View of the Emme 1971

Editor: This is Dieter Roth's "View of the Emme," from the Tate collection. The colors create an interesting, almost unsettling effect. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It’s an intriguing landscape, isn't it? The Emme River, evoked through a layering of colors, recalls similar rivers in classical Chinese landscape painting. Roth's use of color acts as a form of cultural memory. What emotions are evoked by the combination of muted greens and intense reds? Editor: I hadn't considered the connection to Chinese painting before. I think the colors create a sense of unease. Curator: Precisely. This unease, however, points to a deeper sense of the sublime. It is a confrontation with nature that is both beautiful and slightly disturbing. Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered. I appreciate the connection to both cultural memory and the sublime.