Throwback Saturday

In 2014 we were invited to participate in the Performance Festival "PPP* - *Past Present Perform, Westfalen". We presented a performance inspired by the Westphalian tradition of killing a rooster after the last load of rye had been brought in, in order to appease the “spirit of the grain.” In some regions, the rooster was buried alive and then beheaded. We of course skipped the last part but I dug a hole for 2 hours and Philip then sat in it while I covered him in soil up to his shoulders. We were performing next to a busy road and had many passing spectators.

Foto: Ralf Emmerich

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #performance #performancefestival #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #scheibeundgüntzel #ppp #münsterland #westfalen #westphalia #rye #roggen #acker #field #erntehahn #rooster #grainspirit #korngeist #ertnetradition #harvesttradition #hahn #ralfemmerich

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field.
The first bread belongs to the corn spirit.

For various reasons, the harvest of our rye field had to take place without us. So we were all the happier when we arrived in Vörå and were handed the first few kilos of flour, ground from the rye grown on our very project field. Philip, who always carries all kinds of ovens with him, set up his mobile baking oven and, together with Peter, our host, they baked traditional rye bread, which will later be hung up to dry. We offered the first loaf to the corn spirit*. For a good harvest in the coming year. It is now hanging on a pole in the field and we are waiting for the spirit to come and take it.

* see also: Sir James George Frazer: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890)

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #performance #cornspirit #abramsgarden #österbotten #ostrobothnia #finnland #finland #rye #grainfarming #granary #harvest #ernte #harvesttradition #korngeist #thegoldenbough #dergoldenezweig #erntetradition #brauchtum #backofen #roggenbrot #backen #roggen #preserved #vöra #vöyri
#finnlines

Of corn spirits and other creatures

In our last performance as part of our project in Vörå (Vöyri), we explored the significance of the so-called corn spirit (or: grain spirit) in harvest traditions. In both Central and Northern Europe, people were afraid of upsetting the corn spirit and thus risking poor harvests. After the harvest, sacrifices were made to appease the spirit.

No one had ever seen it, but people were certain that it roamed the fields in various animal forms. We reinterpreted these images and made the corn spirit friendly.

Also see:
Sir James George Frazer: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890)

Fotos: Kim Blåfield

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #grainfarming #rye #roggen #ernte #harvest #harvesttraditions #jamesfrazer #thegoldenbough #cornspirit #dergoldenezweig #brauchtum #traditions #customs #finland #finnland #vörå #vöyri #animals #masks #abramsgarden #kimblafield #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #österbotten #ostrobothnia #stoppelfeld #korngeist #grainspirit

Out next performance at Abramsgården:

Scheibe & Güntzel
PRESERVED // Rågens rike / att blidka
August 23rd 2025
4 p.m.

Abramsgården, Vörå (Vöyri), Finland

More information:
https://www.abrams.fi/event/preserved-ragens-rike-att-blidka/

#art #paticipartoryart #performance #grainspirit #korngeist #rye #roggen #harvest #grainfarming #finnland #finland #rooster #erntehahn #ryefield #roggenfeld #abramsgården #vörå #vöyri