Albrecht Behmel

Albrecht Behmel
Behmel in 2011 at Filmforum.
Born(1971-03-24)24 March 1971
Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
EducationUniversity of Heidelberg
Occupations
  • Novelist
  • screenwriter
  • essayist
Writing career
Pen nameAlbrecht, Timothy Patterson
Years active1999–present
Genrescomedy, drama, fantasy, non-fiction

Albrecht Behmel (German: [German: ˈalbʁɛçt ˈbeːməl]; born 24 March 1971) is a German artist, novelist, historian, non-fiction writer and award-winning playwright.

Surname and family history

Behmel is the son of the geologist Hermann Behmel and grandson of the architect Paul Behmel. The uncommon family name is a Germanicized form of the Czech given name Bogomil, and it was from Bohemia that their family emigrated to Saxony in the early 18th century. On his mother's side he is a descendant of Christoph Martin Wieland, a Swabian poet and writer of the Enlightenment.[citation needed]

Life

After working as a bouncer and a puppeteer in Paris, France, in the early 1990s, Behmel moved to Heidelberg, Germany to complete his studies in humanities. Here he was a fellow student of Silvana Koch-Mehrin and Gerrit Jasper Schenk as well as at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. He has published works on ancient history, Greek naval warfare, and early German literature, such as the Nibelungenlied. Most notable, however, are a series of self-help e-books for fellow students, making him one of the pioneers of German electronic publishing.[citation needed] He used the pseudonym Timothy Patterson for two titles. He is noted to suffer from insomnia. He was a business consultant between 1995 and 2005.[citation needed] His published work includes novels, like Mitte 1, Homo Sapiens Berliner Art; radio plays, computer games, film scripts and stage plays as well as non-fiction. He has worked for a number of German and international TV stations, like ARTE and ARD. Behmel founded a network for film and media professionals, Filmforum, in 2008.

In 2013 he founded Samiel Award, an annual literary prize for antagonists of newly published German novels. The first Samiel Award went to Austrian writer Jan Kossdorff for a dark humor novel about human trafficking and advertising agencies. The award is supported by publisher Marc Hiller of Stuttgart. Winning writers receive 666 Euros, the number of the beast.

The Magic of the Swarms

A series of paintings developed by Albrecht in 2013 and 2014, The Magic of the Swarms is about the fusion of shapes into more complex forms and about the interaction of colours. But it is also a geometrical game called Abstrahism: Intricate chaotic systems consist of simple overlapping elements. The colours help define the shape, but at the same time emphasise the intricacies of the interaction of each silhouette. The work is influenced by ecclesiastical lead lights and Buddhist mandalas.[citation needed]

Real-life silhouettes merge into something almost but not totally abstract – a swarm of forms that is more than the sum of its elements or parts. It is a way to perceive the world using techniques of geometry and cartography to depict motion and form. Expressive colours underline the aspects of contrast and combination. Three-dimensional bodies are reduced to two dimensions.

Exhibitions

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Style and motifs

Two recurring motifs of most of his books are urban culture and the pitfalls of modern communication but also horsemanship and alcoholism or a mix thereof. Irish folk music, academic ceremonies and ancient mythology appear in some fiction works. Most dialogues feature a variety of German dialects and slangs. Some novels have been compared to the work of Israeli writer Ephraim Kishon.[citation needed]

Albrecht Behmel, 2013

Political views

The general standpoint professed in most of his non-fiction works can be described as libertarian, anti-establishment, christian and pro-science with a general distrust in worldly doctrines, political ideologies of whatever color. A recurring thought is that institutions like most governments, schools, and universities have not kept up with current social developments for decades, and in some cases, centuries, which contradicts their claim to leading positions within society.

Awards

Bibliography

Fiction

  • The Threshold, Digital Publishers, Stuttgart, 2015
  • The Stronghold (novel), Urbane Publications, London, 2015
  • Mitte 2, 110th, Satzweiss, 2014
  • Mitte 1, 110th, Satzweiss, 2013
  • Doktor Faust und Mephisto, 110th, Satzweiss, 2013
  • Homo Sapiens Berliner Art. Schenk, Passau 2010, ISBN 978-3-939337-78-2
  • Das Nibelungenlied. Ein Heldenepos in 39 Abenteuern. Nacherzählung. Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-89821-145-2
  • Auf dem Rücken der Pferde liegt das Glück dieser Erde. Weltbild, Augsburg 2006, ISBN 3-8289-8118-6
  • Von der Kunst, zwischen sich und dem Boden ein Pferd zu behalten. Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89769-910-9

Non-fiction

Radio plays

Computer games and films

  • Out of the Present
  • Fortress Under Siege

References

  1. ↑ M – das Lifestyle & Technik Magazin, 1/2013. p. 24-28"
  2. ↑ "Theapolis". Theapolis.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Albrecht Behmel in Italian, P. 27". Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Autorenwissen – dp DIGITAL PUBLISHERS".
  5. ↑ "Tierischer Sylt Krimi überzeugt Jury beim Samiel Award 2014". www.sylt-tv.com. 15 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Malaviya, Nalini. "Interview: Albrecht Behmel – This is the Era of the Artist".
  7. ↑ "The Dark side of MARVELous". 19 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Neuschwansteiner". Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Review Faust Archived 19 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Akademie der Darstellenden Künste". Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  11. ↑ First Broadcast Deutschlandradio
  12. ↑ "Review". Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Albrecht Behmel". Crew United.