Ikarus

Maximilian Völter

Painting - Oil on canvas

100 x 200 x 3 cm

‚Ikarus" is one of the largest paintings of my current "People" series. The Icarus myth, which significantly influenced this painting in its creation, in art and pop culture a recurring theme and processed in numerous variations and for me a story of great personal importance. He is generally interpreted in such a way that the fall and subsequent death of Icarus is the punishment of the gods for him, because in his arrogance he had come too close to the sun in a high flight. However, in another interpretation, namely that of the Roman poet Ovid, the gods let Icarus die in revenge for his father Dädalus, because he had murdered his own nephew and pupil Perdix out of envy of his abilities. This topic, the child who had to die for his father's sin, served as a mental starting point for this work. Ovid's interpretation thus proves current relevance, since our current world, on a wide variety of levels, is also permeated and shaped by a very intense generational discourse. It is the younger generation who, like Icarus, has to bear the consequences of the sins of their ancestors and therefore has to face a catastrophic future. The currently seemingly non-existent willingness for a cross-generational exchange on an equal footing - for a society of immense importance - and the resulting, increasingly advancing, social division paralyze us and let us fall into a collective lethargy that we cannot afford in the face of the urgency of all our current problems. Thus, this painting is to be understood as a wake-up call, for more awareness, for a cool head in an increasingly heated environment. This conflict, between person and thematic background, is also picturesquely emphasized by the fact that the character depicted almost fades, even threatens to disappear, in contrast to the strong background of the work. Throughout the entire series of works so far, I process my observations and analyses of the lifestyles, behavior and naive longings of modern people, including myself, into as original, almost playful visual worlds as possible. In this (neo-) naive way of representation, children's drawings, or paintings, I do not dissimilar, consciously waive pictorial ambiguities and academic rules in order to allow both the greatest possible room for interpretation and identification within the consideration. I am convinced that even with very simple means every kind of feeling or concept can be conveyed and in particular the imperfect and 'wrong' it is able to transport closeness and immediacy. To design something new with this form of imaginative painting and thus create authenticity in a playful way, I always feel more honest and challenging than to copy life with learned technology.