Gerhard Richter Painting

"Gerhard Richter Painting" shows, of course, the artist painting in his cavernous studio. It also shows him working with curators to hang his work for a show, taking questions from the press, discussing art with his friend, art historian Benjamin Buchloh, and talking with an off-screen presence, presumably director Corinna Belz.To me, Richter's internal processes remain enigmatic. Belz asks him when he knows a work is finished. Richter replies (and I am paraphrasing from memory here) that it is when there is nothing more that can make it better. Belz: How do you know? R: When it is good. B: Can we go a little deeper -- what is "good"? R: That's difficult. The artist has to see that, and the viewer too.A good answer, and probably accurate. A feeling for visual aesthetic may be, to a large extent, non-verbal. The critic Clement Greenberg wrote something similar: If you have a developed aesthetic sense, you just know when a painting is good. You just know.After a question-and-answer session with the press (presumably just before a major show), Belz asks Richter how he feels about his fame. Richter looks a bit reticent, then says that, well, it's all part of the thing, isn't it. At another point, working in his studio, he looks into the camera and says, I don't like the camera. It makes we walk differently. Clearly his personality has interior depths, and he is reluctant to reveal himself, or unsure how to express himself in that way.At another time, he says that we do art in private, it is a private act, but then we have to put it on display. I get the feeling that, for Richter, that exposing of the private act may be uncomfortable -- but, as with the press conferences, it is "part of the thing".The conversation with art historian Buchloh is excerpted in the main part of the film, but the full 23-minute conversation is shown in the special features. The conversation is easy and confiding, clearly between two men of an age who have known and respected each other for years. The two men discuss the paintings Richter has hung in the office of his studio, and to me this was a highlight of the film. That conversation is, tangentially, part of an answer to the question "What makes it good".I wished the film had touched more on Richter's earlier work -- his photorealistic paintings, his use of enlarged photos partially covered by abstracts. But perhaps the en media res quality of the film, the feeling of seeing Richter in the moment, without narration, without external explanation or analysis, is the best way to address the unanswerable question, What makes a "painting"? When is a work of art "good"?

Always interesting documentary on the artist Gerhard Richter, his work process and his sometimes uneasy relationship with the larger world outside his studio.The film effectively combines a mix of traditional documentary techniques (interviews, archival footage), and much more cinema verite style, where for long stretches we simply observe Richter working on his paintings with no comment (besides his own occasional mutterings).Through it all, I gained a much deeper understanding of the man and his work. I've always struggled to really appreciate abstract expressionism and it's absence of obvious meaning. But somehow, watching this film and the process of creation of these works, I found myself far more pulled into the painting themselves than I would ever have been otherwise. (Note – Richter has worked in many forms and medium besides the abstract expressionist paintings he was focused on during the making of the film).Likewise the quiet, introverted, but wryly funny Richter becomes an ever more rich and likable subject – even his cranky unease at being constantly filmed is understandable and ultimately a bit endearing. His struggle to deal with the commercial side of the art world, and the desire to retreat back to the safety of his studio make him tremendously human.I also appreciated how sensual the film was. Not in any sexual sense of the term, but how Belz managed to make us feel the physical aspects of the painting process – the thickness of the paint, the muscular effort to spread it across the canvas, even the smell of the room seem to come through the screen.In the end - for me - this wasn't an 'essential' or 'change your life' documentary. I wasn't deeply moved, nor do I think I will be haunted by its images years from now. Yet I appreciated being given a way in to an art form and a person who made my life a little richer, and whom I might have never really known otherwise.

What an interesting documentarty. I was intrigued by the "block" that being observed was to him. The reveal of the inner workings of this marvelous talent was wonderful to watch. I will be watching this over and over again. Unfortunately for me, I don't get to go to Europe anymore, so I won't be seeing any of his work unless they do a retrospective of his work here in the mid-West in the near future. I wish that my own art work was so well received. But, as an artist, I paint for myself first, and for anyone else that may like it, I thank them.Also like Richter, I paint in watercolors, oil, acrylic, and latex & enamel house paints. I do landscapes, seascapes, and abstracts. This being said, this is why I enjoyed this documentary so much, I believe that an artist NEEDS to get outside of his mainstream method in order to bring new life into it. I don't ever want the desire to be a mid-West Pollock to be lost if I can prevent the staleness of my artwork from creeping in, I hope to stay relevant to myself much as Gerhard Richter is. I commend him and salute him and thank the filmmakers for creating this salute to a modern genius.

If you want to dive in deep behind the scenes & watch an artist make some paintings this is the video for you. A rare opportunity to get inside a painters head. The squeegees he uses are meters long full of paint & gusto. For a man of his age, he is quite incredible. I’m watching again & again.

Who knew that watching paint dry on a canvass could be such an engaging activity? To watch such a skilled artist at work is one of the most thrilling things an artist could bare witness to. Such an engaging documentary about the artist's history, his methods of working, his studio and his current show was amazing. Not since "What Remains:, Sally Mann" have I been this drawn into an artist documentary.

Die Entstehung abstrakter Bilder wird in diesem Film dargestellt.Der Vielfalt, auch realistischer Malerei wird die Dokumentation nicht gerecht. Was enttäuscht sind die schwachen Dialoge, die zwar spontan aber wenig inspirierend klingen.

Die Autorin hat in diesem Film sehr senibel sich dem Künstler Gerhard Richter genähert. Es steht immer die Kunst im Mittelpunkt, da sich sowohl der Künstler als auch die Autorin sehr bescheiden zeigen. Sehr anschaulich wird gezeigt, wie die "Rakel-Bilder" von Gerhard Richter entstehen. Fast ein "Muss" in der DVD-Bibliothek für Moderne Kunst.

Straordinario documento, tanto bello quanto raro, visto che su Richter non si trova tantissimo. Lo consiglio, non è difficile da seguire attraverso i sottotitoli e poi sono soprattutto le immagini che dicono tutto!