Einstürzende Neubauten logo

The Einstürzende Neubauten logo is an appropriation by the band of an archaic ideogram or petroglyph. It appears to be a stick figure with a circled dot or sol () as its head.[1] Its oldest source may be Stonehenge,[2] or ancient Chinese[3] bronze inscriptions.[4]

Origin and meaning

The provenance of the logo has been attributed to the sacred ring of Stonehenge,[5] or possibly to an Olmec Native American cave, and most directly in one source[6] to ancient Chinese origins.[7] Band leader Blixa Bargeld, said he probably found it in 1980 during a search for mythological icons.[8] He said that by re-purposing a Toltec petroglyph, whose meaning was purposefully undefined, as their band logo, it would be "filled" with meaning later.[9]

There are several hypothetical interpretations of its meaning. An early song by the band, “Vanadium I-Ching” points to the ancient Chinese inscriptions for the sky or heavens.[10] Others claim a resemblance to John Dee’s glyph, the Monas Hieroglyphica (or Hieroglyphic Monad). The circled dot is a common sun symbol, but in this figure may also be a cyclopean eye. The whole ideogram may indicate everyman as promethean starman(see solar symbolism).[8]

Many claim a similarity between this symbol and the on-stage big eyeball masks used in live performance by members of the avant-garde group the Residents. Though this logo is an ancient symbol, it is now strongly associated with Einstürzende Neubauten.

Usage

The logo is placed on all of the band's official products, such as vinyl/CD/DVD covers, posters, artwork, and memorabilia. The logo is copyrighted by the band.[9] Nevertheless, it has also been used without their consent in the design of products which are not related to Einstürzende Neubauten. Blixa Bargeld claims to have seen it on a shampoo in France.[9] A very similar symbol is currently being used by Armani for the RED product series. According to the Armani web site, their artwork is created by an African contemporary artist Owusu-Ankomah, who mixes various cultural influences, including early cave drawings.[11][12] The band Liars parodied it on the cover of their single "There's Always Room On The Broom". For the cover of their 1992 album "Toi! jeune", the band Paneuropean Architecture also parodied the logo as a clown face.[13]

Tattoos
Henry Rollins with Einstürzende Neubauten logo tattooed on his shoulder

Some of the band's fans have a tattoo with the logo, probably the most prominent of them are Henry Rollins, Ministry's Al Jourgensen, and Maniac, formerly of the black metal band Mayhem. Once Einstürzende Neubauten asked fans to send photos of their tattoos to use in artwork for the upcoming album. The images were printed in the fold-out that came with Strategies Against Architecture III. Also, a collage of the photos appeared in 2000 on a tour poster for the "Silence is Sexy"/"20th anniversary" Tour.

Writer, producer, and musician Chris DeMarcus from the band Stiff Valentine has the image tattooed on his right forearm.

Although hardly visible in the finished film, the little vampire girl in the film 30 Days of Night has the Neubauten man tattooed on her arm.

The logo can be seen in the manga Eden: It's an Endless World! by Hiroki Endo (man in the background has it tattooed on his arm).[14]

The logo can also be seen painted on a ruin in the episode 11 of anime series Monster (story by Naoki Urasawa) which takes place in Germany.

The logo is also featured as a tattoo in Grant Morrison's comic The Filth.

In the French film Persepolis, the protagonist, Marjane Satrapi goes to Vienna and befriends a punk rock group, in their apartment the logo can briefly be seen on a poster.

A line in American rockabilly band Heavy Trash's song, "The Pill" (off the album Heavy Soul Serenade, 2009), mentions that "Betty had... a tattoo of the Neubauten logo on her right shoulder..." (although this is commonly mis-transcribed on unofficial lyrics websites).

Gareth Liddiard, lead singer/guitarist of Australian band The Drones has the logo tattooed on his inner left forearm.

In the graphic novel adaptation of The Stand Lloyd Henreid was drawn with a tattoo of the logo.

Swedish singer/songwriter Joakim Thåström has the logo tattooed on his forearm.

References
  1. Moland Fengkov et Sandrine Marques, « Interview de Alexander Hacke », Plume noire http://www.plume-noire.com/interviews/musique/alexanderhacke.html
  2. "Il logo degli E.N. proviene dal cerchio sacro di Stonehenge." page 4, Einstürzende Neubauten: Biographia, Discographia, Interviste, Testi 1980/93! Published by Stampa Alternativa/Nuovi Equilibri, Roma, IT. ISBN 88-7226-101-5 (IT,1993)
  3. Inge Schwarz-Winklhofer et Hans Biedermann, Le Livre des Signes et des Symboles : Les 1500 symboles qui ont accompagné l'histoire de l'homme, Jacques Grancher, 1er février 1992 (ISBN 978-2733903469, p. 60
  4. http://www.chaziwang.com/pic/ziyuanimg/E6988A.png
  5. "Il logo degli E.N. proviene dal cerchio sacro di Stonehenge." page 4, Einstürzende Neubauten: Biographia, Discographia, Interviste, Testi 1980/93! Published by Stampa Alternativa/Nuovi Equilibri, Roma, IT. ISBN 88-7226-101-5 (IT,1993)
  6. Inge Schwarz-Winklhofer et Hans Biedermann, Le Livre des Signes et des Symboles : Les 1500 symboles qui ont accompagné l'histoire de l'homme, Jacques Grancher, 1er février 1992 (ISBN 978-2733903469), p. 60-61, fig.151, cf.98 (reference source in French, which claims that the logo is of Chinese origin — “Il est en outre proche du glyphe chinois signifiant « ciel » qui a une même tête ronde avec un point au centre“—Archived from 2017)]
  7. Inge Schwarz-Winklhofer et Hans Biedermann, Le Livre des Signes et des Symboles : Les 1500 symboles qui ont accompagné l'histoire de l'homme, Jacques Grancher, 1er février 1992 (ISBN 978-2733903469), p. 60 see French article source showing the logo is of Chinese origin (Archived from 2017)]
  8. Brand upon the brain: Logo #17: Einstürzende Neubauten
  9. Austrian interview with Blixa Bargeld (in German)
  10. https://m.imgur.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/oOGKV Inge Schwarz-Winklhofer et Hans Biedermann, Le Livre des Signes et des Symboles : Les 1500 symboles qui ont accompagné l'histoire de l'homme, Jacques Grancher, 1er février 1992 (ISBN 978-2733903469), p. 60
  11. "Armani's symbol which does look like Neubauten logo". Archived from the original on 2009-11-25. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  12. "owusu-ankomah". www.owusu-ankomah.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  13. Paneuropean Architecture album re-issue
  14. Volume 6, Page 139.
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