The aim of artists has always been to somehow interpret reality, whether by reproducing it, or by abstracting and transforming it into something unrecognizable. In doing this, artists hope that we can comprehend the world by experiencing through the senses. What happens, though, when our own senses, our tool for connecting with and understanding our surroundings, deceive us?
The process of embodying reality in some way, shape or form, allows, and even necessitates for the simultaneous process of acknowledging reality. This embodiment of reality, though, also forces us to question it, to ask whether we can trust what we see. This has been the topic of discussion within the arts world and beyond for some time now and is what has led to the production of works that either enlighten and liberate, or bemuse and infuriate people. One recent contributor to this discussion is German artist Gerhard Richter who questions one of the primary human senses. He asks whether visual perception clarifies or distorts our understanding of the world: in the exploration of painting, he demonstrates how images can be misinterpreted. A series of paintings dealing with the illusionary powers of images, communicates how, paradoxically, sight “precludes our apprehension of reality”. This, Richter explains, can be taken a step further into examining the use of technology to reproduce and make sense of the world: photography has the power to extract and heighten a moment in time, refuting the true (if ‘true’ can ever be defined) context of that event, consequently skewing it.
What, then, does Richter believe can help us come to terms with our existence?
A stroll through the Tate Modern’s current exhibit of his work clearly provides the answer to that question. It is the “fictive models” of abstract art that make “the unvisualizable and incomprehensible” visible to us: abstractions help us contemplate and come to terms with “inexplicable reality”, bringing it closer to the senses than any grounded reality ever can. For Richter, “art is the highest form of hope”.
By embodying life’s inexplicable realities in inexplicable works of art, we create a mirror image of our existence, which can help us find solace and resonance in ourselves. Richter explores this idea beautifully in a series of works that deal with real episodes of human death, injustice and suffering that have taken place in our recent history. I do not wholly conform to abstract art, but I do believe that the Gerhard Richter exhibit is not just a feast for the eyes, but also a gift to the soul.
The ‘Gerhard Richter: Panorama’ exhibit is open till 8 January 2012 at the Tate Modern. The quotes provided above are Richter’s own and were taken from supporting texts in the exhibit’s galleries. Photograph my own.
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