Matthias Beckmann

Drawing is a nice job

 

Drawing is in the centre of my artistic work and it is my main interest. The single drawing generally is part of a series dealing with a specific space, an institution or a theme. This could be a museum like the Kunstmuseum Bonn or the S.M.A.K. in Ghent, a cabinet of curiosities in Germany or Austria, the laboratories of the Fraunhofer Institute (IPA) in Stuttgart, the technology of car production, the romanesque churches in Cologne or simply the professional situation of nude drawing.

The graphite drawings, based on the power of the pure line, play with the techniques of film and photograpy – changes of perspectives, zooming between the complete scene and extreme details, the camera surrounding the object of interest. The drawings of a series are like mosaic stones building a complex portrait of a certain place or situation.

I am interested in the traces of banality in situations generally considered as solemn or of highstanding social or cultural importance. Consequently I make no difference between the objects I draw. There is no hierarchy as in the drawings everything has the same value. Light systems or furniture in a museum are depicted wih the same accuracy as the works of art and in my series about the German Parliament Deutscher Bundestag the reporter’s low-slung jeans are as interesting to me as the face of the politician being interviewed. The fun of drawing is perfect when the line of the pencil seems to be fluid and a sense of humour derives from the conjuncture of aura and daily routine. I would be glad if the people contemplating my drawings feel a little bit of this delight. It is all about observation.

Drawing is a nice job.