Hendrick Goltzius Reimagined: Defying Time with Graffiti’s Raw Urge
- Categories Experience, Painting
Art is rebellion. Art is permanence. Art is the act of leaving something behind in a world where everything is fleeting.
When Hendrick Goltzius etched his iconic copper engraving “Homo Bulla” in 1594, he asked the question, “Qvis evadet”—”Who can escape?” He wasn’t merely alluding to death but to the deep, gnawing truth that all things, even beauty, fade into the void. And yet, in our urban landscapes, we see defiance splashed across concrete, brick, and steel—graffiti, the art of saying “I was here” in the face of an indifferent world.
Enter a young artist who has dared to confront the timeless with the ephemeral. Taking Goltzius’ “Homo Bulla,” this artist merges the classical with the raw grit of street art, asking the same question Goltzius did, but through the lens of modern graffiti. It’s a process that spans six months, a journey full of waiting, contemplation, and unexpected moments of action. This isn’t just art; it’s a statement, a conversation between centuries, echoing with the persistent human need to be remembered, to make a mark.
The Journey Begins with Goltzius
Step one: choosing the foundation. Our artist finds the perfect reproduction of “Homo Bulla” on allposters.com, the classic image of a bubble—a symbol of life’s fragility. But the real spark doesn’t ignite until months later, during a trip to Leipzig. Walking through its streets, the artist stumbles upon a simple, yet bold tag: “$WIZZ WAS HERE.” In those three words lies everything graffiti stands for—presence, identity, resistance. It triggers a realization: this journey is not just about creating art but fighting against obscurity, fighting to be seen, to be known, to be permanent in a world obsessed with erasing and forgetting.
The Tag that Changed Everything
Weeks go by, as inspiration simmers. The right tools—carefully chosen—are finally at hand: a dripstick, its inky contents like a timebomb waiting to explode on the carefully curated surface of the classic engraving. But there’s fear. There’s hesitation. After all, this isn’t just any surface—it’s a reproduction of an immortal masterpiece, hanging near the delicate oak parquet of an artist’s apartment. But after months of self-doubt and procrastination, it happens.
In 10 seconds that timeless bubble—fragile, fleeting—is violently disrupted by the bold stroke of graffiti. It’s a split-second act, but it reverberates through time, merging the Renaissance with the streets, connecting a centuries-old question of mortality with today’s desperate need to be remembered.
It’s defiance. It’s art in its rawest form.
The Art of Rebellion
What drives a graffiti artist to leave their mark? What drives any human to create? It’s the same force that made Goltzius ask, “Who can escape?” No one can escape death, but we can resist the fleeting nature of life by leaving something behind. Graffiti is that resistance. It’s a shout against erasure, against time itself, with every line and tag pushing against the inevitable.
This artist’s work is more than just a remix of the past; it’s a bold claim to existence, a protest against the void, and an invitation for us all to leave our marks, no matter how impermanent the canvas.
Spirit of the Process:
| Phase | Moment in the Journey | Time Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Search Begins: Scouring allposters.com for the perfect piece—Goltzius’ “Homo Bulla,” a fragile bubble frozen in time, echoing mortality. | 3 weeks |
| 2 | First Encounter: The engraving takes its place on the wall—silent, observing, waiting to be transformed. | 30 minutes |
| 3 | The Long Gaze: Six weeks of quiet contemplation. The bubble whispers, and the mind drifts. An unspoken dialogue begins between centuries. | 6 weeks |
| 4 | The Leipzig Revelation: In a twist of fate, “$WIZZ WAS HERE” catches the artist’s eye on a graffiti-covered wall, igniting an idea. A serendipitous flatshare casting trip becomes a spark of inspiration. | 3 days |
| 5 | The Search for the Weapon: Hours spent seeking the perfect tool—a dripstick. It’s not just a pen; it’s a voice, a strike of rebellion, with a color that bleeds resistance. | 10 hours |
| 6 | The Dance of Fear: Back and forth with the dripping ink, carried cautiously around the apartment like a loaded weapon, threatening the precious oak parquet below. | 2 days |
| 7 | The Quiet Before the Storm: Months pass, life moves on. The vision fades into the background—a forgotten rebellion. | 4 months |
| 8 | A Sudden Urge: In one fleeting, electrifying minute, the moment arrives. The picture, once still, is now charged with possibility. The artist’s hand moves. | 1 minute |
| 9 | The Defiant Act: In ten seconds, the ancient meets the contemporary. A single, bold stroke of graffiti collides with Goltzius’ vision. History shudders. | 10 seconds |
Total Time: 6 months, 1 week, 5 days, 10 hours, 31 minutes, 10 seconds
QVIS EVADET?
Flos novus, et verna fragrans argenteus aura /Marcescit subito, perit, ali, perit illa venustas. / Sic et vita hominum iam nunc nascentibus, cheu, / Instar abit bullas vanitas elapsa vaporis.
Die frische Blume, leuchtend im Frühling und duftend, verwelkt plötzlich und die Schönheit vergeht schnell. So vergeht auch das Leben der eben Geborenen und entflieht gleich einer Seifenblase aus leerem Dunst.
MARKUS WAS HERE
