Visited Gerhard Richter’s Panorama at the Tate last week. Contradictory. Was first struck by Aunt Marianne 1965, a painting of Richter as a baby in the arms of his Aunt, who was later euthanised by the Nazis, targeted because of her mental ill health. Next to this was a painting of Richter’s uncle in a Wehrmacht uniform. A powerful start to the exhibition. Many of Richters works are deliberately painted as blurred images – with my own respiration and movement it almost appeared as if they breathed.
My favourite rooms were Damaged landscapes and Grey Paintings and Colour Charts, again there was a sense of movement especially in the seascapes. Strangely an abstract painting of the Alps II 1968 made me feel unsettled. I was also happily irritated by his clouds, they were beautiful in their own right, yet frustratingly dull. His interest in the banal is shown throughout the exhibition and the fact he created over 25 paintings of candles in a 2 year period. From the late 1960’s to the mid 1970’s he worked a lot in grey monochrome so perhaps I was craving more colour, the following is taken from the exhibition leaflet:
‘He wrote at the time that grey ‘makes no statement whatsoever; it evokes neither feelings nor associations; it is really neither visible nor invisible… Grey is the welcome and only possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape.’ Years later he suggested another dimension to these works: ‘grey monochrome paintings [were] the only way for me to paint concentration camps. It is impossible to paint the misery of life, except maybe in grey, to cover it.’ [1]
Grey is matter of fact, it is the black and white of the newspaper print or the newspresenter’s autocue. It is stern and attempts the unemotional. Perhaps the represented power and the unknown of nature was threatening. Richter’s styles are very diverse if it wasn’t for palette and subject matter it would be easy to think they were made by more than one artist. He seems to be able to play and express his own contradictory interests, views and questions. It is as if the ease and ability at which he uses paint is his own personal joke or weapon to address the traumatic and the everyday.
Another blockbuster – I do visit other exhibitions I just happened to fancy a cycle to the river. No book just 3 postcards.
1. GODFREY. M, 2011, Gerhard Richter – Panorama, [Exhibition Leaflet], London: Tate Modern.
Stumbled across a great article in the latest issue of Garageland, got me thinking again about my last post and familiarity of the self in a painting (and other mediums). The L’eye of the amateur painter by Eleanor Moreton discusses Patricia Highsmith’s Mr Ripley books in reference to authenticity in painting and Jacques Lacan’s theory of the Mirror stage:
‘Ripley is a man whose greatest asset is his blandness and whose greatest talent is for illusion. He describes himself as having a dull face, thoroughly forgettable and oddly docile. It is his very uniqueness, his flatness, that makes it possible for him to assume anyone’s identity. Similarly, I suspect the central conceit of painting, its flatness, is part of its attraction for Highsmith. The most primitive lie of illusion: the flat surface that can mimic our three-dimensional world.’ [1]
The white space of a gallery has the same foundations as a blank canvas, a place where any subject or taboo can be held and tolerated. It feels that all sorts of subjects can be tolerated in a white space that aren’t in ‘reality’. Yet the experience of what is experienced inside an exhibition space is a ‘reality’.
1. MORTON, E. 2011. The L’eye of the amateur painter. Garageland. Fake, (12), p.28.
I have moved into new studio didn’t have to move far just across the corridor. I have set up house, it’s a bit messy which I am liking. So much more spacious and homely. It’s slightly warmer, though wearing, tights, jeans, 3 jumpers, t-shirt, Christmas socks, hiking boots, a hat, fingerless gloves and overalls for good measure. And still find myself occasionally straddling the heater. I am now a few feet physically closer to my flat meaning I can access my home wifi, result! (admittedly wifi’s a bit shit, nothing new there though). Basically loving new space and excited about starting a new body of work. I am going to become an art machine.
Painting today. When a painting is working (for me) I see myself. I recognise myself in the painting. Similar to when you recognise your own signature or reflection. A familiarity. I haven’t worked out if that is good or bad yet… That last bit looks a bit wacky written down.
My love affair with literature has cooled a little this year but I have been introduced to the world of graphic/illustrated novels. In order of preference:
Stitches – David Small
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth – Chris Ware
The Complete Maus – Art Spiegelman
Fun Home: A family Tragicomic – Alison Bechdel
Blankets – Craig Thompson
Logicomix: An Epic Search for truth – Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou
I’ve just finished Logicomix. It is based on the philosopher Bertrand Russell’s quest to find truth by establishing ‘the logical foundations of all mathematics’. I have understood/realised the following:
1 doesn’t necessarily equal 1; mathematics is just as poetic as any other language.
Russell’s Paradox is about something that is self-referential. An example given was to imagine a book listing all books that are non self-referential, the question being would the list include its self ? Headache. Italo Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveller would be an example of a self referential book – great book as well.
There isn’t ‘a’ truth. There is a forever shifting revealing and understanding of our selves and the worlds around us.
Logic is using what you do know, to find out what you don’t know.
I am no closer to being logical and maths still makes me angry.
New Painting! With little effort I could make it ‘better’ and ‘perfect’. However I think its strength lies in its rawness. I may change my mind.
There seems to be an ever growing list of possible titles. Working title at the moment is, Her.
This isn’t what ‘I’ want to title it. Once again I’m back to the dilemma of what do you do with individual experience. How much should or shouldn’t be removed for the viewer. It’s hard to get a balance that allows the right amount of space for the viewer without losing a social or political message, or without losing the importance of the message.
