Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 9632 Light and luminance fascinate. With their transparent glazed layers, Simon Raab’s images painted on metal (aluminum and steel) offer a visual attraction that arises from this fact but that completely turns away from the customary aesthetics of painting. Although, now and then quite distantly related elements do sparkle in the more recent history of painting, that would be all. Or perhaps not? Are there not the icons with their frames that have today mostly become some- what lackluster, which extend deep into the image field but which originally glittered and glowed in order to advocate for the splendor of the divine? Simon Raab does indeed have something to do with this even if his works then, nonetheless, and naturally, look quite different. Simon Raab paints on metal, in multiple layers, which function like glazes in their transparency: the light that hits the eye has permeated many or even all the layers before being reflected,passes through the layers a second time, is transformed in doing so, and first then hits the eye. Although this depth-producing effect can be detected, described, it is nearly impossible to predict: there are simply too many variables. But the optical depth and visual spatiality that are created in this way attract viewers and draw them into the image. Moreover, the paintings develop an awe- inspiring presence when being perceived so that one believes,exactly as in film,that it is possible to hear music when looking at the images. Something between Les Préludes, the Ride of the Valkyries, and 1812. Or: something between Van Halen, Deep Purple, and Queen. Experiences of seeing that leave one short of breath. This is augmented by the structure of the image surface, which is akin to a bas-relief. Because Simon Raab crumples the finished images, supplements the act of creation with an act of destruction, an act that is, however, itself integrated in the art process and therefore becomes a creative act. Seemingly conflicting aspects are united into an aesthetic unit on the higher level of art. As participants in the everyday visual culture and each of us owners of our own imaginary muse- ums,with the work of Simon Raab we have adéjà-vu experience,we recognize motifs,individuals, pictorial inventions, and they trigger memories and associations of ideas. It is not only about the general, about situations and behavior patterns, but also about recognizing photographs of the most famous and familiar individuals such as Queen Elizabeth II, Mahatma Gandhi, or Leonard Cohen, or figures from historical paintings and (self-)portraits such as those by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Leonardo da Vinci. And in them, it is not simply only about the person or about a story told, such as the story of Holofernes being beheaded by Judith, but instead concretely about remembering the historical, originally metaphorical image, painted by Caravaggio. Are they media citations, art-historical allusions, references, documents? The systematic amplification and frequency of recurrence make these re-visitations into more than just citations: they are not parodies or contra-factures. One might call them reconstructions. Reconstruction is a method for re-presenting what has been, what is past, buried, lost in the process or in essence (nature) in a comprehensible manner, or also for creating it once again materially. The decisive characteristic of any reconstruction is, however, the fact that it always leads to something else—its result always comprises elements of otherness, of newness: RECONSTRUCTION AND DISSOCIATION REMARKS ON THE WORK OF SIMON RAAB Michael Schultz