Photo Gallery Spray Paint Savior
A church in the German village of Goldscheuer was threatened with closure as worshippers stayed away in droves. But then the parish priest met a graffiti artist, and the story of a divine rescue plan began to unfold. Here, the interior of the Catholic parish church in Goldscheuer, which has been transformed into a modern work of art.
With less than 3 percent of Catholics in the village actually attending mass, the church had been threatened with closure. But the community raised enough money to save the building.
Stefan Strumbel, 32, was the man who helped breathe new life into the church.
The graffiti artist working in his studio in Offenburg. He has become well known, and has been profiled in the New York Times.
Strumbel's main theme is the concept of Heimat or home. He works with traditional costume from the local area, including this Black Forest Bollenhut hat and...
...cuckoo clocks. He wants to force his audience to confront their own ideas of what home and local identity means.
Various items litter the floor of his workshop. Strumbel has been working with religious motifs as well as secular symbols.
The artist sought theological advice on working with religious symbols...
...from Father Thomas Braunstein. The priest showed him the church in Goldscheuer, and Strumbel was taken with the interior.
Here, the crucifixion scene has been taken down from the wall while Strumbel installs LED lights to illuminate it.
The artist was bursting with creative ideas, and persuaded Father Braunstein to let him decorate the entire interior of the church.
The most prominent work is a giant picture of the Madonna with the Baby Jesus which Strumbel has sprayed onto the wall.
The six-meter high image is above the gallery, over the entrance.
In the picture, Strumbel has dressed the Madonna in the region's traditional costume.
