The work ohne Titel by Otto Piene from 1972 belongs to his series of fire pictures. Around the circular shape in the centre of the picture, there are traces of a burning process and the frayed edge reveals a deep blue area of cardboard below. Fire damages and removes things but it also creates something new – similar to Shōzō Shimamoto, Piene is fascinated by the idea that destruction and creation belong together. Smoke damage bears witness to the radical act of creation and therefore becomes an integral part of the picture. Piene believes the work of art can take in the exploration of colours, different methods of burning and the movement of air at a later stage. His interest in the connection between art, technology and science is also a strong influence on his later work as director of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Otto Piene (1928–2014)
Untitled, 1972
Currently exhibited: Yes (Gallery: From Zero to Action)
Material: Acrylic and fire-gouache on serigraphy on cardboard over blue cardboard
Size: 146.4 x 97 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_298
Image rights: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Keywords:
Acquisition: Reinhard Ernst Collection, Grisebach, Berlin, 2013
The work ohne Titel by Otto Piene from 1972 belongs to his series of fire pictures. Around the circular shape in the centre of the picture, there are traces of a burning process and the frayed edge reveals a deep blue area of cardboard below. Fire damages and removes things but it also creates something new – similar to Shōzō Shimamoto, Piene is fascinated by the idea that destruction and creation belong together. Smoke damage bears witness to the radical act of creation and therefore becomes an integral part of the picture. Inspired by the emptiness of Zen, Piene feels that the work of art must also develop, that it is subject to processes such as those found in nature. Piene believes the work of art can take in the exploration of colours, different methods of burning and the movement of air at a later stage.
The art collector Will Kemp described Piene’s working process on the fire pictures:
‘[He poured] a thin liquid, a colourless fixative on the areas of the canvas that were to burn. He lit the liquid with a match. Then he lifted the painting with both hands. He directed and guided the course of the burning liquid by tilting the canvas to place the traces of fire and smoke where he wanted. When the flames rose too high, he threw the front of the painting onto the table in a flash to smother the flames. He repeated this procedure several times until the painting met his expectations or the canvas burned through or he had to throw it away.’ [1]
The studio as a laboratory and space for experimentation played a major role for all the ZERO artists. After the dissolution of ZERO, Piene’s interest in the connection between art, technology and science led to a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (C.A.V.S.), which was founded in 1967 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and which he took over as director in the same year. In the tradition of Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, the C.A.V.S. focused on new technologies. The Center became a model for subsequent institutions such as the Centre for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe.
To Piene’s delight, sculptor Norbert Kricke compared his paintings with the work of Lucio Fontana. The ZERO arists later dedicated an environment to Fontana at documenta III. ‘He said, “Oh, that’s like Fontana,” and, at the time, I still had to ask who that was. But then when I saw Fontana’s paintings, I thought they were magnificent, and I’m still flattered today when someone compares me to Fontana.’ [2]
[1] Otto Piene, in: Piene im Gespräch, ed. by Jürgen Wilhelm, Munich 2014, p. 113.
[2] Ibid, p. 145.
