Therefore my work will be inconsistent.
My feelings about this project are very contradictory.
On the one hand I detest the circumstances, that caused the disappearance of the paintings: the circumstances of wartimes.
On the other hand I am glad that those paintings are not existing anymore. This is for several reasons:
- their disappearing is a document of war, like a war-memorial.
- their disappearing introduces natural death to the world of art-works: not only are the paintings getting older, but even have to die - like every living thing. What would be the worth of the cultural assets if the disappearance of a man or a woman would cause the disappearance of the work?
I regard the book "Verlorene Werke der Malerei" with its illustrations as a sort of museum. All illustration (=reproduction) replaces the originals. I am going to work with this book/museum.
There will be no finished work! In contrary, the aim is to produce a living work, which is changing constantly. Coincidences and misunderstandings are not only allowed but even wanted. Every intervention into my "reproduction" is permitted, because all coincidences and misunderstandings are a product of the human communication. These "mistakes" are substantial for my reconstructions: their development and their self-destruction are happening simultaneously.
Therefore my work will be inconsistent.
Sincerely, Piotr Nathan