ABSTRACT

Art is a language of its own, as such it represents the durable and remaining part of culture and of the socio-political environment. Art is society’s     mirror and documents the voice of an artist in a specific setting of reality. Art reflections will travel back in time with the advantage of having a hindsight, still everything is connected and in dialogue. This article will trace back the footprints which are mirrored in my art works.

 

KEYWORDS

Reflection, social sculpture, socio-political environment

 

Published in: Creative Arts Journal of 14th International Art Festival and Workshop in Thailand 2019, Vol.3 Issue 1, page 7-11.

 

Art Reflections - Follow your passion.

Over the last five years I have been inhaling the Malaysian and Asian life. Nevertheless my understanding and concepts are mostly shaped by my German roots.

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Years of Disillusion

In the early 80ies after high school I slowly realised the shift in society and also in education towards a more standardised life. This was most frustrating at university where we expected to have access to all lectures and programmes. But this was no longer allowed. Today it is even more restricted. Disillusion about a better future hit me seriously due to two incidents. Firstly, in 1986 when the atomic reactor in Tschernobyl blew up. How this information and the circumstances were or were not communicated to the public was very frustrating. And secondly, one year later when the government conducted a compulsory census which led to street revolts with burning cars. The most violent revolts took place in Berlin in a quarter called Kreuzberg.
Out of this atmospher I created an aggressive painting “Kreuz” (Cross) in triangular shape with striking yellow as background, burning cars and the census-forms together with a baby child - reference to the Baroque putto - innocently holding on to its pacifier.

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I was also indirectly influenced by society’s discourse regarding Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, philosophers of the “Dialectics of Enlightment”. Their thesis “Creative Industries as mass deception“ was published in the 40s, but only received full attention in the 70s and 80s. At the same time, Adorno declared the end of art, meaning the creative industry was leading to the end of abstract art.
Another article by Gadamer from the 70s discusses the topicality of beauty and art as game, symbol and fest. Gadamer (2012, page 85) concludes „In the end it is a kind of „shrinking / loss problem ... The culture of older times reaches us only through the passage of the filter of time and by these traditions which are kept alive and by a lively change... While hesitantly something durable might stay - that is art today, art yesterday and has always been.” He articulates changes and with it the loss of some parts of tradition, some will remain while other parts will vanish or float away as a “natural loss”. In the end something durable, beyond time will last – which is art. Might be a result of globalisation and disorientation some parts of society revert back to old philosophies and religion. Is this all driven by fear and by the wish to find more stability and self-identification? It seems that through social media and mobiles, instead of being connected, the individual is isolated. The “wiping” gesture to socialise became a symbol for isolation.

 

Social Sculpture by Joseph Beuys

As contrast to this phenomenon, Joseph Beuys pursues the concept that every person has a creative potential, an uniqueness and a creative personality which can be expressed in different ways towards and in society. Beuys (1976) “Every person is an artist” is a famous quote by this German artist. It was meant that all individuals were to participate proactively in a socio-political context and share their values, activities and opinions. He called this “Soziale Plastik - Social Sculpture”. Community for him is a living organism, where every part is connected and every action will cause a reaction. His work, his use of materials, performances and community projects still impress me strongly until today.

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Art is free and created in Solitude

The above quote sadly seems to be true as nowadays even dogs and cows paint and this art work is sold and bought. And an ever occurring question is “what is art?”
Confusion and disorientation can also be interpreted as wide a range of choices. The conclusion for some art experts to find orientation is to guide or direct artists along the mainstream. For example the very profound Italian art historian Loredana Parmesani (2012, page 117) states that “art, philosophy, economy and politics are about to re-enter the scene ...and to measure his work to new rules in order to be able to open up to the new forms and visions”
Parmesani’s seemingly superior wish is that artists have to follow politicians and economy “to measure his work to new rules” This statement has for me a slightly bitter taste especially looking at the abuse of art for all means such as politics, business etc. to boost up their image and reputation or for speculating. Also to mention that censorship is still an issue worldwide.
Why? Because art is free, art is unique, art has the miracle of creation and power. Artists do not need to stick to rules such as Banksy, he creates his own rules. The confusion today also shows the power of art. Art is always created in a specific context by an individual perception.
Harlan (1976) “There is no must in art. Art is free”, this might be a threat to the mainstream. Over the last decades I also observed another phenomenon, that art without audience is not considered art at all. My conviction is that creation is an act of itself, hands-on process, struggling with paint and material, composition, colours, textures, all this happens mostly in solitude - and is not meant for an audience in the first place. It is the dialogue of the artist with his or her inner self and the artist’s voice. Similar to Kandinsky (1912), “The artist must train not only his eye but also his soul”. According to Lebowitz (2017) he commented “that the expression of one’s inner reality was crucial to achieve moral integrity. Anything less would not only undermine one’s artistic merit, but it would also be spiritually harmful to the artist. The artist’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, when translated into art, have the power to affect the spiritual climate of his or her society....that helps humanity toward collective enlightenment.”  
In 1968 the American philosopher Nelson Goodman published “Languages of Art”, where he clearly discussed that art-language cannot be compared with the spoken language. In contradiction to the above, universities and academies are implementing commercialised business and marketing strategies into art programmes. My understanding and practice is a process of creation in solitude in order to get rid of the daily downloads and to focus and listen what needs to be expressed.

My Art in Progress

Changes in life will influence one’s language, diet, even the personal mimic and physical appearance - and art. Still, the roots and character of the original core cannot be erased completely, no one can change his roots but the interpretation, perception and appearance might be transformed.
My innermost urge to move to Asia was to search for a different life design, a different way of how a community connects and to be outside the box. Living abroad results for me in a higher level of awareness, inspires me, makes me learn and reflect and watch myself every day anew. Partly I lose a bit of my former me to create a partly newer me.
My art work changed to abstract and from square paintings to mainly round paintings. Even if I worked with materials of nature in the 90s now I intensify now experiments with different materials more effectively. My work became more process oriented. This means to purposely destroy a painting during the process of making or even partially remove layers of a painting. The former and surviving parts are used as a historical screen for a new layer of history on top. The recurring round elements and ideas of planets in my work for example date back to the 90s. I rediscovered these elements more than 10 years later after the exhibition “Himmelsstürmer” by German artist Heiko Klohn.

 

Only after settling down in Malaysia, was I able to create the first completely round painting called “Little Universe”. This was the starting point for my ongoing passionate project “Round Series”.

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Even if there are only limited choices in our matrix-world and this might sound a bit esoteric, the spiritual development of artists is one of the most important dimensions. By materialising the spirit, the art work and also the “spirit” occupies a place in society and can resonate with it. In this sense, the concept of Beuys finally comes alive as “social sculpture”. The answer to a globalised world, as artist, as art historian and human for me is very simple: “Follow your inner passion” and work on your transformation.
In addition to that I would like to add my statement as artist: Independence, freedom and the power of vision are the greatest values of art: either by expression of the unsaid, by creating a shift in perception, by uniting contrasts, by crossing borders and traditions and more. To reflect and re-invent the own perception of memorised pieces of reality into a new “map” moves the artist. Impressions belonging to the past being memorized are translated into layers of traces, footprints of the individual’s and - therefore also - society’s history. Every painting tells a unique story of the soul, hidden on the pure canvas under the textures, paint and colours. The surface is therefore vibrant, but won’t reveal...
I believe in the power of art, the creative process, the intuition and the essential desire of humans for creativity and spirituality.

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Bibliography

Frank Whitford, Paul Hamlyn Ltd, (1967). Kandinsky. London.

Joseph Beuys (1976). Interview in Hamburg, http://www.quotez.net/german/joseph_beuys.htm

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1977-2012). Die Aktualität des Schönen. Stuttgart

Rachel Lebowitz (2017) How to Be an Artist, , https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artist-kandinsky.

Loredana Parmesani ( 2012). Art of the Twentieth Century and beyond. Movements, Theories, Schools and Tendencies. Milan.

Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno (1969) Kulturindustrie. Aufklärung als Massenbetrug. Frankfurt am Main.

Nelson Goodman (1968). Languages of Art.

Richard David Precht (2014) Lecture, Ästhetik (lecture aesthetic), Leuphana University, Lüneburg.

Volker Harlan (1986) Was ist Kunst? Werkstattgespräch mit Beuys. Stuttgart.

Volker Harlan, Rainer Rappmann, Peter Schata (1976) Soziale Plastik. Materialien zu Joseph Beuys. Achberg.

Wassily Kandinsky (1912) Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Munich.

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