Atelierstandort Nippes: The Woman Artist

Frauke Seemann moved to Cologne in 1993, and worked hard to make social acquaintances. She succeeded after two long, often depressing years. "Cologne is the most 'open' of Germany's cities," says Seeman, a painter who was born in Kiel and attended art school in Berlin. "You have to talk to people and attend gallery openings and drink a Kölsch or two. But people here are much more friendly, not like in the north." For Seemann, however, it's been harder to break into what she views as Germany's patriarchical, male-oriented art scene. "Male painters have their own language and solidarity. They have a special way of communicating - to be loud and drink beer. If I start talking very loud and show I don't care about anybody, then they accept me. I think male artists do a lot of phallic big stuff. Maybe they have to because they have an inferiority complex." A dark look crosses Seemann's intense brown eyes, and she brushes back her henna-colored, spiky hair.