It is clear that ethics cannot be put into words.
Ethics is transcendental.
(Ethics and aesthetics are one and the same.) Wittgenstein
My creative practice is driven by a radically skeptical relationship to language. I am not simply skeptical of certain concepts, discourses, or perspectives, but of the very means whereby we articulate all of our certainties and doubts, about ourselves and about our world.
Stemming from this ambivalent fascination with language, my work deals with different aspects of communication, from the simple, personal articulation of ideas and beliefs through action and utterance, to the more complex communal communication expressed through media and technology. I am also interested in the communication of the social, as in the ways we are conditioned by the laws, traditions and behavioral norms of state and cultural institutions. I am especially interested in the communication of power as it is exercised both symbolically and physically, from the soft power of a government’s theatrical authority, information controls and economic policies, to the hard power of its policing, punishment, and legitimate violence.
My artwork aims for a high degree of legibility but also emphasizes the many ambiguities and contradictions that assertive, didactic language can so readily obscure. Thus with my installations and sculptures I am creating something that is simultaneously intelligible and questionable. I want the terms of my aesthetic inquiry to be clear, but I deliberately make no assumptions about potential answers to either the questions raised or the implications suggested. These are the quandaries that I hope my viewers will be willing to take up and weigh between their own two hands. Much as my objects express ideas of absurdity, my video and performance work represents my struggle to make sense of my feelings of absurdity. By forcing myself to enact and endure difficult and repetitive metaphors for the mundane routines imposed upon all of us by the everyday requirements of living, I am able to make physically manifest my commitment to life and work despite their appearances of vanity and absurdity. I hope that the performances’ good-natured ridiculousness and earnest durations impart to viewers a tireless affirmation of living, even in the face of its sometimes-apparent meaninglessness and often-justifiable despair.
My evolving body of work is essentially a work of philosophy, but due to a deep-seated mistrust of language, rhetoric, and the ends to which they may lead us, it is an inquiry I can only maintain via the sculptural, the physical, and the performative. In all, my work seeks to create a dialogue where the questions posed must be posed as objects and the answers derived must be proven not in words, but by action.
Give and Take, 2007 – 57:49 mins
Dietmar Krumrey – Mt. Pleasant Michigan
17 Days Video Series 
Thanks for sharing these great ideas. I’m bookmarking this for future reference. Some of these I already do, so the point resonated most strongly with me. Keep feeding the creativity. I am currently on holiday so, for this reason, I’ve nothing better to do than surf the web for art, lie around and update my blog. Well, more or less anyway.
Doug C
I think it is wonderful that the first person to be highlighted in this exhibition was able to come to the Frostic School of Art to speak with the students! It was a pleasure to hear what Dietmar had to say about his art and have him answer our questions.
I must admit that the series of videos on the complexities of language and ‘monotony’ are brilliant in the sense of “I wish I thought of that first!” They are simple, yet there is an understanding that a lot of previsualization that went into them. Great work.
the duality that exists between the simplicity of your imagery/videos and the complexity found within the meaning/reasoning is brilliant!…..the complexity of simplicity…. genius!!
It was great to have a presentation from the artist behind this video; it certainly helped to clarify the some of the ideas behind his concept. The unobscured repetition presented are misleadingly simple.
After seeing this video series I began to look closer at the repetition in daily life, but also got me thinking about how communicating an idea could relate to video. Actually having you come and discuss how these videos came about helped to kick start my thinking about the use of video in art making, a well as how linear video as opposed to manipulated video, can be just as effective in communicating an idea.
it was very interesting to have Dietmar visit and speek about the videos that he made. its not everyday that you get a first hand explanation from the artist and his own personal experiences or thoughts about the work he is producing.