After The Performance

This essay demonstrates a theoretical analysis for contemporary German artist--Konrad Klapheck’s artworks. In order to discover the development and formation of his present artistic style, we start from looking at Klapheck’s paintings on different stages of his career. By systematically analyzing his oeuvre, we are able to justify and summarize the causes and stimuli for his artistic production.In preface, there is a brief introduction for the artist, including his biography, current investigation on the thesis and research methods.In the first chapter, forms and styles are being discussed and analyzed. Starting from looking at Klapheck’s early stage of his career, when he was influenced by, and involved with the burgeoning Surrealist Movement-a prominent artistic movement being taking place in Bredon, Paris. Then, we took a look at his time in US, when he was honored as a "German Pop Art representative" during his staying in New York. Concurrently, his social and financial status has risen to an unprecedented level. A dialectical analysis on the relationship between financial success and artistic achievement are made straight after. The last part of this chapter discusses the identity of Klapheck, obtained when returning to motherland Germany. The differences between the acquired social identity and self-explained ideal are also being discussed in this chapter.In chapter two, Klapheck’s paintings are scrupulously examined. Specifically focusing on his masterpieces. Klapheck’s fundamental ideas and thoughts on artistic production are discussed in details. Why did the artist have chosen the industrialization as his main theme? Why does the artist juxtapose the conventional oil painting techniques with the motif of nostalgic memories in industrialized era? The more deeply we consider the artist Konrad Klapheck, the more we find ourselves facing these fundamental questions concerning human existience--How the artist demonstrated his determination to ask fundamental questions about the value of human life? This chapter explains such questions mentioned above.Compositions, use of colors, forms are elaborately discussed and analyzed in chapter three. Klapheck’s concept of modeling and character design, as well as the preparation for the modeling gave the basic artistic principles and decisions to his art.The last chapter is the background information of this thesis, elaborating the images and conceptions of industrial civilization hidden in Klapheck’s works in three angles: 1.The psychological features of the work shown by the symbol of the industry era and the spiritual orientation of human represented by technical evolution; 2. The isolation of time and features of civilizations raised by the adoption of Greek mythology in Klapheck’s art as well as some thoughts it stimulates; 3. Character design based on the correlation of modern cultural spirit and technical revolution.Nowadays, we are going through a transforming stage of art with unpredictability in countless artistic forms and styles. This case study based on Konrad Klapheck is a representation and reaction of our respect to this ever changing world of art.