Arty & Rupi

Working closely with Mirabelle Spreckelsen, Head of Art Education, the two asked themselves how they could illustrate the two different locations of the museum for children. What would the old Rupertinum in the old part of town look like as a person and how would the square museum building on the Mönchsberg look like?

Mirabelle: Arty and Rupi got their names from their locations and their studios. Arty lives on the Mönchsberg in the Amalie-Redlich-Turm, where the art education studio is also located. Internally abbreviated as ART, meaning art in German, which is also our favorite topic. Rupi refers to the original building of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg in the old town of Salzburg. In 1983 the former seminary “Collegium Rupertinum” was converted into our museum and modern art was exhibited. It is still known today under the name Rupertinum, after St. Rupert, the patron saint of the State of Salzburg.

Cristina, how would you describe our Rupi?

Cristina: If Rupi could talk, he would say something like: you can spill here! You can usually find him in the roof studio of the Rupertinum, where our children's studios take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Blots and traces of paint are not only found on the pictures, but also on his painter's coat, which is also a bit too big for him. Rupi is a bit smaller than Arty, but it doesn't matter. That is why he often stands on a stack of books from our archive, which by the way can also be found there. Even if Rupi seems a bit dreamy and sometimes a bit fluffy, he is very well informed about the art in the Museum der Moderne Salzburg. Probably because of the many books that he reads when he is not painting or walking through the exhibitions.

An you our Arty?

Mirabelle: Arty is very active and quite curious! She always has a pencil with her, practically clamped behind her ear so that she can quickly draw her impressions into her sketchbook. Many pockets are sewn into her clothes so that she can either take her pencil, magnifying glass or whatever she finds in the forest on the Mönchsberg. In contrast to Rupi, Arty has very pointed features, such as her nose and shoes. Arty is also always interested in the latest things that are happening in the art world and accompanies many children in the museum.

What was it like for you to convert all these features of Rupi and Arty into figures?

Cristina: Our work as art educators in both houses certainly helped to better understand the mood of the two locations. That in turn helped us a lot in the development of the characters. For me personally, such discussions are an important starting point for getting creative and implementing ideas visually. Then it's time to sketch. You feel your way through many drawings, discard some things and at some point in a conversation you realize that that's it! Surprisingly, however, both figures have gained something independent and new. You don't always have to double everything. For example: our Rupi is not an old man just because the Rupertinum is a historical building and older than the location on the Mönchsberg.

Mirabelle: Arty and Rupi will also accompany us at the upcoming exhibitions, whether in our Young Museum Folder or in our kindergarten workshops. This time they dealt with the artist Wilhelm Thöny, who will be shown in the Museum der Moderne Salzburg on the Mönchsberg from the end of April. Rupi likes Thöny very much, because in his colorful pictures he spills as much as Rupi in the children's studio. Arty is also enthusiastic about Thöny's love of travel, who has seen and painted much of the world from Paris to New York.

We, Arty, Rupi, Cristina and Mirabelle, hope you enjoy the upcoming adventures in the museum!