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Artist Wolfgang Flad lives and works in Berlin. The 38-year old was born and raised in Reutlingen, pretty close to the premises of Krug & Priester. After his studies at the University of Applied Sciences (textile design) in Reutlingen, and subsequent training at the Academy of Fine Arts (painting) in Stuttgart, Wolfgang Flad was attracted by Berlin, the metropolis of arts. Right from the beginning, he committed himself to abstraction, which is visible in his sculptures and mural reliefs. 

Mr. Flad, what is the common ground between the document shredder and your pieces of art? 

My sculptures are made of wood and papier mâché, which I generate from shredded art critiques, art magazines, art catalogues and exhibition invitations. I am excited by the idea of making pieces of art with simple material, in such a way that they are not associated with recycling but with classical sculpturing, and thus create their very own, seductive form language. 

How did you run across IDEAL Document Shredders?

I had grappled for long enough with conventional shredding machines, which ran hot, required a long cooling down period, got jammed and gave up the ghost right after warranty expired. Since I need big amounts of shredded paper, I was sooner or later looking for information about professional machines, and this is how I found IDEAL. 

Which IDEAL shredder do you work with in your artist´s workshop? 

Thanks to your commitment to my art, I am recently in a position to work with the IDEAL 2604 Cross Cut model. This is an enormous improvement compared to the machines I had used before, and now I do not have any bottlenecks due to insufficient quantities of shredded paper. 

What do you like most about this shredding machine? 

It has exactly the right capacity and size to shred big amounts of paper within the shortest time, and to collect them in a big shred bin. Independent from its capacity, the machine is also looking good. Its design is plain and it integrates nicely and quietly into my working environment. I created a special corner, where I mix the shreds with a rotary stirrer in buckets for the production of papier mâché on a large scale, to model and cover later on the wooden matrix. 

Which projects are imminent and how will our IDEAL shredder support you?

My biggest project so far was an installation in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, Netherlands. It was at the same time the endurance test for the shredder, which it passed with flying colours. For this work I built a huge amount of biomorphic skeletal structures, and installed them in the showroom partially pending. The structures acted like a prehistoric skeleton, like the result of a science fiction invasion or like the snap shot of liquid, thrown inside the room. By experience, I succeeded in creating for every single contemplator his or her own range of interpretation. As of the middle of January, I will show a comparable installation in the Gallery for Contemporary Art, Grölle-Pass Project, in Wuppertal (www.groelle.de). Group exhibitions will follow, and I am waiting for the next opportunity, to realise a big installation in a room of art or in a public building.