S3E10 S.W.E.A.T. with John Herman ENGLISH

This months conversation is with self-taught art-activist John Herman. John artistically explores themes of war and peace, visual sociology, and socio-political communication across a rich variety of media—from performances, to video installations, to photography—yet John Herman cryptically resists the title of “artist”. His practice is fed by his extreme experiences of war, when he was fighting as a volunteer soldier alongside global freedom movements in Africa and the Middle East. In the Global Music market, he has worked as an artist manager, tour manager and a curator for World Music concert series focused on the Middle East, where he lived for a decade. We chose to conduct our conversation in both English and German. The podcast this month can be heard in both original German or with a translation. In this episode of S.W.E.A.T., we engage in a deep and reflective conversation about masculinity, performativity, war, armed struggle, and the personal transformation from militant to artist. John shares his experiences growing up during a time when armed resistance was normalized, particularly in Europe, and how those formative years influenced his views on violence and revolution. He speaks about the evolution of his beliefs, moving from seeing armed struggle as a necessary tool for societal liberation to now questioning its efficacy in fostering democratic processes. John also discusses his personal journey of physical and psychological transformation after losing a leg in battle while fighting alongside the Kurds in Turkey. He explains how this life-changing event led him to demilitarize his body and psyche, and to use art as a medium to process trauma and communicate complex narratives. We explore the symbolism of the body in performance art, particularly how his use of prosthetics and physical vulnerability creates a collective process with his audiences.