{"id":10411,"date":"2024-12-22T18:57:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T17:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arthohlweg.de\/game-with-new-rules-matria-skat\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:32:09","slug":"game-with-new-rules-matria-skat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/game-with-new-rules-matria-skat\/","title":{"rendered":"Game with new rules -MATRIA SKAT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It all began with the traditional Schwalenberg blue-printing technique and the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition. This initially led to the creation of a single playing card\u2014and eventually to my MatriaSKAT deck of cards. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this journal entry, I document the journey that led me there: my initial research, my doubts about traditional hierarchies, early beetle-like figures, and the moment when \u201cJack, Queen, King\u201d finally became \u201cBee, Queen, Queen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Three
Nine of Spades, Ace of Diamonds, and Ten of Clubs from MatriaSKAT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The starting point: the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition, I began to explore traditional Schwalenberg blue-printing in greater depth. I was fascinated by the carved stencils, the regional nature motifs, and the unique effect of the white patterns against a blue background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the more I read about the craft, the more clearly I saw its strict rules and hierarchical structures. The title of master was reserved for men; there was no provision for female journeymen. So I asked myself: How closely must I adhere to a tradition when I engage with it artistically? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t want to just repeat the old patterns. I wanted to rotate them, flip them, shift them, and connect them to my present. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The First Playing Card<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The idea for a playing card came to me quickly. On it, I could immediately turn the familiar order upside down. I transformed the figures in traditional costumes into beetle-like creatures. The red-and-white border was reminiscent of the caution tape that was ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic: exclusionary, confining, garish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That first card was still cold, unyielding, and somewhat gloomy. But it set something in motion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Early
Blueprint remains a blueprint remains a blueprint \u2026?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But does a piece of indigo-printed fabric have to be blue?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The longer I worked with the blue-and-white figures, the colder their aura seemed to me. For a playable Skat deck, I needed multiple colors anyway, so that the cards would remain easily distinguishable during the game. So I kept searching\u2014for more color, more lightness, and different ambassadors. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Oh, guys. It’s time for something new. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I looked at the familiar card games, I immediately came across the next outdated hierarchy: Jack, Queen, King. The King leads the royal court\u2014time and again, in almost every deck of cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to change this hierarchy. But would bark beetles, of all things, be the right ambassadors for a positive new perspective? Personally, I have nothing against bark beetles. But for my deck of cards, I was looking for a different vibe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Good News: The Queen’s Queen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bees seemed much more optimistic to me. And so things took their course. Little by little, an entire bee colony took shape: The queen bee leads the hive. The honeybee is the queen, the drone is the jack, and the honeycomb is the ace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drawings were created on the computer. That didn\u2019t make the work any easier. On the contrary: even the smallest details opened up endless possibilities. Each suit and card value was given its own motif from the traditional Schwalenberg blue-printing tradition. Old patterns with a new look\u2014that was my goal. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"MatriaSKAT
MatriaSKAT with Box \u2013 Bee, Lady, Queen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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One card becomes a whole deck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The initial design evolved into a complete 32-card Skat deck. It can be played according to the usual rules, but features a different layout and a new set of illustrations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MatriaSKAT was featured in the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition in 2024. The edition is limited to 100 copies. The exhibition catalog documents how the exploration of blue printing evolved into a deck of cards in its own right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The backs of the cards with a classic blue print motif<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"MatriaSKAT
MatriaSKAT in the catalog for the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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More about MatriaSKAT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This journal entry documents the personal creative process behind the project. On the project page, I describe MatriaSKAT as an artistic exploration of tradition, nature, and new rules. The editions page showcases the card deck, including the cards, patterns, and the designed box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discover the art project<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

View MatriaSKAT as an edition<\/a> \u00b7 Visit the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition<\/a> \u00b7 Visit the product page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It all began with the traditional Schwalenberg blue-printing technique and the \u201cmitBLAU\u201d exhibition. This initially led to the creation of a single playing card\u2014and eventually to my MatriaSKAT deck of cards. In this journal entry, I document the journey that led me there: my initial research, my doubts about traditional hierarchies, early beetle-like figures, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[391,348],"tags":[656,394,355,395,397,396,392,393],"class_list":["post-10411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibitions","category-projects","tag-bees-2","tag-blue-print","tag-change","tag-equal-rights","tag-hierarchy","tag-queen-bee","tag-skat-en","tag-tradition-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10411"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18862,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10411\/revisions\/18862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hohlweg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}