Tal R on Daniel Richter - Daniel Richter on Tal R

"We don't inspire each other, we steal from each other". See what happens when you put together two artists who are also friends, and get them to comment on each other's paintings.

Tal R (b. 1967) and Daniel Richter (b. 1962) belong to the same current in visual art. In the video they express their obvious respect for each other. Tal R admires Richter's painting style, Daniel Richter has an eye for the humorous sides of Tal R's pictures.

Interview by Christian Lund, Louisiana.

Recorded at the Two Days Art festival at Louisiana, May 2012.

Music by Mulatu Astatke.

Produced by Martin Kogi and Christian Lund

Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

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Louisiana Channel is a non-profit video channel for the Internet launched by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in November 2012. Each week Louisiana Channel will publish videos about and with artists in visual art, literature, architcture, design etc.

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Supported by Nordea-fonden.

We don´t inspire each other, we steal from each other.

Yes.

So, inspiration is...

Yes, is from the world of lies, it's stealing!

Tal R "Blind Date", 2009-2010

Daniel Richter "Study for the amazing comeback of Dr Freud", 2005

It's called "Study for the amazing comeback of Dr. Freud".

The usual chronography when you watch any painting, you look at the image and then you look at the title

and you look at the year, and then you have a package of three things:

year, title and image.

It's "Blind Date".

He made a joke!

He wants to confuse us.

It looks like a weird nude from the back

the figure is transparent as the shadow is transparent

and then, on the top of this figure is this weird "moofti" or Taliban looking face.

It's obviously a police man who has disguised himself as a cup of tea,

and a wealthy man with a gun.

It could be a kind of a woman dressed up like a man, but even the head seems like

it doesn't really belong to the body.

There is also humanity, and humanity is in bad shape, and endangered.

A naked human body in a Taliban is something that is usually not mixed.

It's about financial power versus the power of the state,

and the struggle between these two evil powers.

There is all this kind of "roads" into the painting,

and when you leave, you probably have more questions than answers,

and that's the generosity of the painting.

There is always the level of, what do you call... content?, and interpretation.

It looks actually like Daniel had other plans,

but first he had other plans that went that direction,

because a lot of the paint is running that direction.

You call these "noses", the colours that dropped, and then he tried to hide them

with the green and then he found out

he took the wrong colour, and you will see through it anyway.

And then finally, suddenly, he probably tried different directions

and then in the end he did this "pavour" style painting of just drawing all over the surface.

And then he just left it as an artistic decision, but honestly, it's just laziness and improvisation.

It's almost like a drawing,

it´s just thinly painted on the top of a lot of mess.

I think it's the absolute right thing to do because

it leaves place for the accident and let´s say, playfulness or intelligence of the accident.

I actually like that is absolutely flat,

absolutely flat, and closed,

and I like this notion and way of just drawing over this flatness.

At the end of the day, I think, it's always about how it's done,

and the way is done also describes the view on the world.

I think I feel connected.

It's the work, I would say, that was...

I've never seen before but immediately understand where it comes from.

I think we have the share of the same interest.

I think we eat from a lot of the same sources.

I think when we both die, when we are nearing death,

people will not be able to tear them apart anymore.

It means nothing,

it's just like in the library,

he is with an "R" and I'm with an "R".

That's why they put as together.

It's all a coincidence.