Dieter Roth

Dieter Roth (April 21, 1930 – June 5, 1998) was a Swiss artist best known for his artist's books, editioned prints, sculptures, and works made of found materials, including rotting food stuffs. He was also known as Dieter Rot and Diter Rot.

Biography

Early life

He was born Karl-Dietrich Roth in Hannover, the first of three sons. His mother Vera was German; his father Karl-Ulrich was a Swiss businessman. After the beginning of World War II, Roth was to spend each summer in Switzerland at the behest of the Swiss charity Pro Juventute, a group trying to protect Swiss-German children from the worst ravages of the war. By 1943 the exile had become permanent, and Roth was sent to live with a family in Zürich. This house, the home of the family of Fritz Wyss, was shared with Jewish and communist artists and actors. It was here that Roth would be encouraged to start painting and to write poetry. He wasn't to be re-united with his family, by now utterly destitute, until 1946.

The family moved to Bern in 1947, where Roth began an apprenticeship in commercial art. His clientele include the local milk association and the cheese union. After seeing an exhibition of Paul Klee's work, "a shock that [was to] grow into an obsession", he gradually moved from the style of commercial art he was being instructed in, towards international modernism.

Dieter Roth (political scientist)

Dieter Roth (* 1938 in Germany) is Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg.

Education

Dieter Roth studied Sociology, Political Science and Economics at the Universities of Heidelberg, Frankfurt/Main, Mannheim, Michigan/Ann Arbor and at Cornell University. Roth obtained his doctorate degree in political science from the University of Mannheim. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Heidelberg.

Career

After obtaining his Ph.D. he worked as Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Mannheim under Rudolf Wildenmann. In 1974, Dieter Roth co-founded the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, a leading German political polling group. He has been a board member and shareholder in the Institut für Praxisorientierte Sozialforschung (ipos). Due to his work with the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen as a primary partner of Channel 2 (ZDF) television in the area of political polling, spanning a period of more than thirty years, Dieter Roth is one of the most widely known poll experts in Germany. Since 1999, Roth has been Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Heidelberg.