Photography, Film & Fluxus
Between Image and Action: The Participatory Practice of Lars Schumacher
Born in 1971 in Burgwedel, Germany, Lars Schumacher is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work seamlessly traverses photography, film, conceptual art, and socially engaged practice. Rooted in a tradition of civic participation and cultural reflection, his oeuvre has evolved over decades into a nuanced expression of what Joseph Beuys once termed Soziale Plastik—art as a transformative force within society.
Schumacher’s earliest artistic impulses emerged from documentary filmmaking. His works 10:15 Saturday Night (1989) and The Weekend After November 9 (1989)—a poignant study of youth and reunification—were not only timely but historically prescient. Together with his brother Leif, he went on to create a trilogy of short films (Route 66, Speed, Spinning Head), achieving critical acclaim and screenings across Europe and the Americas. Notably, Virulent Vision (1994) was awarded the Bronze Bear at the Festival der Nationen in Austria, while Route 66 received accolades from WDR and circulated internationally.
This early cinematic engagement opened toward participatory media through OKOK TELEVISION, a self-initiated regional broadcast format in the 1990s. The project foreshadowed Schumacher’s enduring commitment to democratic image-making and collective authorship.
Encounters with the Fluxus movement in the 2000s deepened this ethos. Schumacher’s projects such as Kassler Dokumente (documenta 13, 2012 - www.kasslerdokumente.de), FACE – a BOOK project (2014), and Front of Stage (2013) eschewed traditional object-making in favor of social situations—rituals of perception and presence. His performative works became invitations: to participate, to reflect, to co-create.
While grounded in process, Schumacher’s visual output remains striking. His photography, print, and mail art have been shown internationally—from the Phoenix Art Museum and Jheronimus Bosch Art Center to Museo de Arte de Cañada de Gómez (Argentina), Karuizawa New Art Museum (Japan), and the Mail Art Museum Montecarotto (Italy). His work has been featured at the 57th and 59th editions of the Venice Biennale (Ophen Virtual Art Gallery), and at major thematic exhibitions including Utsanga.it 2014–2024 and POSVERSO – Poetry is Resistance (Argentina, 2024).
Schumacher’s artistic footprint is archival as much as aesthetic. His works are held in institutions such as the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, MUMOK Vienna, Musée de La Poste Paris, and ARTPOOL Budapest. His publications in Attic Zine and The Artistamp Revue reflect his ongoing dialogue with experimental publishing and visual poetry.
Thematically, his practice returns often to questions of identity, memory, and transformation. Whether through intimate bronze objects, conceptual collages, or ephemeral performances, Schumacher cultivates an art that grows out of lived experience and returns to it—like the seeds planted in his mail art call Plant and Seed (2019).
This ethic of engagement is also reflected in the recognition he has received, including the “Print/Art” Prize from the University of Tyumen (Russia, 2020) and the Honorary Award from Namik Kemal University in Turkey (2016). And yet, it is perhaps through his local exhibitions—such as those regularly hosted at Kunst & Musik Etage Hannover—that his work speaks most tenderly to its origins: not art for prestige, but for presence.
Lars Schumacher’s practice reminds us that art can exist in letters, in glances, in seeds, in shared meals. It is not only about showing something, but showing up.
chantal - photography series fem / women 2012
exhibition
2012 hanover 48h
2014 clemens galerien solingen
2015 rathaus barsinghausen
postcard series - lonely
postcard series - lonely
st. paul's cathedral - photograpy series desire for emotion / sehnsuch nach einem gefühl
social sculpture - front of stage collage
love, place du tertre - photograpy series desire for emotion / sehnsuch nach einem gefüh
social sculptur - arts birthday 2023
social sculptur - arts birthday 2018
exhibition poster - co - initiator
mail art exhibition - initiator
postcard published in assembling KART MAGAZIN by David Dellafiora [Australia] in
125 in KART 04/2023
119 in KART 05/2022
artcards published in CIRCULAIRE132 MAGAZIN by R. F. Côté, Canada in
circulaire 132 issuu No. 356 04/2023
circulaire 132 issuu No. 354 04/2023
circulaire 132 issuu No. 353 03/2023
circulaire 132 issuu No. 345 01/2023
circulaire 132 issuu No. 344 01/2023
circulaire 132 issuu No. 343 12/2022
circulaire 132 issuu No. 342 12/2022
circulaire 132 issuu No. 318 04/2022
circulaire 132 issuu No. 317 04/2022
circulaire 132 issuu No. 316 03/2022
artcards for the attic zine
by Nicola Winborn from UK in
Attic Zine No. 23 (Blue 5) 06/22
Attic Zine No. 15 (Rooftop Terrace) 10/21
Arnolfini Mini[e]MailArt from Hungary
No. 61 sculptures
No. 60 phones
No. 59 bicycles
No. 58 packages
No. 57 doorways
No. 56 bridges
No. 55 bottles
No. 54 wheels
No. 53 robots
No. 52 mask
No. 51 shoes
No. 50 postcards
No. 49 lights
No. 48 frame
No. 46 flower
No. 45 windows
No. 44 sporting goods
No. 40 eyes
brain cell by Ryosuke Cohen from japan
edition 40 coronavirus 04/21
edition brain cell No.1009, No. 1070,
No. 1112, No. 1139, No. 1158
under construction
STAMPZINE by Picasso Gaglione from USA
under construction
Miss Maximas's Goth Emporium from USA
photograpy series - love
beard gallery by Fulgor Silvi from Italy
with the photo "ANDY" (Lars Schumacher)
mail art exhibition - initiator
mail art exhibition - initiator
mail art exhibition - initiator
LINK & MORE INFORMATION
IMAGED WORDS AND WORDED IMAGES, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Australien (2022)
AN ISLAND FAR FAR AWAY, Post Office & Philatelic Bureau, Tristan da Cunha (2020)
IN MEMORIAM TO EMILIO CARRASCO, Zacatecas City, Mexiko (2021)
A BOOK ABOUT DEATH (seit 2009) – vertreten u. a. im Musée de la Poste (Paris), ARTPOOL (Budapest), Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.), Karuizawa New Art Museum (Japan)
KART No. 119 – Joyce Ulysses 100th Anniversary, hrsg. von D. Dellafiora (2022)
Collage No. 19, hrsg. von A. Aguado Ortuno (2022)
Book of Collage – Eyes, hrsg. von S. Silverman & L. Schumacher (2022)
Brain Cell #1112 & #1139, Ryosuke Cohen (2021–2022)
The Artistamp Revue #17, hrsg. von A. Roussopoulos (2022)
Artist Matter No. 01 – A Mail Art Zine about Visual Poetry, hrsg. von H. Braumüller & T. Reuscher (2019)
20 – Geboren op de dag dat de Mauer fiel, TV-Miniserie, Produktion: The Jam Department / Heleen Gerritsen (2009)
10:15 Saturday Night, Filmausschnitt Medienhaus Burgdorf e.V. auf Youtube "Suchbegriff "Hannover Ende der 80iger"
Les Archives du Cœur - Kunstprojekt von Christian Boltanskis Museum Insel Teshima [Recherche vor Ort nach nach Lars Schumacher]
The Ocean Between 2 – Internationales Kunstsymposium 2019, hrsg. von M. Buchwald, International Art Adventures (2019)
Acro Gym – Katalog zum Mail Art Projekt (2018–2019), Hrsg. Chrystobal / Roelands Iluna (2020)
bra-participation, BoD – Books on Demand (2016)
1945 – Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Mail Art Projekt, Kunstraum Reuter (2020)
(R)Evolution, Markgräfler Museum, Katalog / Buch zur Ausstellung Eigenverlag Markgräfler Museum (2025)
Sende mir dein Licht, Ausstellungskatalog Lichthof Kunstfabrik, Bremen, 2021
Lady Madonna - The Woman with one Thousend Names, Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, s-Hertogenbosch (NL) 2018-2019
The Monk - Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, s-Hertogenbosch (NL) 2019
KUNST vernetzt - Kunsthaus Nordstemmen (2016)
KUNST vernetzt - 31 Künstlerinnen aus Hannover, Galerie Carlshöhe, Eckernförde (2015)
Book for Mail Art, Karuizawa New Art Museum (2018)
abgezoomt – 10 Jahre Kinder- und Jugendfilm in Hamburg, KoPäd Verlag (1998)
Jugend-Medien-Treff – Wege zur Medienkompetenz, Kulleraugen-Medienschriften (1997)
(R)Evolution, Markgräfler Museum, Katalog / Buch zur Ausstellung Eigenverlag Markgräfler Museum (2025)
Lars Schumacher – The Artist Who Turns Everyday Things into Magic
Lars was born in a small town in Germany in 1971. As a kid, he loved looking at the world with curious eyes — not just at what things were, but what they could become. Instead of just watching movies, he wanted to make his own. At age 18, he created his first films about young people and how their world was changing — and guess what? People all over Europe watched them!
Later, Lars and his brother made more short movies, even ones that won prizes. But Lars wanted to do more than just films — he wanted everyone to have a chance to tell their stories. So he helped make a small TV station that showed videos from local people. Imagine turning your own video into a TV show!
As he grew older, Lars began creating all kinds of art — photos, books, stamps, mail, and even small objects — but what made his art truly special was this: He invited other people to take part. He asked questions like:
Can a letter be a work of art?
Can planting a seed be creative?
What happens when we make art together — even without paint or clay?
His art traveled the world, reaching museums from Japan to Argentina. But Lars didn’t just make art to hang on walls — he made art to share, to remember, and to ask big questions:
“Who am I?”
“What do we forget?”
“How can we understand each other better?”
He even made a project where children helped plant real seeds — not just in the ground, but in their imagination.
Lars shows us that you don’t have to be a famous painter to be an artist. You can be one by writing a letter, making a collage from old tickets, planting a flower for someone you love, or taking a picture of your favorite corner in the world. His work tells us:
Art doesn’t always sit in a museum. Sometimes, it lives in your hands.