Jens Lorenzen Oral History
Object number2014.001.0051
Date05/02/2014
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Jens Lorenzen
Oral history interviewer
Ani Simmons
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.mov file)
DimensionsDuration: 16 Minutes
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Jens Lorenzen. A German artist born shortly before President Kennedy's 1961 inauguration, Lorenzen has included images of President Kennedy in several of his works. As of 2020, four of his works are in the permanent collection of The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on May 2, 2014 by Ani Simmons, Education Programs Coordinator. The interview is 16 minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryExhibit Label: Born in Schleswig, West Germany, Lorenzen first studied as a journeyman carpenter before transferring to the University of Fine Arts, Braunschweig. When he was 16, Lorenzen spent a year as an exchange student in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a transformative experience, leading to a lifelong interest in Pop Art and American icons such as President Kennedy. As an artist, Lorenzen is interested in the 1960s because that was a time of looking forward and in Kennedy as a figure in American pop culture. He has painted a series called Mauer (The Wall) which includes more than 40 individual paintings, that incorporate his interests in history and iconography. Over the past decades he has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout Germany, the US, Mexico and Hong Kong. (Text from Special exhibit, "Art Reframes History," on view on the Museum's seventh floor from September 9, 2020 through May 9, 2021)
Jens Lorenzen has participated in two oral history interviews with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. This first interview was recorded when he made a research visit to the Museum in 2014. He later incorporated images and Museum artifacts such as the Texas School Book Depository sign into some of his paintings in 2014 and 2015. Recalling this initial visit to the Museum, Lorenzen said, "When my wife and I visited the Museum in 2014, I took pictures of the cardboard boxes behind which Oswald hid. And on them, it says 'Books: Building for Today.' And then, it was a close step to the Texas School Book Depository sign. I'm not investigating anything. I'm not looking for the truth.... It's not a question of right or wrong on my paintings. I'm just playing with associations. And when I have a sign saying 'book,' I can add book to it. It's like a puzzle where things fit together." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
A virtual conversation with Jens Lorenzen, recorded in September 2020, is part of the Museum's "Interrogating Art" virtual series to support the special exhibit "Art Reframes History." The full program may be viewed on the Museum's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXVmNou0qys. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
