Description

At what point does a portrait of a public figure become unrecognizable? From across the gallery, this image of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II is likely easily identifiable. But as you get closer, the blurry halftone pattern emerges and seeing more detail is not possible. Gerhard Richter has explored a variety of photomechanical processes because of their “nonart” commercial use. Richter’s artwork is not about the source photograph or even the famous individual being pictured. The artist is fascinated by our perception of the image: starting with a recognizable person allows him to push the boundaries of that recognition.