I appreciated his article "Many Colored Glass". His work was beautifully researched giving me a more intimate feeling of the stained glass artists G. Richter and S. Polke and their context. There is a value in presenting the detailed context of the social motivations and artists's background and glass technician's skill. I believe this is historically interesting but I feel there is an aspect of the window and artist he reviewed that I found missing.
In the Cologne Cathedrale, G. Richter lays the groundwork for a powerful, transcendental, physical and by extension, spiritual experience. He has brought together colored light, geometry and intent. The geometries of the window border frames, themselves developed from geometry expressing transcendental ratios, provide a programmable framework that is intrinsically energized. And when combined with both words and music of a liturgy (energized further by the geometry and chant), have the potential to form a veritable "broadcasting station" disseminating a subliminal, liturgical message.
It is unfortunate that the colored glass chosen by G. Richter is unfocussed and scattered across the color spectrum. A focussed, unified color scheme, or at least a tighter palette could have worked much more powerfully in concert with the energized geometries of the window borders. It is a relief that there are no liturgically themed graphics (no ever-present Christians-At-War). I wish Schjeldahl's article had included comments on the value of including a focussed color scheme. The resulting window is burlesque in the sense of possessing a strong and articulated frame, but extremely weak subject matter. The transformative medium of light, color and geometry is capable of so much more!
In the Cologne Cathedrale, G. Richter lays the groundwork for a powerful, transcendental, physical and by extension, spiritual experience. He has brought together colored light, geometry and intent. The geometries of the window border frames, themselves developed from geometry expressing transcendental ratios, provide a programmable framework that is intrinsically energized. And when combined with both words and music of a liturgy (energized further by the geometry and chant), have the potential to form a veritable "broadcasting station" disseminating a subliminal, liturgical message.
It is unfortunate that the colored glass chosen by G. Richter is unfocussed and scattered across the color spectrum. A focussed, unified color scheme, or at least a tighter palette could have worked much more powerfully in concert with the energized geometries of the window borders. It is a relief that there are no liturgically themed graphics (no ever-present Christians-At-War). I wish Schjeldahl's article had included comments on the value of including a focussed color scheme. The resulting window is burlesque in the sense of possessing a strong and articulated frame, but extremely weak subject matter. The transformative medium of light, color and geometry is capable of so much more!
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