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The art is inaccessible. The man is not. At 80 years, he shows plenty of his life experience in his face and in his talk.

My impression of the German documentary

Gerhard Richter Painting (2011)

A very famous high demand big bucks artist. But not to me. This is another world.

Richter is an engaging guy with a great story. He left East Germany in 1961, a "political refugee" and was unable to go back for decades. No permits.

His work, that which we see, is wide ranging from figurative art, even photographs through to the largely abstract works which he is seen doing in this film.

The film maker helps us, with Richter's assistance, see him work and get what he thinks he is up to.

These work periods, quite absorbing, are interspersed with occasional trips to the art business world, exhibits, openings. Nuts.

Then the supreme quiet of the studio.

In this film we watch him work on a series of abstract paintings produced with a large squeegee kind of board. He uses gallon buckets of the classic oil colors. Titanium white. The same ones I got when I dabbled.

There is no mistaking that this is a high, rather "deep" art. Not the same thing. This work evolves. He reflects. He sees into his own mysterious reactions to the extent that he can. Long study and an obviously disciplined work ethic have led him down paths which only he can see in retrospect and not much of that.

He talks about this. How he might have gone down many paths based on certain turning points. A lot is intuitive. Subconscious. But we/I get it.

He is searching for his own self through this work. But he loves the work. The end, after all the sort of fear, doubt and insecurity, ends with a wonderful discovery. A yellow "line" hidden in the undercoats which, up to now, he did not know was there. "Know" consciously, I think.

Bang. It surfaces. He laughs. Explosively. He says "this is so much fun".

I have the idea that his "aha moment", is the one we all talk about and search for in our own lives, is his reason for being.

His path has led to a happy time, the end of the road he has been on. The surprising pay off.

I get it. I have the feeling myself. I say this in all humility but it feels entirely familiar to me now. I am almost his age. A feeling of arrival.

I enjoyed this so much I forgot to feed the dog. Other duties.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. As much as I enjoyed it, enough is enough. Troweled on paint is troweled on paint. Richter is like an old friend I am glad I met but don't want to go visit anymore. There are lots of those strewn along my own path.

Labels: films