Executed on a large scale, Kopf, Frage, Jager, Sage, 1, 2, 3, 4, A. R. Penck ist heir, is a wall poem, created for the opening of the Brigitte Schenk Gallery in Cologne in 1996. The painted letters and simplified symbols and patterns are characteristic of Penck’s unique artistic output. While frequently likened to the graffiti-based work of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Penck’s distinctive style developed independently as a reaction to the censorship of the German Democratic. Embodying the graffiti ethos, A.R. Penck wanted the present work to be exposed to the ravages of time and circumstances: to let it ‘live’. Visitors to the gallery have immortalised the work, carving their names into the painted strokes and sticking their chewing gum onto the surface. The gallery owner's protests to conserve it died away when Penck repeated that this would not diminish the value of the work of art, but on the contrary increase its value: It is reminiscent of the primitive form of cave painting with which people immortalised themselves because they wanted to leave a trace.
