Director: Corinna Belz
Subject: Gerhard Richter
I don't think I have ever seen a movie who's title better describes the film than Gerhard Richter Painting; a fly on the wall documentary that has access Richter's studio throughout 2009 as he prepares for exhibitions all over the world. It's a tough film to grade because the films biggest strength is its access. Even in a world where almost everything is documented it was a coup for Belz to convince Richter to participate and allow her to intimately document a master performing his craft. Belz's access is the hook, but she deserves a lot of credit for injecting the film with her own assured visual style that makes the piece engaging. I have to assume she collected hundreds of hours of footage and did an excellent job paring all of it done into a compelling film.
Belz uses limited archival footage ofRichter, the highlight is an interview where a young Richter says he doesn't like talking about his paintings because painting if a form of communicating without language. In the present Richter is uncomfortable being filmed while painting because he feels the camera is capturing him it his rawest. In the movie's best sequences we watch Richter paint and we are thrown into a meditative state, that is similar to the feeling one gets as they are painting. It is after these sequences we understand Richter's claims that could otherwise be dismissed as abstract claptrap.
Art is often viewed as inspiration-driven, but the film, which uses footage from a whole year, makes a compelling case that craftmanship and hard work are just as valuable. Richter is in his late 70s, but he clocks in everyday and works hard, we see him diligently working on an abstraction for the whole day, only to back away and conclude that it doesn't work: his assistant agrees with him. As someone with no formal or amateur training in art history, I don't understand why his painting doesn't work, but after seeing him carefully create this painting and confidently dismiss it, I trust Richter's instincts, even if I can't see what's wrong with it. As a photographer, Richter understands how randomness plays a huge role in creating art, there could be an amazing photograph at any moment, but that's meaningless if he doesn't capture it. Richter has been working in art for decades, his technique is top notch and he still works tirelessly because he knows eventually he will be there for a moment that allows him to create a masterpiece.
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