Versumpfung Einer Venus 4 1963

Otto Muehl made this gelatin silver print, Versumpfung Einer Venus 4. It looks like two people are in the midst of being painted, or maybe they're painting each other, or maybe the whole room is the painting. I'm thinking about the act of painting itself and the process of creation. This piece seems to have come into being through trial, error, and intuition. There are no rules, just pure expression. I can't help but sympathize with the artist and imagine what it must have been like to create this scene. What were they thinking as they made it? Was this an exercise in texture? I imagine the surface to be thick and wet and how that would shape our experience of the painting. I can feel their emotions and intentions in every gesture. Muehl seems to be in conversation with artists across time, inspiring creativity. It's a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty. It's up for interpretation.