Schere Stein Papier 2016

Curator: Wow, the light in this room really does something special to Eckart Hahn's "Schere Stein Papier" from 2016. It's like the surface is breathing. Editor: I have to say, the first thing that hits me is the unsettling quietude. A strange calm amidst the implied violence, you know? It's like a very still life before a storm...or surgery. Curator: I feel that. Hahn has a way of rendering the bizarre with such technical precision that it feels utterly real, almost hyperreal. The oil paintwork here, especially in capturing the textures of the paper-like geometric shapes and the cold gleam of the scissors, is captivating. And those intense eyes peering out from the faceted form...they are both human and alien. Editor: Those scissors plunging into the head like that, I think Hahn taps into this deep cultural memory of sharpness being tied to intellect, or the ability to dissect and analyze, right? But here, it’s almost brutal. It reminds me how symbols become weaponized through history—a tool, a game turned aggression. Curator: I'm always fascinated by Hahn's exploration of the human form and his recurring motifs—animals, architecture, distorted figures. There’s a lot of deconstruction here: physically, certainly. But is he perhaps dismantling our concepts of selfhood? Of representation? Is this some kind of three dimensional Cubist portrait, refracted not just through light, but emotion? Editor: Exactly! Like each plane represents a different facet of personality, some sharp, some vulnerable, all fragile as origami. Maybe it’s not just about taking something apart, but how we rebuild and perceive wholeness after something significant has changed us. The two small objects on the bottom look like the results of previous rounds played or the remains that might emerge to start all over again. Curator: And Hahn uses this sort of symbolic puzzle consistently throughout his work. There's a playfulness, for sure, but also a darkness lurking underneath the pretty surface. This game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" embodies simple choices, but within it lie so much potential for outcomes that alter everything, right? Editor: Absolutely. This image lingers; it gets into your subconscious, doesn’t it? It demands you look deeper than its arresting composition and ponder the symbolism—offering up some of life’s deeper, harder-to-stomach ironies. Curator: Hahn really puts the "art" in artifice and art history. There's so much to unpack! Editor: For sure, and I know that I will think about the relationship between symbols and change very differently from now on!