« bezeichnet hat. Die Liste der Gäste ist beeindruckend und umfasst u.a. Elke Bippus, Harun Farocki, Claudia Gehrke, Jürgen Link, D.E. Sattler, Timm Ulrichs. Auch Urs Jaeggi war von Anfang an mit dabei. Anders als bei den IDIOME-Veranstaltungen in den Wiener und Berliner Literaturhäusern fand ich in Essen ein nicht nur interessiertes, sondern auch debattenfreudiges Publikum ( ...)” Source: Florian Neuner, “IDIOME an der Ruhr”; Nov. 13, 2011, .
Since 1996 Doris Schöttler-Boll has been a member of the Westdeutsche Künstlerbund, the Federation of West German Artists.
In addition to her creative work, Doris Schöttler-Boll has been conceiving, organizing and curating art-related projects at the Atelierhaus für Kunst, Medien und Kommunication (Art house for the visual arts, media and communication) in Essen-Steele. She initiated and curated expositions of young and not so young artists, was the prime mover of art projects involving children and adolescents and invited such noted artists as Harun Farocki, Urs Jaeggi, D. E. Sattler etc. to present their ideas, talk about their work, and engage in debate with the public.See: http://www.art-in-society.de/Arthouse. These presentations (under the general title "Persons, Projects, Perspectives") focused on painting, film, literature, art theory and practice, the possibilities of "intervention" in society, the social situation of artists and the circumstances which further or negatively affect the creation of art.See: http://www.atelierhaus-essen.de/.
Single exhibitions (a selection) In August and September, 1987, Doris Schöttler-Boll had a noted solo exhibition at the Landesmuseum Bonn (the main museum of modern art in Bonn, then the capital of West Germany). The exhibition, entitled Dekonstruktionen oder vom Widersprechen in Bildern (Dekonstructions or Contradicting by way of images), was curated by Professor Klaus Honnef, an art historian focused on photo art / art photography.See: Perspektief (a journal of the Perspektief Association, published by Vereniging voor Nederlandse fotografie, Stichting Perspektief Magazine); Jg. 1986, p.137; see also the journal Die Kunst, Volume 97, 1985, p.734 and likewise: Bonner Jahrbuecher (published by Boehlau Publ.Co.), Vol. 189, p.468.
Subsequently, she also had solo-exhibitions at the Clemens-Sels-Museum in Neuss (the twin city of Düsseldorf, on the left bank of the Rhine) and at the Museum Bochum in Bochum, Germany.
Group exhibitions (a selection) Unter einem Himmel (with Harald Falkenhagen, Nan Hoover, Tony Morgan, Eu-Nim Roh, Norbert Schwontkowski, Doris Schöttler-Boll, Timm Ulrichs, et al.), Gallery of Schloss Borbeck, Essen (1985) Schattengrenze (with Rose Finn-Kelcey, Alison Knowles, Pat Olesko, Ulrike Rosenbach, Doris Schöttler-Boll and others) at the Weserburg in Bremen (1985) Benutzen Fotos (with Harald Falkenhagen, Norbert Schwontkowski, Doris Schöttler-Boll...) at Forum Boettcherstrasse, Bremen (1986) L'Art Allemand aujourd'hui at the Gallery of the European Council, EU-Building, Brussels (1988) Der Raum (with Jürgen Albrecht, Susanne Bollenhagen, U. Dürrenfeld, Harald Frackmann, Joachim Fliegner, Werner Fröning, Markus Felthaus, Barbara Hamann, Marikke Heinz-Hoek, Ute Ihlenfeldt, Gabriele Konsor, Thomas Kaufhold, Michael Lapuks, Hartmut Neumann, Li Portenlänger, Doris Schöttler-Boll, Wolfgang Spengler, Norbert Schwontkowski, Otto Völker, Wolfgang Wagner-Kutschker), Gesellschaft für aktuelle Kunst (GAK), Bremen, Sept.-Oct.1987. Wo bleibst du, Revolution? (with Eduardo Arroyo, Jochen Gerz, Jiří Hilmar, Urs Jaeggi, Tadeusz Kantor, Jiří Kolář, Doris Schöttler-Boll, Klaus Staeck, et al.), Museum Bochum, Bochum (1989)
Other exhibitions (solo or group exhibitions) took place at the Kunstamt Neukoelln (Berlin), the Fotoforum Bremen (Bremen), the Steintorgalerie (Bremen), the Weserburg museum (Bremen), the Museum Ehrenhof (Düsseldorf), the Museum Gelsenkirchen (Gelsenkirchen), the Studio of Schloss Oberhausen (Oberhausen), the Stollwerkfabrik (Cologne), etc.
Both the art journal Weltkunst (Global Art) and a feminist journal, EMMA (magazine) (edited by Alice Schwarzer) noted her exhibition in Neuss.Cf. Weltkunst, Vol. 57, 1987, p. 2669; Emma: Das Magazin von Frauen für Menschen, Jg. 1987, p.61
The exhibition Toto Frima (Amsterdam) und Doris Schöttler-Boll (Bremen) that took place in the "Fotoforum,“ a museum in Bremen, was mentioned by Fotomagazin (Jg. 1984) and in Bremische Chronik.See: Reinhard Patemann (ed.), Bremische Chronik, 1981–1986. Bremen (Staatsarchiv Bremen) 2001, p.143