Maikäfer flieg!, the title of André Butzer's solo exhibition at Kunstverein Friedrichshafen refers to the famous German folk and children's song. Over the course of time, writers, artists and musicians have used the piece once and again. The atrocities of the Second World War, however, significantly fostered its sad popularity. In 1963, Paul Celan read “tiny sheaves of hope” from the fateful lines. In 1974, Anselm Kiefer associated it to Adolf Hitler's “Nero Decree.”
January 27, 2023
