Words, Signs and Notations in the Work of Bettina Rave
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The inherent nature of text defines it first and foremost as a source of information. We encounter it every day embodying this level of meaning, both consciously and unconsciously. Yet text also manifests itself beyond the confines of ordinary ways of seeing. It can be used, for instance, as a means of expression for artistic purposes, as is frequently the case in the work of Bettina Rave.
The artist’s fascination with writing and sign systems, text and language – to which she dedicates phases of intensive attention – has become an essential component of her art.
Paintings, objects, photographs and videos have resulted from this interrelationship, which allow for very different readings and interpretations, while reestablishing the viewer’s expected patterns of perception.
In her works on canvas that focus on text in its exclusivity, Rave frequently sets words and sentences into a horizontal line running continuously across an image, or she distributes individual letters dynamically and at random over an entire composition.
The artist has to organize the word and text fragments so that they find their places within the picture frame. Bettina Rave aspires to convey the best possible visual interpretations of her ideas from within an ideal view.
To achieve this aim, long and intensive reflection accompanied by texts, photographs, sketches and evaluations takes place, in which she meticulously considers the presence and positioning of textual characters on the surface before any painterly formulations are even articulated.
Layers of thin glazes, tonal graduations, nuances both bright and dark—the representation always uses the means of painting, allowing the painting process itself to become visible on closer inspection.
In direct linguistic and visual dialogue with the viewer, Rave’s purist text images essentially focus on the complex process of seeing and perceiving.
Content-related readability is aimed at clarity and consistency. The shorter the texts the more strongly perception is used to concentrate on the content-related statement.
Quotations from texts about painting call attention to this aspect. The passages Bettina Rave has researched and selected, which she regards as essential not only for her own work, but for observations on art in general, originate from artists such as Robert Ryman, Agnes Martin, and Cy Twombly, for example, and belong to the series I paint (2013-14).
Rave is not concerned only with general artistic questions here, but rather with the perspectives and thoughts of a consciously selected counterpart about their works, which Rave in turn sets on canvas. Much like her own critical questioning, they serve the artist while also imparting their findings to others.
In a unified presentation these text images lead to a type of artistic discourse and bear witness to a transformation process that encourage further pursuing the thoughts that they express.
Words, Signs and Notations in the Work of Bettina Rave
Page 1/2
The inherent nature of text defines it first and foremost as a source of information. We encounter it every day embodying this level of meaning, both consciously and unconsciously. Yet text also manifests itself beyond the confines of ordinary ways of seeing. It can be used, for instance, as a means of expression for artistic purposes, as is frequently the case in the work of Bettina Rave.
The artist’s fascination with writing and sign systems, text and language – to which she dedicates phases of intensive attention – has become an essential component of her art.
Paintings, objects, photographs and videos have resulted from this interrelationship, which allow for very different readings and interpretations, while reestablishing the viewer’s expected patterns of perception.
In her works on canvas that focus on text in its exclusivity, Rave frequently sets words and sentences into a horizontal line running continuously across an image, or she distributes individual letters dynamically and at random over an entire composition.
The artist has to organize the word and text fragments so that they find their places within the picture frame. Bettina Rave aspires to convey the best possible visual interpretations of her ideas from within an ideal view.
To achieve this aim, long and intensive reflection accompanied by texts, photographs, sketches and evaluations takes place, in which she meticulously considers the presence and positioning of textual characters on the surface before any painterly formulations are even articulated.
Layers of thin glazes, tonal graduations, nuances both bright and dark—the representation always uses the means of painting, allowing the painting process itself to become visible on closer inspection.
In direct linguistic and visual dialogue with the viewer, Rave’s purist text images essentially focus on the complex process of seeing and perceiving.
Content-related readability is aimed at clarity and consistency. The shorter the texts the more strongly perception is used to concentrate on the content-related statement.
Quotations from texts about painting call attention to this aspect. The passages Bettina Rave has researched and selected, which she regards as essential not only for her own work, but for observations on art in general, originate from artists such as Robert Ryman, Agnes Martin, and Cy Twombly, for example, and belong to the series I paint (2013-14).
Rave is not concerned only with general artistic questions here, but rather with the perspectives and thoughts of a consciously selected counterpart about their works, which Rave in turn sets on canvas. Much like her own critical questioning, they serve the artist while also imparting their findings to others.
In a unified presentation these text images lead to a type of artistic discourse and bear witness to a transformation process that encourage further pursuing the thoughts that they express.