In two stand-up cases at the Port Moody Station Museum, 40 original sketches from the German side of the First World War lay tucked away in several drawers.
It’s the first time they’ve been shown outside of Germany — a feat given the complexity of transporting the artistry from the Klingspor Museum, in Offenbach, to North America.
Last year, its museum director offered to showcase Rudolf Koch’s ink sketches in Port Moody after seeing his friend’s contribution to constructing WWI trenches around the Murray Street facility. Markus Fahrner was also eager to exhibit the priceless documents in PoMo, in the final year of the 100th anniversary of the war.
Koch, a well-know German type designer, was 40 when he was drafted to the army in 1915 and, perhaps because of his world view and deeply spiritual side as a devout Lutheran, captured a unique angle of his fellow soldiers in the trenches.
Rather than horrifying military scenes, Koch, a grenadier, drew 195 images in his notebook while on active duty — mostly of flowers, landscapes and life in between the battles.
At the Port Moody Station Museum, there are scenes of soldiers resting in their bunks, picking out lice from each other’s bodies, spooning up stew from a large mobile barrel and keeping warm by a stove.
In addition, there are portraits of soldiers in military uniform and walking in the rain as group, huddled under a heavy blanket. “He never drew the soldiers’ deaths,” said Fahrner, the station museum co-ordinator who co-curated the exclusive show with executive director Jim Millar. “Instead, Koch focused on the boredom they faced when they were not fighting the Allies.”
He added, “Koch wanted to convey a counter-propaganda message the Allies were sending to the world of the Germans being ‘ugly Huns’ and uncultured. He was very patriotic and he stood by his country during the most brutal of times.”
While Koch’s sketches are considered rough from an artist’s perspective, they do highlight the finer details that honour his craftsmanship of being a master communicator (among the typefaces Koch created were the Neuland, Prisma and Kabel).
Besides the sketches, Fahrner and Millar will also present panels for guests to learn about Koch’s personal life, his military service and his typography skills.
Meanwhile, Fahrner also has on show a letter press he obtained from a New Westminster printer to illustrate the kind of metalwork Koch used during his career.
• The opening reception of the Rudolf Koch exhibit, As He Saw It, is on Sunday, Jan. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Port Moody Station Museum (2734 Murray St.). The German consulate will attend the launch and appetizers will be served by Arctic Meats in Port Coquitlam. The display concludes at the end of April. As no external funding was supplied for the historical exhibit, donations are accepted.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
