- Uta Barth, Gerhard Richter, and the influence of Photography on Painting
- by Clifford Elgin
- It is easy to make a quick superficial comparison of Uta Barth's work with photography and Gerhard Richter's paintings. Both artists deal with an essence of the photograph and have been influenced on one level tremendously by the amateur snapshot. It might seem that due to the accolades Richter has been showered with over the last two decades it would be a kindness to place Barth under the same umbrella. However… though the two artists may on the surface seem to be dealing with similar problems, they have very little in common. The idea of an artist's evolution over a lifetime is one that Barth embraces, while Richter has seldom diverged from his initial successful ideas.
Both Barth and Richter deal with evolving practices that date back to the dawn of photography. Impressionists such as Degas used photographs to accurately capture the figure in motion and then pulled them into his canvases, allowing for a fresh un-posed ultra realist effect. Previously, when artists would paint the figure, they would require that their model sit for hours in rigid poses that made for stiff paintings.-
I The photograph allowed for Degas and others to capture a moment in passing that was previously unattainable. On the other hand, preconceived notions defined by still life and portrait painting limited the photographers at the dawn of the photography age, if only because they knew no other way. The preconceptions of photographers of that age were limited to the base knowledge that was allowed to them at their time of reference. If you notice, even today while taking a photograph of a family member you most likely will ask for that person to stand in a posed unnatural position for the photo rather than capturing a candid real moment from time. This directly stems from our passed down heritage and the practice of posed portraits.
- On the left is a photo by Barth, to the right is one of Richters photo-real paintings.
- Note the difference between a traditional posed painting circa the same era as Degas drawing based on a photo. Degas managed to bring forth a realism and freshness that had never been realized in drawing or painting before.
An article on Uta Barth, brought to you by thoughts on art
