The Leibnizian Ramblings has focused a lot of attention on Gerhard Richter since the birth of this blog. I think it is high time that we now really get to know the man.
So who is Gerhard Richter? Born in my old stomping grounds of Saxony in 1932 he spent his early days in and around Dresden. He studied under Karl von Appen and others before escaping East Germany. When he escaped a few of his paintings were painted over for political reasons. Since following the manifest destiny and traveling west he began to paint an anti-art style known as Capitalistic Realism. Through this period he used art to show the over indulgent consumerism in Western art. But, he has ventured out of this into many different styles, including but not limited to more abstract and minimalist works. He even designed a stained glass window that adorns the Cologne Cathedral. Unfortunately though the window was not to the liking of Joachim Meisner who said the window would more properly fit a mosque motif, rather than a Christian church.
But why has Richter come to prominence in this blog? First, many consider him to be among the, if not the greatest living artist. It is not place to judge these things as I seek only to be informed and do my best to inform. However, I would be remiss in my quest for knowing what is worth knowing if I ignored so prominent a figure as Gerhard Richter. But, in all reality, Gerhard Richter was the first artist from my old homeland of Saxony to catch my eye. It is only a bonus that he happens to be someone of world note. So as we move forward on our crabwise journey towards utter enlightenment in the non-moksha sense Richter will be a benchmark that we measure all art against. Much like we shall judge all movies against Ken Finkleman's cinematic classic Airplane II: The Sequel.
Remember folks, "Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes"
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