Ivo Krys – On the Expression of Liveliness – Gunter Langer between Moments, Movements and Flow of Lines

Writing about living artists is always a rewarding endeavor. As an author, you don't have to speculate much about whether he or she knew this or that to find inspiration; instead, personal interviews provide a wealth of information about their working methods and thought processes. Artist and author collaborate on a text.

The following section presents the artistic exploration of body and movement by the artist Gunter Langer , who was born in 1950 and has amassed a huge body of work in this area.

Whether Gunter Langer's paintings hang motionless on the wall, or his sculptures remain on pedestals, the motifs nevertheless possess the element of movement.

Although the movement is frozen in the image – due to the medium – the figure itself does not appear rigid at all, as it invites us to think through its movement to the end, or perhaps to imagine the beginning of the movement.

Thus, the figure sets something in motion within us – it activates us. This stirring effect is unmistakably evident in the artist's approach, who is not interested – in the worst case – in depicting lovelessly rehearsed and motionless poses that, in their stillness, are waiting to be, hopefully, artfully staged.

Langer is interested in the in-between, that is, the moment amidst the emerging and frozen movement – ​​between not-yet-being and being completed.

This is where the expression of vitality lies, which is what makes the moment truly alive. Thus, the human body, with its countless possibilities of movement, is of particular interest to Langer.

The human body not only allows him the experience of observing movements. It is precisely the nature of movement, the way an individual moves in certain situations, that unfolds their presence.

Langer deliberately traces this presence and describes it using the means of his artistic translation.

Brief moments of movement

These are interactive, ephemeral moments between artist and model—his inspiration—that must repeatedly dissolve at their peak in order to be reborn anew, allowing the movement to fully express its vitality. Despite their deliberate repetitions, they are always rare moments, unique each time.

Only a profound experience of this vitality, an ever more refined perception of these moments, allows for their successful translation into a work of art that embraces a part of this vitality. Ultimately, as the philosopher Markus Gabriel would say, therein lies the power of art.

From Langer's point of view, the rigidly rehearsed posing should recede into the background and make room for the lively, spontaneous moment that gives the model's presence its unique expression; one would also say: that is what first shapes and reveals its different character traits.

This act of revealing becomes clear when one examines Langer's approach to creating artworks more closely. Using a camera, Langer captures these fleeting moments. The camera's short shutter speed makes visible what usually escapes the naked eye: brief moments in which the model imperceptibly lifts the veil, revealing their unaffected character before it once again hides behind a "skillful" pose.

Technical aids have always been an extension of the artist's vision. In this case, Langer uses a camera to take several pictures per second, thus enabling him to outsmart time. It shortens the duration of observation; it allows him to see precisely what matters to him.

The photograph taken is only the first step, a sketch. Langer, a passionate painter and draftsman, uses his photographic sketch to prevent the model from freezing up, which would eventually set in if he were to draw the model facing him. From his own experience, he knows that this takes too long and is responsible for destroying any spontaneity of movement.

The technical aid shortens the time. Together with the models, Langer evaluates the photo sketches and, if necessary, works with them to improve the movements. From the countless photo sketches, only those are ultimately selected in which the model's expression, their movement, and the uniqueness of the moment form a harmonious whole.

Action is translation and translation is action

Based on the photographic sketch – which serves merely as a guideline – the translation into another medium takes place in the studio, opening up new possibilities for Langer. Indeed, the translation – from one medium to another – represents the actual artistic process: observation is translated into internalization, and this internalization into expression.

Visible and invisible, active and passive; an interplay of opposites that, through constant transformation in the other, continually re-emerge in their counterpart. This interplay between visible and invisible, passive and active action manifests itself in Langer's work primarily in his line. It is the final artistic expression that, in other media, enables further artistic expression.

Langer's passion lies in drawing lines by hand on paper. The internalization of observation—and the resulting mental image—is crucial for allowing the line to flow freely, with entire sections of the motif emerging from a single movement. Rigid copying is therefore out of the question: Langer is not concerned with simply making a graphic copy of the model; for the model merely serves as a guide for the mental image.

The ease lies in internalizing the lines, in not overthinking them beforehand, thus preserving their spontaneity and their inherent looseness and vibrancy – essentially the line's claim to freedom per se. In his endeavor to create an image, Langer's line drawing is also about directly comparing his translation effort to whether it – through his concentrated observation – has been successful in the drawing, or whether his hand has lost its way on the paper.

Drawing offers the possibility of reducing preconceived notions or guiding principles, highlighting detailed observations, and selectively expanding, omitting, and/or distorting information.

The quality of the artist's translation is then demonstrated by preserving the liveliness of the movement as well as the expression and the inherent characteristics of the model in the artistic work, merely giving them a new form, which could not be avoided by the translation in any case.

Langer's photographic sketch is in no way inferior to a classically drawn sketch; it, too, serves merely to store information in order to translate it into a composition. The approach to finding the composition depends on a model or guiding image.

As a two-dimensional image, the photographic sketch is already a reduction of the original. Langer derives his understanding of the depth of the bodies from classical model drawing.

Depending on the circumstances, Langer therefore uses both approaches, which influences his approach to the image in terms of proximity and distance. This relationship to the model – whether as a model or a guiding principle – also determines his approach to composition.

The experience gained from using pen and paper, as well as working with paint or clay, shapes and expands the compositional possibilities in the exploration of movement as an artistic task and leaves its own unique mark on the artist's being.

In the flow of experience

The creative exploration of diverse tasks is particularly appealing because it allows for experiences of being on different levels. For Langer, the experience that arises – under ideal conditions – in the flow of lines is nonetheless a flow experience.

In this process of tackling a creative task, a balance emerges between the creator, their concentration, and their awareness of the task. This balance leads to increasing complexity and understanding during the execution of the activity, creating its own – in this case, artistic – system.

As psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi clearly demonstrates, this balance enables a flow experience by finding an optimal middle ground between being over- and under-challenged by the task. Langer's self-confidence in being able to pursue his vision so consistently stems from numerous flow experiences that have profoundly shaped his existence as an artist.

For Langer, the processes of observing, internalizing, and creating are indispensable as a daily practice. These processes allow Langer to feel the vitality of his artistic existence, which is reflected in his work, and through daily practice, he connects with the world and vice versa.

The drive to find solutions to his tasks is therefore enormous. These experiences of being, gained through working with the material, are Langer's artistic exploration of his environment and his attempt to shape it.

The convergence of processes as a representation

In these conflicts, the external world merges with Langer's internalization, which, through emotional agitation, finds its expression in the artistic work. This work emerges as an image into the world, communicating with it in its vitality. The image as artwork visualizes the ephemeral, visible, and invisible—physical and mental—movements of the artist's process.

The artist's action remains visible but coded in the image, embodying all translation processes as well as the artist's emotional state.

In Langer's work, the line defines a path or flow. It captures the gaze, which, now following the line, no longer moves freely on the page, since the line, in its creation, claimed all freedom for itself. We are dependent on following its direction in order to attempt to understand the movement—not only that of the subject, but also of the artist—as a whole.

The line, as a representation of all these movements, penetrates our imagination and symbolizes thoughts about limitations and freedom. Thus, in this interplay of opposites, the artwork is not only an experience of being for the artist, but also for us, who bear witness to the representations.