Untitled (Death Mask) 1978

Arnulf Rainer made this unnamed death mask print using blue crayon and a black and white photograph. I can imagine the artist working on it, the photograph already there, kind of static, and then these blue crayon marks, like nervous energy. It's like, what happens when you can't quite reach someone, and all you're left with is a feeling of absence? The blue crayon almost seems to be scratching away at the surface, trying to dig deeper into something that’s no longer there. Rainer is part of a long line of artists, like Munch, Bacon and Kirkeby, who aren't afraid to wrestle with the tough stuff, with the reality of death and the unknown. Making art becomes a way of confronting and trying to understand these difficult experiences, adding to a conversation with other artists, inspiring new ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling.