In these times, when the whole world is looking to Gaza, we would like to publish a very special interview we did with the German artist Volker-Johannes Trieb. His artwork "forx. pitchforks for peace" is the symbol of the 375th anniversary celebrations of the Peace of Westphalia and was solemnly handed over at the ceremony on 30 September.

1648 pitchforks, each with a piece of wood on its tip, were laid partially over the part of the town hall where the Friedenssaal (Peace Hall) is located. This is the hall in which the Treaties of Osnabrück and Münster were signed on 24 October 1648. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War, brought Germany religious peace and a new peace order in Europe.

The artist chose the pitchfork because for him they are the symbol of defensibility against those in power. He states in his manifesto that the greatest human catastrophe of the 30 Years War was not the deaths on the battlefields, but the deaths in looting, pillaging and rape among the civilian population, by soldiers. People could only have defended themselves with everyday objects, not least pitchforks. In times of flight, hunger, fear and exclusion in the world, he said, a society had to consciously decide against the evolutionary idea of the victory of the strongest, and only in the sign of this solidarity was a just world peace possible. For the artist, the Peace of Westphalia was a peace agreement without accusations of guilt. With his pitchforks, he wants to set a sign of simple living, which, in connection with democratic processes, should send out a perspective of lasting change. A resistance of the victims.

An earlier project of the artist's that we would also like to point out was "Welt Gewissen Katar", an art action in the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar to make a statement for the many thousands of guest workers who died on the construction sites of the World Cup in Qatar.

27 October 2023

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Name: Volker-Johannes Trieb

Occupation: Artist, Activist

Residence: Osnabrück

Johannes Trieb, forx.pitchforks for peace ©Hermann Pentermann

"Peace and freedom are the themes that move me most as an artist."



I read about your work "World Conscience Qatar" and was very moved by it. But your latest work is also very topical in these frightening times.How did you experience the celebrations of the 375th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia? What moments moved you personally? 

Peace and freedom are the themes that move me most as an artist. Both are the source for artistic creation, in which creativity can develop into art. There were the most diverse worlds of experience last year. On the one hand, the question of how the idea of peace can be carried from Osnabrück into the world. And on the other hand, the sense of unity among the people of Osnabrück. In the case of the former, one naturally asks oneself how one can influence the things that happen in the world. For me, the answer is: doing nothing is not an alternative.

We have to believe in world peace, as impossible as it may seem. The self-fulfilling prophecy. 

And secondly: In the city of Osnabrück there were great moments of civic understanding and community. Just on 25.10.2023, exactly 375 years to the day after peace was concluded, 5000 people marched from the Westphalian Peace Town Hall singing to the cathedral. It was very moving.

Johannes Trieb, forx.pitchforks for peace ©Hermann Pentermann

Can you tell the readers how you were approached by the city about the project? You also write in your manifesto that the Peace of Westphalia was a peace agreement and that Osnabrück offered a perspective of lasting change.

"The Peace of Westphalia is the first peace that was not concluded through military strength, but through diplomacy. These paths are particularly in demand at times of war in the Middle East, Syria, Africa and Ukraine."

Every 25 years, the city of Osnabrück tries to set a special sign for peace that goes beyond Osnabrück. In these times of world strife and climate change - civilisation's war on the planet - engaging with the past takes on a whole other dimension. 

"We need to talk to each other on a large and small scale. We need images in everyday life that make the issue of peace visible in everyday life."

The Peace of Westphalia is the first peace that was not concluded through military strength, but through diplomacy. These paths are particularly in demand at times of war in the Middle East, Syria, Africa and Ukraine. The pitchfork, painted white with a piece of wood on its tips, is not to be used for farming or for annoying each other. Its sole purpose is to engage in discourse. 

We need to talk to each other on a large and small scale. We need images in everyday life that make the issue of peace visible in everyday life. Human labour, which the pitchfork stands for, can lead to the welfare and destruction of the planet. Pax optima rerum - Peace is the best of all things. We just have to do the best we can every day. 

What was it like for you as an artist to be able to create a work in honour of this important year?

A Roman quote says: "It is not the place that honours the man, but the man the place". Making art is not self-gratification. Of course I try to put my actions in a social context. From that point of view, I don't think it has anything to do with honour, it is simply my work to do so.

How did you get inspired to make the artwork out of pitchforks?

The biggest theme of my work is everyday culture "the sanctification of everyday culture." And it is for this that the pitchfork is a great sign.

Is it still possible to purchase the forks as individual works of art by you? To which drinking water project in Africa will the proceeds of the artworks go?

The "forx forks" can be purchased for 100 €. The proceeds from the sale will go to the project that I am initiating worldwide together with Rotary and whose goal is to acquire donations for water projects in disadvantaged countries.

Johannes Trieb, forx.pitchforks for peace ©Hermann Pentermann