Cosinus Alpha 4 1964

Otto Muehl has created the artwork ‘Cosinus Alpha 4’ through performative action. It looks like Muehl is using paint and the human form, maybe as a canvas, maybe as an element in a sculpture, or even an element in a happening. I can imagine him, in that moment, driven by impulse, plastering and pouring, figuring it out as he goes. The black and white of the photograph intensifies the drama of the scene, where the model and artist appear as sculptural components within the same plane. I think of artists like Yves Klein, who also used the body, paint, and performance as part of his practice, exploring similar territory around the action of painting as much as the outcome. These artists push the boundaries of what art can be, challenging the established norms and embracing the unpredictable nature of the creative process. Ultimately, artists build on the work of the artists who came before them, and I am left thinking about painting as an act that embraces this constant push and pull, never quite settling, and always in dialogue.