Klaus Lutz was an artist and filmmaker who created an extraordinary body of work, which is characterized by a unique cinematic language. His films are reminiscent of 1920s expressionist film, of Georges Méliès and Russian avant-garde agitprop films. Now the museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zürich (Switzerland) presents a retrospective of his work. On the occasion of the launch of the comprehensive catalog “Klaus Lutz – Im Universum”, we spoke with the director of Haus Konstruktiv, Dorothea Strauss, who provides us with a short introduction to Klaus Lutz’s work.

Klaus Lutz was born in 1940 in St. Gallen (Switzerland). In 1993 he relocated to New York, where he lived until his death in 2009. For the films Klaus Lutz created from 1985 on, he used 16 mm film and animation and traditional film collage techniques. The stories he tells in his films show an individual – the artist himself – that takes on the rest of the world. Klaus Lutz was at the same time sketch provider, lead actor, director, camera operator, editor and also designed the invitations, posters, and flyers for his films.

Until September 2, 2012, Haus Konstruktiv shows all aspects of Klaus Lutz’s oeuvre: sketches, film scripts, film props, drawings, drypoints, and his 16 mm films, some of which are projected onto inflated balloons. The exhibition also presents photos of Klaus Lutz’s apartment and studio in New York, shot by Hans Danuser, and the documentary film “The Beauty of My Island – Shooting Klaus Lutz” by filmmaker Frank Matter.

The exhibition has been realized in cooperation with the Association for the Preservation of the Work of Klaus Lutz (Verein für die Erhaltung des Werkes von Klaus Lutz). A comprehensive publication with contributions and photos by Frank Matter, Martin Jaegi and Hans Danuser accompanies the exhibition.

Klaus Lutz: In the Universe. Book launch and interview with Dorothea Strauss (Director, Museum Haus Konstruktiv). July 11, 2012.

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