these can be
discovered and read like characters on the wall. once you have understood the code you can detect short fragments of sentences in the inscribed images:
"beeren sammeln" (collect berries), "mammut erlegen" (slay mammoth), "feuer zuenden" (light fire).
the encoded inscriptions reveal images. they point to the era of hunters and collectors and to life in the old stone age. the panels seem to hint at the beginnings of art: cave painting. "in this
way i want to inspire associations with forms of communication from early history", franz betz confirms, declaring that the inscribing of characters and images is one of the most primitive techniques imaginable, which he takes up using modern methods of representation.
the basis for the "images rupestres" are composite aluminium panels. according to the specifications of a digital template, the inscriptions are made on them using a machine. the computer-controlled
transfer method is followed by "other manual steps", franz betz explains.
franz betz highlights the inscribed marks in several layers of colour. he alludes to the first materials in art history to be used to for wall painting, i.e. charcoal or blood. however, the first attempts showed that black was not suitable because no shading is formed by light playing on the surface. red acrylic paint has the desired effect, however. 
the artist finally works on the panels using rough grinding tools in order to "give the surface a face". for franz betz, the "images rupestres" continue his exploration of the subject of surfaces and textures. he plays with forms, creates new structures and alludes to
the special aesthetics of work traces. this also explains the special appeal of his wooden sculptures, from the steles and "heads" to the "red shoes" and "grüngras".
the characters themselves are based on the "lines". franz betz designed this sketchy letter code with spontaneous élan in 1999 in order to reinvent the forms of the alphabet from "a" to "z". the artist
last used the "lines" in his light sculptures and "plotworks".
the distances between the inscribed letters vary. franz betz plays an associative pictorial game with them. for example, the "b ee r en"
(berries) grow dotted around in the woods whereas the two middle letters of "ma mm ut" (mammoth) protrude from the face like tusks. the first "images rupestres" were made on panels measuring 150 x 50 cm , but franz betz doesn't want to be restricted to these dimensions: "these are scalable works of art."
the three panels created up to now will be followed by others. a total number of twenty individual works is planned, with inscriptions such
as "faehrte lessen" (read tracks), "wasser schoepfen" (draw water) or "schmerz lindern" (ease the pain). an overall picture then develops from them. "the series is intended to tell a story", franz betz says. he adds that the life of our ancestors described in this way allows us to become conscious of our own existential needs too. "what is the core", franz betz asks, "what motivates us?"
text: mark preisegger
photos: frîa hagen
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