vita lang

My name is Muna Götze. I was born 1959 in Gaza/Palestine as Muna Al-Hammouri. Thanks to my Austrian mother I have Austrian citizenship. My Arab father died when I was just 6 months old. He left nine near-grown children - and me. At the age of two my mother decided to move with my two half-brothers from her first marriage and me to Beirut/Lebanon. Later we moved to Kuwait where I spent seven years of my childhood. Even in those childhood days I was the link between my families. I felt like the mediator between cultures, between Arabia and Europe. This was to be mirrored in my art work later on. When I was nine my mother decided to re-migrate to Europe - an undertaking that turned out to be not exactly simple considering her disposition: We had to experience life in some other countries first! We moved back to Austria via Iraq, Iran and Turkey. We lived in Austria – Vienna amongst several other places - for a few years before we moved to Germany. A bad car accident with a near-death experience interrupted my life violently at the age of 21 years. It was this experience, as I realized later in my life, which lead to my spirituality. Meanwhile I have been living in Nideggen/Eifel for many years. I have two sons of my own and four foster-sons, who I consider equally my own. For my husband and me our social commitment has always been first priority. In the past 24 years we have given a temporary home to 34 children, who needed shelter and care for various reasons. I have also been a volunteer worker for asylum seekers and other indigent people. Since my childhood was very unsteady (having changed schools 13 times) I chose to live a very sedentary life and tried to make sure my children have a stable, safe and secure home. Art runs in the family: My father was a writer and my mother a painter and sculptor (she died 2003). My mother was not only a master in the art of living but also a good artist with extraordinary paintings and sculptures. This proved counter productive for me since she considered my artwork not up to her expectations. Therefore I lacked the confidence to paint or to unfold my artistic side in general. On the contrary, I developed a phobia against art classes at school. In 2005 the "Gordian knot" was cut, my fear was taken away. Unconsciously all the artistic expression surfaced and since then I paint whenever I feel the need. I am autodidact and dare say that I found my own style: I prefer Acrylic paints and incorporated other materials mainly at the beginning of my painting career (sand, rose petals, bamboo, coffee powder, gold leaf, copper or even gypsum - whatever I got hold on. I get lost in my painting work, forget the time. It is like a meditation. My many experiences - positive ones as well as strokes of fate - partially shape my artwork. Me having become a mediator between Orient and Occident in my childhood, equally influence my artwork. I am looking forward to displaying my work and to share it with friends and other people. I remember the feelings each painting generated inside me while painting. - Yet not giving the painting a title, a theme, challenges the contemplator and leads to a very interesting and fascinating exchange of views. To feel with the observer, see with her/his eyes often shows parallels, interexchange and vibrancy. My paintings are meant to affect the observer!