Vampir im Rücken (The Vampire Behind)

2005

The vampire behind me mimics my own stride,

And I hear him breathe whenever he steps aside."

Ingeborg Bachmann - The Way Home (abstract)

Hommage à I. Bachmann1
Hommage à I. Bachmann II
Hommage à I. Bachmann 3

"...5 works from the cycle produced in 2004 bear the subtitle “The Sleep of Reason”, which is redolent of Francisco de Goya’s Capricho 43 (1797/98), whose full title reads: “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”. Beneath the picture the following words were inscribed by Goya: “The author dreaming. His only intention is to banish harmful platitudes and with this work of the Caprichos to perpetuate the solid testimony of truth.” Though Goya’s brilliantly formulated satires may, in contrast to FRANEK’s pictures, be best assessed – especially in terms of content – as a critique of the times, the choice of theme is not the only point the two artists share in common. Hence, Goya’s artistic credo, expressed as follows, equally applies to FRANEK’s work: “I personally see only illuminated and unilluminated forms, surfaces which come to the fore, and surfaces which recede, height and depth … In nature there is neither colour, nor lines, only light and shadow. Every painting is a matter of renunciation and decision.”

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Rieger-Jähner

Museum Director


Further Information: The Vampire Behind

Exhibition: VAMPIR IM RÜCKEN (The Vampire Behind) - 2005 (Berlin) & VAMPIR IM RÜCKEN (THE VAMPIRE BEHIND) - 2004 (Frankfurth/O)

Publikation: THE VAMPIRE BEHIND


Der Schlaf der Vernunft
Der Schlaf der Vernunft II
Der Schlaf der Vernunft III