Stefan Brüggemann is one of the representatives of the neo-conceptual art movement who produces polemic and often provocative works mainly with texts or ‘ghost-words’. ‘Ghost-words’ he explaines are “those words that stay in your mind most of the time without making you say them out loud. I see those words blinking in neon in my mind, that’s why neon is the most mental medium. Another characteristics of those words is the dimension of time they contain. Have you ever spent enough time contemplating a certain word till it became something else?”
Probably best known is the artist for ‘Showtitles’: A list of suggestions for exhibition titles that can freely be used by anyone as long as they are credited to the artist. On the website each title is clickable so that you can listen to it spoken. Within an exhibition context they are displayed in black vinyl lettering on the wall. Other than that the media he uses ranges from photography, neon works, writing and film making to planning hotels or curating activities.
Stefan Brüggemann is interested in the void, ‘pictures that become words’ or other ‘words that become pictures’. He is interested in how certain issues “are reflected in all kinds of political or life-style slogans. Or to put it in other words”, he sais, “I am interested in the names of names.”
Asked about his ‘Text Pieces’ he states “The only thing that I could say about the Text Pieces is: what you read is what you get.”
(from interviews on stefanbruggemann.com/bibliography)