Speaking of Abstraction: A Universal Language

1999 / 51 min. / color
Directed by Michael Blackwood
Featuring: Brice Marden, Gerhard Richter, Günter Umberg, Gunther Förg, Helmut Federle, Jonathan Lasker, Philip Taaffe, Richard Serra, Robert Mangold and Frances Scholz

Featuring artists such as Brice Marden, Richard Serra and Gerard Richter, Speaking of Abstraction: A Universal Language presents a compelling discussion on the, oftentimes undefinable, meaning and motive behind abstract art. Filmed at the artists’ studios, the Dia Center for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum during their recent exhibition, “Abstraction in the Twentieth Century”, this portrait captures a dynamic group and their vastly unique styles.

Though abstraction tends to be seen as a modern artistic development, Richter notes, “I can’t see the history of abstract painting as an invention of modern times because I think it has always been around. Buildings are abstract, patterns and ornaments are abstract, and therefore abstraction is quite normal for me.” (Gerard Richter). Abstraction continues to be a viable creative path for contemporary artists of all generations, many of whom embrace it as the most inclusive and fundamentally resonant of artistic languages.