更新时间:2020-04-06
Gabrielly • 格哈德·里希特的绘画:Silence is the Painting
Gerhard Richter Painting is a documentary on the German artist in which the majority of plots give a glimpse of Richter’s studio. Without too much convoluted conversations but focusing on the authentic and immediate painting process, the documentary unfolded in a restrained atmosphere. The skillful conversion of extreme closeup and constructive long shots depicted the details of the “secretive business”. Since nobody knows whether the painting will be covered to a new composition the next second, the only way to perceive the work is being a honest observer with looking and judging rather than talking, as same as what Mr. Richter applying to paint on the canvas. Not only depicting the private creating process in the studio, the documentary also points the lens towards the larger world outside the studio. The using of contrast technique shows the uneasy and complex relationship between Mr. Richter and the noisy world, and how relievable it is when returned to the studio. What should not be neglected is the involvement of snippets from vintage documentaries, adding the authenticity in historical aspect and enrich the disciplined and thoughtful persona of Mr. Richter. Following the relatively slow rhythm of the film, gradually shown is the purpose that keeping silent and moral perception is better than enforceable explains, the correct will appear after all.
Energy undercurrent - the closeup and long shots
The majority of the plots in film happened in Mr. Richter’s studio which is a vast place with high ceiling and white walls. Except for two assistants’ dealing with routine works, Mr. Richter normally stayed alone to face with big canvases and paint them with his squeegee. In some long shots, Mr. Richter stood for a long time in the middle of two paintings, holding the colorful squeegee, without speaking one word. According the closeup of his face, it’s difficult to guess his mind form the serious moving eyes. The silent scenario potentially strengthen the tension of the process because no one can assume what he will do next—destroying the painting or adding a new color.
In such restrained atmosphere, the film tried to guide the viewers to be a silent observer through the lens and perceive how painting conducts as “another form of thinking”.
Instruments, gestures and movements in the painting process, all of these were caught in the conversion of the closeup and long shots. Although lacking of talk, but a sense of power was hidden behind these shots. When Mr.Richter raised the big squeegee, pushing it from one side of the canvas to the other side, the closeup of his bended back and the muscles on arms fully expressed the well-controlled power in the process. Evident is that such power must be trained over the years in order to keep an accurate control during painting. Through the detailed shots, the viewers can observe the energy behind art and feel the silent power of painting.
Communication with painting - background music
The music used in the film is minimalist modern like piano solo or strings, not too intense, but more like whisper when the lens gazed at a series of paintings. Sometimes viewers may wonder whether the painting itself murmured so that to bridge an intangible communication between the viewers and the paintings.
Before each exhibition, it will spent the two assistants (Norbert Arns and Hubert Becker) considerable time to make 1:50 size photographical models of Mr.Richter’s finished works in order to render a perfect display in exhibition. Same background music appeared three times as the camera pans across these tiny photos with a white background three times in the film. It simulates the feeling of a viewer pacing along a real exhibition, the combination of the music and the shots are impressive, showing how devout the artists is towards his work. When comes to an actual exhibition, Mr. Richter also considered every aspect and persisted in debating with the curator about the exhibition lighting.
Apart from the edited background music, the natural sounds in the documentary are birdsongs in the garden; Richter’s echoing footsteps when he contemplated in the vast studio; and the slap of brush or the grating of the giant squeegee. Since Mr.Richter thought “talking is difficult and pointless”, so keeping an honest silence may be the best way to communicate with art. Listening sometimes matter a lot.
Secretive truth behind the correct - vintage footages
Using the snippets from vintage documentaries is a normal technique in documentary for better perceiving the character. There are three clips in the documentaries showing Mr.Richter’s previous working scenes and his opinions about art which are parallel to the actual scenes behind the camera.
In the first clip, Mr.Richter thought talking about the feeling of creation was difficult and pointless since art was another form of thinking. This clip was shown in the beginning of the documentary, proving a silent mood of the whole film. Returning back to the actual world, the motivation
of Mr.Richter even can’t be understood by his assistants. When they believed one gray abstract composition was finished then only to see Richter covering it with white pigment. He said his abstractions begin with “no concept” but instead with some impulse still in his mind. When it’s difficult for him to step forward and nothing left to do in the painting, then the painting is good for him. There is a component of truth for a picture to express good but hard to speak out the judgement. Richter believed everyone has their own judgement in variant standard and he just followed his own way to create the paintings. The same method is also shown in the second clip, young Mr. Richter began to paint the grey abstract without serious motivation but just do it by chance. He claims that his abstract canvases “do what they want”.
In the third clip, Mr. Richter explained “a moral act” he once called the painting act. Not only stressing on the artist’s private morality, the honest towards his work, but also the social morality as an artist’s role in society. It’s hard to define the morality, just as hard as nurturing a mundane career as a successful artist, which Richter called it an “aggressive business”. After facing a storm of clicking cameras and flashbulbs in the artist’s public life, only when he returned back to his quiet studio, Richter can get a breathe and relief. Late in the film, there was a biographical reflection during the artist’s portraits in London, it’s hard to guess the deep mind behind Richter’s peaceful face when the camera pointed to him. He just stood there like a spectator with silent gaze towards the mass though he was definitely enjoy it.
In the final shots, he pushed the giant squeegee across a canvas, it’s an obvious hard work in his several pauses, but he just held the cumbersome object and muscled it from the left to the right, looking like a man driving a plow. A little yellow patch unexpectedly appears on the canvas surprised him and he fingered it to others with a cheerful tone: “That was secretly painted in.”
Being silence is a form of thinking, too much talking is pointless for Gerhard Richter. Never trying to impose vain concepts on art or something else. In aggressive world, what matters is listening and perceiving, and the correct or the truth will meet at last.
Energy undercurrent - the closeup and long shots
The majority of the plots in film happened in Mr. Richter’s studio which is a vast place with high ceiling and white walls. Except for two assistants’ dealing with routine works, Mr. Richter normally stayed alone to face with big canvases and paint them with his squeegee. In some long shots, Mr. Richter stood for a long time in the middle of two paintings, holding the colorful squeegee, without speaking one word. According the closeup of his face, it’s difficult to guess his mind form the serious moving eyes. The silent scenario potentially strengthen the tension of the process because no one can assume what he will do next—destroying the painting or adding a new color.
In such restrained atmosphere, the film tried to guide the viewers to be a silent observer through the lens and perceive how painting conducts as “another form of thinking”.
Instruments, gestures and movements in the painting process, all of these were caught in the conversion of the closeup and long shots. Although lacking of talk, but a sense of power was hidden behind these shots. When Mr.Richter raised the big squeegee, pushing it from one side of the canvas to the other side, the closeup of his bended back and the muscles on arms fully expressed the well-controlled power in the process. Evident is that such power must be trained over the years in order to keep an accurate control during painting. Through the detailed shots, the viewers can observe the energy behind art and feel the silent power of painting.
Communication with painting - background music
The music used in the film is minimalist modern like piano solo or strings, not too intense, but more like whisper when the lens gazed at a series of paintings. Sometimes viewers may wonder whether the painting itself murmured so that to bridge an intangible communication between the viewers and the paintings.
Before each exhibition, it will spent the two assistants (Norbert Arns and Hubert Becker) considerable time to make 1:50 size photographical models of Mr.Richter’s finished works in order to render a perfect display in exhibition. Same background music appeared three times as the camera pans across these tiny photos with a white background three times in the film. It simulates the feeling of a viewer pacing along a real exhibition, the combination of the music and the shots are impressive, showing how devout the artists is towards his work. When comes to an actual exhibition, Mr. Richter also considered every aspect and persisted in debating with the curator about the exhibition lighting.
Apart from the edited background music, the natural sounds in the documentary are birdsongs in the garden; Richter’s echoing footsteps when he contemplated in the vast studio; and the slap of brush or the grating of the giant squeegee. Since Mr.Richter thought “talking is difficult and pointless”, so keeping an honest silence may be the best way to communicate with art. Listening sometimes matter a lot.
Secretive truth behind the correct - vintage footages
Using the snippets from vintage documentaries is a normal technique in documentary for better perceiving the character. There are three clips in the documentaries showing Mr.Richter’s previous working scenes and his opinions about art which are parallel to the actual scenes behind the camera.
In the first clip, Mr.Richter thought talking about the feeling of creation was difficult and pointless since art was another form of thinking. This clip was shown in the beginning of the documentary, proving a silent mood of the whole film. Returning back to the actual world, the motivation
of Mr.Richter even can’t be understood by his assistants. When they believed one gray abstract composition was finished then only to see Richter covering it with white pigment. He said his abstractions begin with “no concept” but instead with some impulse still in his mind. When it’s difficult for him to step forward and nothing left to do in the painting, then the painting is good for him. There is a component of truth for a picture to express good but hard to speak out the judgement. Richter believed everyone has their own judgement in variant standard and he just followed his own way to create the paintings. The same method is also shown in the second clip, young Mr. Richter began to paint the grey abstract without serious motivation but just do it by chance. He claims that his abstract canvases “do what they want”.
In the third clip, Mr. Richter explained “a moral act” he once called the painting act. Not only stressing on the artist’s private morality, the honest towards his work, but also the social morality as an artist’s role in society. It’s hard to define the morality, just as hard as nurturing a mundane career as a successful artist, which Richter called it an “aggressive business”. After facing a storm of clicking cameras and flashbulbs in the artist’s public life, only when he returned back to his quiet studio, Richter can get a breathe and relief. Late in the film, there was a biographical reflection during the artist’s portraits in London, it’s hard to guess the deep mind behind Richter’s peaceful face when the camera pointed to him. He just stood there like a spectator with silent gaze towards the mass though he was definitely enjoy it.
In the final shots, he pushed the giant squeegee across a canvas, it’s an obvious hard work in his several pauses, but he just held the cumbersome object and muscled it from the left to the right, looking like a man driving a plow. A little yellow patch unexpectedly appears on the canvas surprised him and he fingered it to others with a cheerful tone: “That was secretly painted in.”
Being silence is a form of thinking, too much talking is pointless for Gerhard Richter. Never trying to impose vain concepts on art or something else. In aggressive world, what matters is listening and perceiving, and the correct or the truth will meet at last.
