Bildsprachen

imageries

In this exhibition Galerie le Chiffre presents new large-sized,
figurative arworks by Ralf Majewska. The oil paintings, partly
realised on translucent polyester film, partly on canvas,
focus differently on the relationship between image and
text/writing. Text as a recurring, but always varying
element in the picture, affords special attention as the
artworks contain various imageries which afford mindful
reading.

Comic - illusion - reality
Fresh, powerful, sophisticated and sensually complex, these
are words which can describe the large-scale oil paintings at
the first encounter. Majewska combines excerpts of comic
scenes, photo-realistic elements with parts of sketches and
paintings extracted from passed periods. That in fact
contrary elements interfere with each other does not
distract the impression that the individual scenes result in
an authentic dialogue and thus is mediated as an
appropriate whole. The artist developes his own pictorial
language, which goes far beyond the „easy reading“ of a
comic book.
The comic book uses a visual language that is characterised
by onomatopoeia and a special usage of colour and graphical
icons. Unlike in other genres, text-, speech- and thought
bubbles belong to a regular repertoire, they complement the
images and give them their definite content. It may be that
at the sight of these pictures one intuitively thinks of
Lichtenstein‘s comic strips of the 1960s, but actually
Majewska‘s work distances itself from these. It does not
involve a certain criticsm (e.g. the consumer- or industrial
society), which emerges from the artist, but more a wide
range of links, which should lead to an independent
adaption and a critical attitude of the viewer. According to
this, non-pop-art picture elements have been added in order
to interact with the figures of the comic scenes.
In „Feuerspucker“ (fire-eater) two male surfers in
black/white face of a number of aggressive, fire-spitting
monsters in a stereotypical comic manner. But despite of
the threatening situation the surfers don‘t seem very
impressed. The slight, but unmistakable homoerotic
connotation of the two surfers could be readily seen as the
cause of the „fight“. The debate about the right notion of
masculinity is only one issue with which the image deals
with current affairs.
In the diptych „Rüsselsauger“ (trunk sucker) a young
woman is positioned, also in black/white display, amidst of
the main characters of the children‘s TV series Spongebob
Squarepants: Spongebob and Patrick. They appear as
oversized and richly coloured creatures whose outer shape
reflects their inner state. Their unbridled appetite is
reflected in an immoderate binge without regarding any
proper behaviour. The corresponding onomatopoeia SLURP
and GLURP unfold the effect of being an unnecessary
addition, because facial expressions and gestures do not
require any further clarification.
Here a well-known phenomenon is shown: the
simultaneous management of everyday life with regard to
technical oversupply. During householding TV is used to
maintain mental presence and while listening to music from
the radio one is reading a magazine or a book. The fact that
many things are done at once but nothing actually with an
absolute devotion leads to a practiced superficiality, which
again is suitably visualized by the Spongebob characters.
The figures do not contain any depth, plasticity or
modulation and colour fields are delimited by contours and
defined as individual parts put together. It creates an image
that is as quickly to absorb as its production. This image is
thwarted by the first image plane showing photo-realistic
anatomical studies of plants, on which the Spongebob comic
seems to hover as a second image. It is inevitable that the
process of painting an illusionistic motif affords much more
attention and time just like the creation of an artwork. The
artwork in this sense serves as a mean of compensation
and, in addition to medial overrun, provides a counterweight
for concentrated content and spiritual immersion.

Between High Life and down to earth
Of course the compositions are conscious constructions of
the artist where associations of the glamorous, ecstatic life
meet sober-objective elements (botanical studies).
So to see in „LSD“. There is a picture-in-picture situation,
with the second image plane as a translucent foil laid over
the first plane. It shows the image of a single comic scene
with a closeup of a young couple, commented with: I must
be dreaming, maybe someone slipped me a dose of LSD.
The man has probably just met the woman of his dreams
and is obviously flattered by her caresses. As a key scene in
a story, its end can be easily divined according to the plot of
a cheesy b-movie, in which predictability is used
programmatically. Here the paradox arises in the form of a
yawning gap between the flatness of a comic scene and its
integration into a work of art that wants to prevent exactly
this, and therefor brings up profound realities.
This confrontation also includes single substantive
references to Pop Art. The banal and trivial in the given
culture and in life was captured and expressed differently.
However, Pop Art often dealt with concrete objects which
were reminiscent of posters or other advertising media.
Therein lies the decisive difference between the Majewska‘s
images as he promptly negates the banal by outweighing
his „advertising figures“ who relate to other pictorial
elements of different kinds.

Scripture as an image enhancement
At this point the written elements in Majewska‘s artworks
should be only introduced shortly because scripture as part
of the image is represented in many contemporary works,
which means that the subject always needs to be
contextualised. One should be reminded of the meaning of
scripture in the works of Cy Twobly, Basquiat or Ralph
Ueltzhoeffer and is aware of their complexity which can be
only understood within detailed treatises.
Majewska‘s scriptures are characteristic for being placed in
the primarily image plane in a central or another prominent
position. Due to this constellation, the scripture seems to
function as a headline but it is not apparent how the images
relates to it.

In „Nachtisch“ (dessert) the scripture Zum Nachtisch nur
das Beste (only the best for dessert) covers the image of a
horse, which rears up and throws back his head as if it was
instantly shocked by something. In contrast to this, the
right half of the picture indicates a table with two bowls
referring to the container of the dessert. Although the
writing is not clearly linked to the action depicted, the
viewer, however, feels an indefinable tension between the
dramatic posture of the horse and the incidental and
irrelevant remark, causing an unsettling, if not even funny
moment.
In „Affengeiles Dreirad“ (wicked tricycle), the title equals
the scripture. Here Majewska pictures a woman who looks
after a humanised monkey on a tricycle. That the writing is
positioned on the height of the woman‘s head implies that
she is the one commenting on the vehicle. The only
surprising thing about it is that it is not the luxury sports
car, after which she calls. This slightly provocative illogic is
able to lead to further lines of thoughts, which each viewer
develops individually. It is shown that scripture condenses
the image content so that the recipient is capable of linking
even more associations to his environment.

Karin Schwettmann
-Art Historian-