Rolling street art on Pontwall

The dining department and corporate communications agreed that a new food truck for students simply had to look cool and fancy. And so the hot dog will soon be served from a vehicle that also serves as an ambassador for Aachen's young art scene.

His trademark is the cheerful ice cream with a mustache and skateboard handle, and he is considered a breakthrough artist in the young street art scene: the artist Philip Wallisfurth aka "Señor Schnu", who comes from Aachen and now lives in Berlin. He is best known to Aacheners as a sprayer who has dived the dark and unattractive underpass between Audimax and Mensa Academica in new, colorful worlds. Since then, passing through the Turmstraße underground has been fun again: more than 30 different works of art enhance the 600-square-meter area with pop colors and detailed motifs.

Now Wallisfurth has arrived at Studierendenwerk (StW). What the two have launched together fits perfectly into the newly created cultural scene on Pontwall, because Señor Schnu will now also immortalize himself with his striking art on the StW food truck. A project that both the dining department and corporate communications are more than enthusiastic about. "We thought that was great right away," says Ute von Drathen, head of corporate communications. "We had thought back and forth beforehand about how to design the truck. Everything seemed somehow very interchangeable and had no connection to Aachen or to our students. With a Señor Schnu one-off, we get art rolling that strikes a chord with many dining hall guests - and that's exactly how we want to be on the road!" Significantly, the idea to ask Wallisfurth came from the young colleague Marcel Rongen, who works as a cook at Pontwall. This is particularly pleasing to Mensa Academica head Peter Schröder: "Our young people are of course fully involved in the topic and can contribute perfectly."

Art on foil
However, there was no "clack, clack, clack" and the smell of paint and spray paint at Pontwall. For this project, Wallisfurth left the can in the drawer and sat down at his PC in Berlin to design the truck. Colleagues in Aachen then vectorized and scaled the artwork and printed it on foils. The truck was finally covered with the latter. "Painting or spraying is not ideal, as damage to the paint and other surfaces quickly occurs on commercial vehicles. It is better if the motive is available as a file and can be renewed," explains Peter Schröder.

For Philip Wallisfurth himself, the truck project is the first of its kind and not a normal job. Rather, it is a personal gain. "For me, it always feels good to see my art in my hometown. If it then also becomes mobile, all the better!" The truck doesn't have a name. But "Schnurr on Tour" would at least be a good slogan. "But we don't have to have a name for it," Peter Schröder is sure. "This art needs no words and speaks for itself!"

Artist Philip Wallisfurth, alias Señor Schnu, has been touring Germany and the world since 2007. His work covers a wide spectrum from classic paste-ups to moss graffiti, sculptures and paintings on canvas with pop-culture references. His roots lie in street art, so Wallisfurth's medium is primarily the spray can.