Beke László (szerk.): Instruktiv + Inter + Konkret. Művészet Malom Szentendre, 21. November - 26. Januar 2015 (Sankt Augustin, 2014)
11. Heinz Kasper
Thinking is the new art form Plato’s thoughts on art speak to my soul. Just as resolutely as he condemned the development of the so-called “fine arts", he also attributed power to his thoughts that the only art form for man was the art of learning to live a meaningful, upstanding and truthful life. At the turn of the century from 1999 to 2000 at midnight, we, a group of artists, established the beginning of a new spirit in art with an exhibition on the letter “A” at the “Museum Modern Art” in Hünfeld. Gerhard Jürgen Blum Kwiatkowski introduced Parmenides’ philosophical concept of the “intelligible” (that which can only be experienced, comprehended by the mind) into our discussion round. I have always been interested in the concepts of being and thinking. But it was only through the introduction of the term “intelligible” into art that being and thinking took on new weight in my own work. Being and thinking allowed me to make use of what is, in my opinion, man's most ingenious “invention” - the alphabet as a means of expression - early on in my work. Philosophical thought always has and continues to revolve around values, the presence of which is immensely valuable for the preservation of an intellectually prospering society; values that are deeply rooted in the conceptuality of words such as: love, happiness, life, truth, wealth, democracy, art, and many more. In the course of the perceivable changes in values, there are losses of meaning as regards these philosophical ideas. I see it as my task to make visible once more that which makes or has made us as human organisms so valuable. The idea exists as a perfect thought about my work before the work is created. As the perfect thought can hardly be made visible, the work serves merely as an approximation to the work. Thus, objects, images and sculptures are created for the viewer that seem easy to comprehend at first glance when viewed superficially, which I package nicely as regards colour and form for the purpose of approximation. I see this as a bridge; as an offer to uncover a deeper-lying secret. My typographical works are therefore the visual manifestations of the multi-layered world of my thoughts. They are instruments of my inner communication remits and thus a reaction to social developments and development processes. They are my messages; written communiqués to the recipient via a certain “channel”. Insofar as the recipient recognises (or sees) the code of the message, he or she has the possibility of reading or decoding the information and understanding it. Visual symbols are a comprehensive spectrum and the basis of visual communication. Visual dynamics are the consequence of our existence, induced by human nature and our social systems. Withdrawing from visual influences is possible only with a great amount of effort. My internal remit is to uphold philosophical core ideas in contemporary social developments through my work. 135
