Contraposition

Prof. Lothar Romain

Contraposition-noire:

  “Cardinal red, draperies of shiny velvet and creased silk, changeovers from light to shadow – Hertha Miessner creates pieces of work which resemble paintings from the old masters. But the baroque opulence is only a photographic product, a perfect virtual illusion. The starting point for Hertha Miessner’s digital artwork is – almost deeply symbolic – waste products of painting: randomly painted tapes which are normally used to cover parts of the oil paintings. Scanned and digitally arranged tapes disclose a preciousness which renders the images a character of valuable, historic paintings with their illusionistic effect. They simulate an enigmatic surface which is hiding something unexpected.”

“In this way, the deceptive aesthetics of the digital world is the subject of Hertha Miessner’s artwork. What remains from the painting process as a by-product turns to a basic product of a new working process which remains true to painting. Quality of colour, materiality or motivic suggestions are digitally arranged, emphasised and systematically accented. The impressive clearness of the static reproduction confronts the motion blur. The arrangement gets into motion – the deception of formal views begins with the transformation of low-grade into precious materials and is continuing on a more complex, artistic level from there. “