Charles Paul Wilp

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Charles Paul Wilp (15 September 1932, in Witten – 2 January 2005, in Düsseldorf) was a German advertising-designer, artist, photographer and short-movie-editor.

## Study and career

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After school at the humanistic Ruhr-high school and after studying at the Jesuit-father François Xavier in Vannes, Wilp went to the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. He completed his wide-ranging education at the TH Aachen in synaesthesia, journalism, art and psychology. He was also student of Man Ray in New York.

Wilp developed a few of the most important advertisement campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s: Puschkin („Wodka für harte Männer“, 1963), Pirelli and Volkswagen (VW-Käfer-Slogan: „Und läuft ... und läuft ... und läuft“). He was also an image consultant for major politicians, like Willy Brandt.

## Aerospace and art

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In 1960, Yves Klein declared Wilp as Prince of Space. Wilp's interest in aerospace influenced also his most famous campaign in 1968 for the soft drink Afri-Cola, Slogan: „Super-sexy-mini-flower-pop-op-cola – alles ist in Afri-Cola“

Famous models of 1960s like Marianne Faithfull, Amanda Lear, Donna Summer, Marsha Hunt were photographed behind windows with ice-crystals.

## Artist's friends

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The art-book "Dazzledorf" (which presents in its subtitle the town of Düsseldorf as suburb of the world) with samples also of a few of his artists-friends like Ewald Mataré, Yves Klein, Andy Warhol, Mel Ramos, Otto Piene, Heinz Mack, Günther Uecker, Joseph Beuys gives a good impression of the art and style of this artist. Wilp also had contact with the artists Michael (Mike) Jansen, Helmut Tollmann and Joe Brockerhoff.

## Exhibitions

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* In 2008, the exhibition Zero G. The Artronaut Charles Wilp took place at the Braunschweig University of Fine Arts.[1] It was curated by Marie-Luise Heuser, Annette Tietenberg, and Ingrid Schmidt-Winkeler.[2] Accompanying the exhibition was the scientific and interdisciplinary conference Planetary Perspectives.[3] The contributions were pubhished.[4]
* In 2010, in the lecture series Culture and Spaceflight at the Haus der Wissenschaft Braunschweig, the Director of Solar System Research at ESA/ESAC in Madrid and manager of the Rosetta Mission, Gerhard Schwehm, spoke about The Importance of Art in Spaceflight - Charles Wilp.[5]
* In his native town of Witten, a museum with his works was set up in 2012 under the name Charles Wilp Space in a disused pump house of the local waterworks. The exterior eye-catcher was a Futuro, like the one Wilp used in Düsseldorf. The museum was closed a few years later and the exhibits sold and lent to various international museums.

## Collection

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Some of his photos can be found today in Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.

## Literature

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Wilp, Charles, Dazzledorf. Photography and texts by Charles Wilp. (texts German, English, Japanese, Arabian)o.J. Wilp, Charles, Bundeskanzleramt. Inter Nationes, Bonn 1970, Wilp, Charles, Wilp-Girl 70 : Charles Wilp present 12 Playgirls aus 5 Kontinenten

## Works

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* Konsumrealismus, Documenta 5 in Kassel, 1972
* Kunstblätter „Blick aus dem All“, 26. April bis 6. Mai 1993 in Oberpfaffenhofen (aerospace-mission D2)

## Film-documentation

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* Der gelbe Wellenmacher. German TV-documentation by Klaus Peter Dencker, ARD 1977
* monks - the transatlantic feedback. A documentary film about Wilp's collaboration with the first avant-garde pop band The Monks, USA/Germany/Spain 2006

## Discography

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* Prince Of Space, Musik Der Leere \- (1965, Sight & Sound Production), with Yves Klein
* Charles Wilp Fotografiert Bunny \- (1965, Ata Tak)
* Michelangelo In Space - The Bunny Remixes \- (2000, Ata Tak)

## Dedicated museums and collections

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His native town Witten (situated in the Ruhr region) has just established a Charles Wilp museum called "Charles Wilp Space".

## References

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1. ^ https://www.kultur-raumfahrt.de/reihe/bilder/; concept of Marie-Luise Heuser and the research group "Space and Culture".
2. ^ Thomas Wagner, Zero G oder Der Rausch der Schwerelosigkeit, in: Stylepark, 14.11.2008: http://www.stylepark.com/de/news/zero-g-oder-der-rausch-der-schwerelosigkeit/286322; Manfred Schwarz, 2.11.2008: https://www.welt.de/wams_print/article2661562/Die-Hoehenfluege-des-Charles-Wilp.html
3. ^ The program of the conference: http://www.kultur-raumfahrt.de/prog/pp_ws0809.pdf
4. ^ Annette Tietenberg, Tristan Weddigen (Ed.): Planetarische Perspektiven. Bilder der Raumfahrt (= Kritische Berichte. 37 (2009) 3), Marburg 2009.
5. ^ http://www.kultur-raumfahrt.de/prog/kur_ws0910.pdf.

## External links

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* Wilps Website ART AND SPACE / crosx mirror
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063205/http://www.fotogemeinschaft.de/v/fotografen/Klaus-Baum/documenta/charles+wilp+ulrike+lehmann_960_2.jpg.html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063230/http://www.fotogemeinschaft.de/v/fotografen/Klaus-Baum/documenta/charles+wilp+juergen+klauke+1000ra.jpg.html
* Wilp-Feature, shortlist 2005
* Musik von Charles Wilp
* Charles Wilp at Discogs

### External links to Afri-Cola-campaign

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* Historisches Afri-Cola Plakat
* Idea of the "afri-cola"-campaign

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data

Artists|

* ULAN
* MusicBrainz
* RKD Artists
* Photographers' Identities
* FID

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef