Artemis Herber
Lost Space, Acrylic on canvas, 36x48”, 2004
Body Shop, Acrylic on canvas, 30x40”, 2006
water through cuts and tears into the surface of the cardboard in fiery colors. Once finished this part of the painting (I kept those elements to visualize the process of my work though) there was too much of moral warnings (and blame.) Once you step back from the own work and try to look at it overall at once, I realized this wide-open space with its far horizon line and the power and energy of the sea by reflecting on my experiments of swiveling the large cardboard soaked in water and paint.
line. That concept of suggesting a new situation the painting Explorer found its direction and statement I was seeking for through a long experimental phase.
That reminded me not only of my earlier series of Lost Spaces, but also particularly of the meaning of the horizon line itself. German philosopher, Peter Sloterdijk describes how we as humans create our own spheres or atmospheres. As upright standing species we have the horizon in front of us that means we can look into far, which means space, time and future. The horizon line itself reflects on a far away point that includes the aspect of time, which leads to the concept of future. For that reason I decided to switch the main motive from the oil rig close by from now to something far and later. The solution was the appearance of wind generators at the horizon
That said I would like to underline the concept of liminality in two ways; not only with respect to my themes, but also as an artistic concept itself. Oede is the first painting of the new series from No Man’s Land. The theme definitively describes the concept of liminality, not only because the motive strongly describes a lost and barren space but reflects on the lonesome regions of our sole. I enjoy this work because it is pure, essential and rich at the same time and an archetype in meaning. Martin Kemp’s publication about The Spaces of Painters (Die Räume der Maler, 1996) examines the loss of home in the history of European art. Among other things he describes with reference to examples of Filippo Lippi, Birth of St Stephanus, 1452-1464, Fresco. Prato Dom, the concept of topophobie with the focus on the meaning of the desert. The desert resembles the place of being exposed; it’s the place of surroundings and environs; a hinterland. But it