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Lotz Doll Pages - Modern Wood Figures/Dolls
Featured Artist
Hildegard Wegner
by Jean D. Lotz
A Non-Commercial, Educational Resource   Copyright © 1999 Jean D. Lotz    Last Updated: 11/12/99 +proof

All photographs thanks to Hildegard Wegner
All images are included with the permission of the copyright owners



Insanity
 Hidegard Wegner's wood dolls are very special. They can be described as powerful, intense, emotional, thought provoking sculptures. Her dolls confront you just like a German expressionistic painting screams at you from the canvas. Her dolls don't just stand there - they evoke a viewer response. Her dolls are portraits of emotions: subtle as the melancholy of a clown, or as powerful as desperation, or inner turmoil. 

Hildegard has also created a set of life-sized automata that were made for pure entertainment and enjoyment. These "dolls" are totally different from her emotional portraits and they are very technically challenging and exciting. Expect the unexpected in Hildegard's work!
The portrait photographer, Hildegard Wegner presents a wide spectrum of human emotions in her figured creations. The "dolls" and tableaux presentations include the homeless, the starving, refugees, and people with psychological problems in hopeless situations. They are the daily pictures we see on the television, or the kind of people we see in pedestrian precincts. The situations are all common-place; we see them around us all the time. They are quick passing observations, impressions that replace each other in rapid sequence. In the end we swiftly eradicate them all from our memories. Hildegard Wegner makes careful observations. She includes these signals, facial expression, postures, and gestures in her work. 
    from the book "Hildegard Wegner - Deprived of Light" by Verlag Puppen and Spielzeug, showing the wide variety of her work and styles.

~ click on most images for a view of the full scene ~

Hildegard's figure sculpture is a creative outlet for her own amusement. Her figures decorate her home and photography studio. Recently she participated in a commercial doll exhibit/sale. The show promoter urged her to make something more marketable for this sale, so Hildegard made some sad little wooden babies. Hildegard said that she has come round full circle in her art, since she started making wooden dolls 40 years ago by sculpting sad baby dolls for her own children. She made about 300 sad wooden babies but these early babies were not for sale. They were made solely to be used as props for children's portraits in her studio. However If a child showed a particular fondness for the doll during her photo session, then Hildegard would give the doll to the child.

Hope

Humor, Melancholy, Sadness, Insanity, and Addiction


Melancholy clown - my favorite!

note Hildegard's signature jewel on one finger of each doll.


Reality, Despair and Death


* Hildegard is very interested in my internet wood doll pages and she even sent me a copy of her book, "Hildegard Wegner - Deprived of Light" by Verlag Puppen and Spielzeug, - all the way from Germany.

Hildegard has also sent a copy of a documentary video that was made of her and her work during a special exhibit of her work. I really appreciated that she took the time and effort to provide a typed English transcript so I could follow what was being said in the video by herself, the interviewer and visitors to the exhibit.

Thanks Hildegard!


Are the following 2 "Mystery Dolls" representing homeless men the work of Hildegard Wegner, or was the artist influenced by her work? They do NOT have the signature jewel on one finger and the hands are stiff compared to Hildegard's life-like poses.

Can you help with more information? (Jean Lotz by e-mail at: lotz@gs.verio.net)
 

Refugees or Homeless Men
by a mystery artist

click for full-length view

photo by Jean D. Lotz

 Two Vagrants, Refugees or Homeless Men

These two dolls look like they belong in a diorama depicting a group of refugees or homeless people trying to stay warm. They are very expertly carved having details down to the knuckle wrinkles and fingernails. The cloths are good quality materials (silk and wool) which have been intentionally distressed and soiled (with paint?)

They have wood heads, hands, and feet on an unstuffed wire armature except for one hand. One doll has a triangular chunk of wood for his hip area to provide a stable platform for sitting. They are posed in uncomfortable looking, exaggerated positions as if they were supposed to be interacting with other dolls or some missing accessories.
The paint on the wood parts is very expertly painted with glazed base colors. An aging patina technique has been used to achieve a "dirty" effect. There are traces of lighter paint on the hands as if it was applied and largely removed to give the impression of age or soiled surfaces.

The hands of the doll wrapped in the blanket remind me of some of the poses found on religious icons or crèche figures. This doll's left hand is loosely tied into the sleeve rather than being attached via a wire.

These are not old dolls. I would be surprised if they were more than 8-10 years old.