12/11/2024 Reading Group with Geraint Evans

 

The reading group focused on discussing the works of Gerhard Richter and Catherine Anyango Grünewald, particularly how they respond to historical events and reinterpret media images and videos. We were assigned to watch a video clip by Rober Storr on Richter, view some of Richter’s paintings online, and watch two films of Grünewald’s. (I will mainly focus on Storr's video in this article.)

 

I shared my observation on a series of Richter’s paintings titled Man Shot Down 1 (1988) (see figure 1.). This painting is based on archival photographs released by the police. In the painting, Richter questions the “truth” presented in official announcements, suggesting that the “facts” were modified and filled with atrocity. By doing so, he challenges the representation of history and its authenticity. 

 

Richter’s Man Shot Down 1 instantly brought to mind Peter Geimer’s commentary on Wilhelm Sashnal’s Gaddafi (2011). Geimer used Gaddafi as an example to reinterpret the agency beyond the canvas. He notes, “This connects a transfer from one medium to another when he painted from photographs, which did not occur casually or innocently, it calls for a perception and thematization of its own.” (Geimer, 2012, p. 17) Both artists found ambiguity in photographed history and represented this uncertainty through their own interpretations. I found the blurred technique employed by both artists to be fascinating, as if the haziness has been covering the “truth”, this satirical approach reflects the ambiguity of reality and its representation.

 

Geimer also emphasises that contemporary painting is no longer confined to European high art but has become a transmitted experience, presented through traditional art genres, while simultaneously challenging photography’s claim to immediate access to history. (idem., p.18) Like Hung Liu and many other artists, they believe history plays a crucial role in their art. Geimer explains how painters critically engage with history, not only did he challenge painting’s narratives and reclaim their own agency in its representation, but he also resisted the categorised hierarchy of this genre.

 

Inspired by Richter and Sashnal, I am employing the blurry effect in my paintings to represent the ambiguity of my diasporic identity. I started with some smaller sketches then painted on paper (see figure 2-4). 

 

Reference:

Geimer, P. (2012) ‘Painting and Atrocity: The Tuymans Strategy’, in Thinking Through Painting - Reflexivity And Agency Beyond The Canvas. Sternberg Press, pp. 17–18. 

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Gerhard Richter Videos (2015) Robert Storr: Gerhard Richter -- 18 October 1977 (2012), YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/Lbf4JlqduAU?si=etpufv06b8QNL50w (Accessed: 10 January 2025). 

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Richter, G. (2025) Art " Gerhard Richter, Gerhard Richter. Available at: https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/art/paintings/photo-paintings/baader-meinhof-56/man-shot-down-1-7691 (Accessed: 20 January 2025). 

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Storr, R. and Richter, G. (2003) Gerhard Richter: Doubt and belief in painting. New York: Museum of Modern Art : Distributed in the United States and Canada by D.A.P. / Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.