| Wolfgang Drechsler From the preface «In opposition to the quick glance» «... Hanns Kunitzberger made a conscious decision to paint "likenesses." In his mind, a "representation" is "a possibility through which everything else becomes impossible." The conceptual basis for these "likenesses" is not a concrete subject – Kunitzberger is not interested in portraits of individuals – they are the topos of the frontal head-and-shoulders view as known in art history for centuries. The painted frames surrounding the subjects’ breasts on the canvas in some of these paintings and the 'shadows' horizontally dividing some of the "likenesses," which are created by sources of light located outside the work, emphasize this foundation. Fundamentally, these "likenesses" are images of images. The limitation to a single subject and more precisely on a type of this subject permits him to turn his attention to other aspects of painting, at least for a few years and within a relatively large series of works. And painting is to him "working with processes of perception, concretely withseeing." In reference to the knowledge of science "that each view is primarily the product of theobserver’s disposition and his or her resulting mental projection," Kunitzberger concludes that, "Therefore, in objective terms, an object is never truly represented in painting, and it is fully present in the observer’s mind only." This applies to all painting styles. These considerations can also make it easier to understand another of Kunitzberger’s statements: to him, painting means primarily "making a decision every second." Details, i.e. forehead, nose, cheekbones, closed eyelids, develop through a slow and deliberate use of paint and repeated close examinations "in the weave" of the canvas, as Kunitzberger puts it. Once made, the decision for the topos "likeness" enables him to know his subject clearly. In the same way as a natural scientist who sets up a series of experiments to prove his theory, he can find only what he is searching for. In doing so, his primary goal is not arriving at a clear-cut, unambiguous physiognomy which can be read quickly and easily, but delineating the border between existence and non-existence. He isinterested in semi-darkness and the moment at which a figure enters or leaves it. (...) Kunitzberger refuses to stop at a mere glance, he resists the reality of the modern world of media in which only the loud and the overly obvious receives attention. He confronts the flood of images from the television, the computer, from billboards, etc. with his "quiet" images. ...» Wolfgang Drechsler, Head of Collection Department Museum moderner Kunst MUMOK Wien. 1999. From the volume «Hanns Kunitzberger. Bildnisse. Painting.» |