Many of the drawings that found their way into private collections after Schiedrum’s death will probably never be seen again, but fortunately a good representative selection was put together by Hans-Jürgen Döpp in a collection entitled Clitoria, and the first sixteen drawings included here are from that collection. The rest are from various auction catalogues and online sources, which demonstrate the variety and wit of Rolfdieter’s work.

In the introduction to Clitoria, Schiedrum explains the motivation behind his art. ‘My talent for drawing put my ideas on paper reflects the interests of a design entrepreneur with a critical mind, a way of exploring a self-critical creativity. This arena of taboo subjects was much too private to be displayed publicly, so I kept them to my own private sketchbook. It is hard to know which of my colleagues will understand my sincere interest and consider themselves qualified to judge it. Eroticism still needs to be accepted by each in their own terms, as a noble and beautiful way of developing the senses. I would like to think I am addressing the sensually cultivated, not just for the eyes and gut, but also in the frowned-upon area of emotions. So I am faced with the big question – do I put the fruits of my imagination in the garbage, or do I wrap them up in a parcel and give it to a museum with the label “the cultural development of eroticism during the last half century”? That’s for a later dissertation on the topic – in the meantime here is my little offering.’

From the hairstyles and faces, Schiedrum’s drawings appear to date mostly from the 1960s and early 70s. He clearly likes large-breasted women, and lesbianism features in many of the images. Some are intriguingly experimental, like the wall with holes and the sculpture of lower limbs, leaving us wondering what he might have produced if his career path had been as a fulltime artist rather than as an industrial designer.