MARKO POGAČNIK

Marko Pogačnik was born 1944 in Kranj, Slovenia. He earned his degree in sculpture at the Academy od Fine Arts in Ljubljana 1967. He lives, with his family, in Šempas, Slovenia.

Pogačnik is one of the founders of OHO. Between 1965 and 1971 he worked as a member of the OHO group in the fields of conceptual art and land-art. His art practice during the OHO period included drawings, comics, performance, experimental film, concrete poetry (published in the Eva Almanac, Pericarežeracirep, Katalog, Katalog 2 and in the OHO Editions) and essays. From 1964 Pogačnik created “products” (imprints of everyday objects in plaster), followed by works based on strict numerical programs. In 1969 he developed installations based on the relationships of elements within the same “family” of items. His exhibitions include the Information Show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York 1970, Aktionsraum, in Munich in 1970, and the Global Conceptualism Show 1950-80, at the Queens Museum of Art in New York, 1999.

In 1971 he founded, together with his family and friends, a rural and artistic community, the “Family of Šempas” at Šempas, Slovenia, which existed until 1978. Exhibitions by the Family include Trigon 1977 in Graz and the Venice Biennalle of 1978.

Since 1979, Pogačnik has been engaged in geomantic and Earth healing work. In the mid 80-s he developed a method of Earth healing similar to acupuncture. He used stone pillars with carved cosmograms, and positioned them on acupuncture points on a chosen landscape, and named it “lithopuncture”.

Lithopuncture works include:

Lithopuncture of two castle parks in Germany, Türnich (1986-89) and Cappenberg (1988-92),

Lithopuncture of the territory on both sides of the border between North Ireland and Republics of Ireland, Orchard Gallery, Derry (1991-92)

Lithopuncture of the urban ambiences of Villach (1995), Klagenfurt, (1998), Bad Radkersburg (2001) and Nova Gorica (2001-02), St,Veit a.d.Glann (2004)

“Alpenstern”, a crossalpic lithopuncture project with lithopuncture stones in Italy (Merano), Austria (Villach), Slovenia (Maribor) and Germany (Chiemsee) (1997).

Lithopuncture of Circuito das Aguas, Minas Gerais, Brasil (1998)

Seeland lithopuncture network, Switherland (1998-2002)

Aachen lithopuncture network, Ludwig Forum Aachen, (1999)

Lithopuncture project on both sides of the border between Austria and Slovenia in Carinthia, (1999-2002), etc.

Lithopuncture of the urban environment of Quito, Ecuador (2003)

Lithopuncture of the urban environment of Zagreb (2004)

His books in English, published by the Findhorn Press: Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings (1996) Healing the Heart of the Earth (1998) Christ Power and the Earth Goddess (1999) Earth Changes, Human Destiny (2000) The Daughter of Gaia (2001), Turned Upside Down (2004), Sacred Geography (2007)

He teaches geomancy on the School for Geomancy “Hagia Chora”, Germany, runs courses on wholistic ecology, geomancy and personal development in many countries worldwide, and provides counseling on the issues of urban development and landscape design.

His main themes are: multidimensionality of the landscape and urban ambience, communication with different facets of nature, the rediscovery of the feminine principle, the present Earth changes and human transformation.

In 1991 Marko Pogačnik has designed the official coat of arms and the flag of the newly constituted Republics of Slovenia.

www.markopogacnik.com