RUDOLF BEGER (GERMANY): PEINTOGRAPHY

Rudolf photographic work is neither photography based on paintings, nor manipulated photography. His ‘Peintography’ is neither subjective, nor emotional. It is the reproduction of the selective choice of the artist who leaves it up to the observer to transfer his thoughts, emotions and interpretations on to the individual image.

Rudolf's art does not materializes itself merely via his images but becomes concrete in the interplay between the choice of object made and the observer's very individual reflections. In this dialogue between the artist and the observer, a banal object, or an accidental arrangement, becomes a fascinating world of dreams, a source of signals, an erotic vision, or a surrealistic ensemble.

With the technical means of photography, Rudolf generates the illusion of painted art. That is the reason, why he calls his photography ‘Peintography’, a mixture between the French ‘peinture’ (painting) and the word ‘photography’. Rudolf does not seek what is perceived as objectively invisible. He ignores consistently the stunning possibilities offered by microscopic photography or the secrets of X-ray photography and never tries to create artificial mystery by manipulating his objects through cuts and blow-ups. On the contrary, the artist is searching for the obvious, something that everybody can see, if people would only look at it.

Rudolf discovers erotic images, mysterious structures and fantastic compositions that frequently have a high narrative value. With the help of his camera, he is taking the objects of his choice out of their perceived banality, divides them in abstract structures and lets them talk to the observer.

Only seemingly, Rudolf allows the process of materialisation (the photographic act) to precede the development of images. In contrast to the principles of the "fotoform" group at the beginning of the fifties, it is foremost the creative view of the artist who takes the object from its perceived evidence to present it to the observer.

Despite of their overwhelming harmony, Rudolf's Peintography is not just "beautiful to look at”. In his images, the mystery is hiding behind the harmony. His works is an appeal against the "zeitgeist" that is focusing on everything that is easy to consume, quick to change, and easy to forget.