Paper objects with the figures named „The beer people“ from Dolores Flores.
Dolores Flores is a sculptor and musician she created „the beer people“, coincidentally many years ago in an old Berliner beer bar, after a band rehearsal. The inspiration came from the tissue paper ring that is attached to the bottom of a fresh taped beer glass to absorb the foam drippings, a German tradition named „tropfenfänger“. While fumbling around with this tissue paper ring, the „beer people“ came to life. What started off playfully has now evolved into a complete artistic concept. Each figure is an original, folded and torn into form made out of one single tissue paper ring. On each figure nothing is added just the excessive paper is torn away, then the figures are attached to a tooth pick, for stability. All of these small figures, female or male, have their own expression and character with diverse poses and movements. They are full of individuality, though each one is made out of the exact same material, the tissue paper „tropfen fänger“. Until now over 6500 figures have been produced for these works : multimedia installations, luminescent object boxes, post cards and video works. Here the „beer people“, are set up in diverse constellations, and a new generation is created for every new exhibition. The theme is observation, of our society in our time with the problems of globalization, rising population, mass consumption, medial overflow and social and ecological discrepancies.
The „Beer people“ represent a hopeful and idealistic society searching for new solutions and perspectives, promoting freedom of thought and action. Questioning individuality and societies value system, invoking new ideas and thoughts as a chance for a process of regeneration in a complicated and quite uniformed negative world. The unfolded tissue paper rings represent the masses that are thoughtlessly waiting, they just exist as orderly piles of this material in rows. This is a contemplative concept where these paper figures functions as a playful expedient supporting the narrative aspect.
