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Quote by Gerhard Richter

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Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007

Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007 is a comprehensive compilation of the artist's written works over a significant period of his career. The book offers insights into Richter's evolving artistic philosophy, his approach to painting, and his reflections on the role of art in society. It is a valuable resource for those interested in the thoughts and ideas of one of the most influential contemporary artists. more

Author

Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter

German visual artist known for his unique painting style and diverse creative techniques. Richter's works span a wide range of styles from abstraction to figuration, and his career has spanned over half a century, profoundly influencing contemporary art. more

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“In the beginning I tried to accommodate everything there that was somewhere between art and garbage and that somehow seemed important to me and a pity to throw away. After a while, some sheets in the Atlas acquired another value, after all - that is, it seemed to me that they could stand on their own terms, not only under the protection of the Atlas.”

ArtImportantValuesTermProtectionPitySheetsGarbageAccommodateAtlas
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
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“Composition is a side issue. Its role in my selection of photographs is a negative one at best. By which I mean that the fascination of a photograph is not in its eccentric composition but in what it has to say: its information content. And, on the other hand, composition always also has its own fortuitous rightness.”

MeanArtHandsSidesRolesIssuesInformationNegativePhotographTechniqueCompositionSelectionFascinationEccentricFortuitous
Book:Gerhard Richter: text : writings, interviews and letters, 1961-2007
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“This superficial blurring has something to do with the incapacity I have just mentioned. I can make no statement about reality clearer than my own relationship to reality; and this has a great deal to do with imprecision, uncertainty, transience, incompleteness, or whatever. But this doesn't explain the pictures. At best it explains what led to their being painted.”

ArtI CanRealityMy OwnDealsTechniqueStatementsUncertaintySuperficialTransienceIncapacityIncompleteness
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
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“I was a student, and as such you generally rely on prior models of how to make art, but these were not satisfying. Then I discovered in photos what had been missing in paintings; namely that they make a terrific variety of statements and have great substance. That is what I wanted to convey to paintings and apply to it.”

ArtWantedMissingStudentsPaintingModelsTechniqueStatementsVarietySubstanceRelySatisfyingTerrific
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
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“If, while I'm painting, I distort or destroy a motif, it is not a planned or conscious act, but rather it has a different justification: I see the motif, the way I painted it, is somehow ugly or unbearable. Then I try to follow my feelings and make it attractive. And that means a process of painting, changing or destroying - for however long it takes - until I think it has improved. And I don't demand an explanation from myself as to why this is so.”

IfsThinkingWayTryingMeanLongArtDifferentFeelingsProcessPaintingDemandConsciousUglyTechniqueAttractiveExplanationDestroyingJustificationUnbearableMotifs
Author:Gerhard Richter
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“Contact with like-minded painters - a group means a great deal to me: nothing comes in isolation. We have worked out our ideas largely by talking them through. Shutting myself away in the country, for instance, would do nothing for me. One depends on one's surroundings. And so the exchange with other artists - and especially the collaboration with Lueg and Polke - matters a lot to me: it is part of the input that I need.”

NeedsMeanArtIdeasCountryMatterArtistDealsTalkingGroupsPaintingDependsContactPainterInstanceIsolationCollaborationSurroundingsInput
Book:Gerhard Richter: text : writings, interviews and letters, 1961-2007
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