Out of Time: A Contemporary View
Out of Time: A Contemporary View
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
30 August 2006 - 09 April 2007
editThis portrait entitled Youth Portrait depicts Ulrike Meinhof as a young, politically active journalist before becoming one of the main protagonists of the left-wing terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF).
Like all paintings of Richter’s cycle October 18, 1977, Youth Portrait corresponds to a photographic source image that Richter found in press archives in Hamburg in the magazine stern, copied and eventually transferred onto the canvas. The original photograph (also used for an edition in 2015 [Edition CR: 167]) was taken on 10th October 1966 by Inge-Maria Peters to accompany a column in the magazine konkret that Meinhof wrote. Together with her then husband, Klaus Rainer Röhl, she also acted as co-editor-in-chief for the magazine[1]. Only four years later, on 14th May 1970 Meinhof took part in the forcible rescue of Andreas Baader from prison – commonly seen as the beginning of the RAF[2].
In adapting the photograph, the artist has made some changes: Ulrike Meinhof seems to be much younger, her gaze seems decidedly less determined and her mouth is set less vigorously then on the source image. By blurring the still wet paint Richter heightens the youthful and delicate appearance of the portrait. Meinhof’s gaze emits an almost melancholic reflectiveness (Richter himself called the painting “sentimental in a bourgeois way“[3]) and the painting’s title underlines Richter’s intention of showing Meinhof as a young woman that seems to be inexperienced, unsuspecting and almost childlike[4]. The composition and the arrangement of the portrait in front of a dark background are remindful of portraits of actors or paintings in the way of old masters and focus the attention on Meinhof herself[5].
Youth Portrait contrasts strongly with the rest of the cycle that broaches the issue of the death of the RAF leaders[6]. It is a comparatively small painting that by way of Meinhof’s direct gaze evokes an almost intimate relationship with the viewer[7], intensified by the fact that many people might own a similar portrait of themselves. The image of one of the leader of the terrorists, effectively created and influenced by the media, is thus put into perspective and contradicted by the apparent harmlessness of the portrait[8]. Richter’s Youth Portrait also evokes thoughts about the time that has passed between the shot of the photograph and the paintings that show Ulrike Meinhof after her suicide as Dead [CR: 667/1-3] and contrasts them with a “pure” vision of the past[9].
Ulrike Meinhof thus appears as a person and not as a character contorted by the media that is alternatively demonized or mystified but always dehumanised. Her portrait invites the viewer to identify with her on a personal level[10] and hints that every person is capable of possibly committing similar crimes[11].
[1] The details concerning the original photograph stem from the photographer Inge-Maria Peters herself who made this information available on the occasion of the publication of the edition Ulrike Meinhof [ECR: 167].
[2] Robert Storr (ed.), Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2000, p. 106.
[3] Notes for a press conference November-December (held at Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, February 1989), 1988 (translated by David Britt) in: Gerhard Richter: Text. Writings, Interviews and Letters 1967-2007, Thames & Hudson, London, 2008, p. 203.
[4] Storr 2000, p. 106.
[5] Ortrud Westheider, “Eine Idee, die bis zum Tod geht. Der Zyklus 18. Oktober 1977”, in: Uwe M. Schneede (ed.), Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer Epoche, exh. cat. Bucerius Kunst-Forum, Munich, 2011, p. 158.
[6] Although only about half of the paintings depict the dead terrorists, their fate and the deadly consequences of their actions dominate the whole cycle.
[7] Storr 2000, p. 106.
[8] Hubertus Butin, Zu Richters Oktober-Bildern, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne, 1991, pp. 47-48.
[9] Storr 2000, p. 106.
[10] Martin Henatsch, Gerhard Richter – 18. Oktober 1977. Das verwischte Bild der Geschichte, Fischer, Frankfurt, 1998, pp. 74-75.
[11] Butin 1991, p. 48.
Notes prepared by editorial team
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
This artwork is based on an image included in Atlas:
This Atlas sheet includes the source images of the following works:
This artwork was shown in the following exhibitions::
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Exhibitions
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Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977. Eine Kunst-Monographie | Hemken, Kai-Uwe edit | 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Arnulf Rainer. Sammlung Frieder Burda = Collection Frieder Burda | Poetter, Jochen / Brehm, Margrit / Möckel, Birgit edit | 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Gerhard Richter: Atlas | Zweite, Armin edit | 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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18. Oktober 1977 | Ammann, Jean-Christophe edit | 1989 |
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