Musiker (Musicians)

Painted in 1988, Musiker (Musicians) exemplifies the complex world of symbols and systems that energised the art of A. R. Penck. With its thick, brazen strokes, the work depicts a dynamic group of musicians, surrounded by graphic icons and geometric patterns against an expanse of white. The subject is a testament to his love of jazz music; Penck himself was a keen drummer and played in the band Triple Trip Touch in the late 1980s. When asked by curator Klaus Ottmann whether he saw a connection between music and his art, Penck responded, ‘Yes, in the rhythm because I am very interested in rhythm’ (A. R. Penck, quoted in ‘Interviews: A. R. Penck’, Journal of Contemporary Art, vol. 7, no. 1, Summer 1994, pp. 80-88).
Like Piet Mondrian and Jackson Pollock, who drew inspiration from jazz, Penck’s paintings often echo the genre’s musicality and improvised syncopation. The present work goes one step further by applying such influences to the portrayal of an actual jazz ensemble. The figures to the left and right, playing the saxophone and guitar, are depicted as if swinging to the music, while the central stick figure – a recurring motif in the artist’s oeuvre – wields his drumsticks to an unheard beat. The musicians are surrounded by Penck’s familiar symbols and letters, including X, Y, N and T. These rudimentary signs are emblematic of the artist’s ‘Standart’ style, a term he coined to describe a pictorial aesthetic inspired by hieroglyphs and cave paintings.