Vera Molnar : A Cognitive Process

"My final aim, in common with so many painters of history, is to be able to create valuable works of art in a conscious way. Conscious way does not mean in my opinion the suppression of intuition, but its reinforcement by a cognitive process; it does not mean that painting becomes a matter of logic. Art at its inception is essentially intuitive, it is in its elaboration that intuition needs control and aid by cognition."

-Vera Molnar

Vera Molnar (1924-) is a Non-figurative computer artist. She was born in Budapest, Hungary but has primarily worked in Paris. She started using her signature material in 1968. Molnar seems to see herself as a painter whose brushes are keystrokes. Her art is systematic. She is very interested in order, logic, and geometry. Unlike many modern artists, she does not aim to have a meaning behind her beyond the beauty and process of working with simple geometric forms. I choose to do this artist because her work 25 Carrès reminds me of an artist Professor Scheer introduced to me, Kazimer Malevich. This is an artist who I am even more interested in and identify with as I learn more about her work.

Computer Torah (1976)

Computer Torah is one of Vera Molnar's lovely Livrimages, Art Books she made. The word "Livrimage" is a combination of the word livre, which is French for book and image, which is something you see. The work is two sheets of tracing paper, about 11"x10" with each short end of the work is wrapped around a rod on each end, much like the Holy text it's named for. There are ten rows on the image that run parallel the length of the image and are each made of s "deconstruction of a module programmed algorithmically in complete concentric squares" that as the run along the image slowly dissolve into a single line" It is accompanied by the following definition of a Torah from "Le Robert", a French dictionary

"doctrine, education, law (...) name the Jews give the Pentateuch, especially the Law of Moses (...) Roll of parchment wrapped around two sticks, with the text of the Pentateuch copied by hand, according to strict rituals." (Translation)

This piece is a great example of what Molnar means by "cognitive" meaning. The artist shows the endless variations of the idea of a god and from that possibly understand a secret meaning and see the collective interpretation of this idea, not the emotion but literally the thought of such. I think that this really shows, what the artist's goal in art is, "To create work in a conscientious way". This piece seeks to question the idea of god in a global world; particularly in the way these rows eventually lose their complexity and become a single thought or line. Another element that highlights the pieces religious aspect is the way these lines almost lead the eye like rays of light, similar to the Stained glass windows of a cathedral

Hommage à Dürer (1989-2004)

The work is one of a series titled "Hommage a Durer". This particular one is made with 400 crossed needles crossed by wire and knotted thread on cloth covered plywood diptych painted with black acrylic.  It is nearly 3ft square. This piece is from her collection made in honor of the artist Albrecht Durer and inspired by his engraving "Melancholia I". This inspiration is most strongly seen in both the rhythm of the "Magic Square" in the engraving and in Molnar's piece.

Melancholia I itself is a highly identifiable work and much reinterpretation since it was created in 1514. This is not without reason, it is after all it's subject is Melancholia Imaginativa, the first of Agrippa's three Melancholia and the one he believed creative and types were greatly susceptible to, in which "imagination prevailed over mind or reason" and supposedly those afflicted with it were believed to be the most likely to go insane. Durer himself supposedly said before he made this masterpiece "what is beautiful I do not know". Certainly chilling, and sometimes identifiable words to many, Vera Molnar was likely one of those who identified with his statement.

Homage a Durer is similar to Malnar's first pieces of computer art in that it shows her repeated use of simple geometric forms and the "stepwise modifications" she uses to change them slightly from form to form. It's no surprise that this image caught Molnar's eye, despite being an allegory in addition being very much the opposite of her work content wise, it has many characteristics she values in her work including the magical square, a kind of math puzzle and intricate black and white working. Both works, despite being wildly different in what one looks at in the piece are strikingly similar in what one sees in the work.

Also Checkout

"Love-story (à l'ordinateur)" 1974, Photographs pasted on Cardboard, Vera Molnar

"Rien n'est changé; tout change" 1974, Livrimage, Vera Molnar

"Signature sur deux carrés" 2005, Acrylic on Canvas, Vera Molnar

"Moldrian" 1974, Plotter Drawing, Vera Molnar

Also you can view her Artist's statement here http://dam.org/artists/phase-one/vera-molnar/artist-s-statement

all images courtesy of the Digital Art Museum, except Melancholia I, which is courtesy of Wikimedia commons

Sources

"Albrecht Dürer: Melencolia I (43.106.1) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/43.106.1 (accessed October 6, 2013).

Molnar, Vera. "Artist and Computer - VERA MOLNAR." AtariArchives.org - archiving vintage computer books, information, and software. http://www.atariarchives.org/artist/sec11.php (accessed October 6, 2013).

"Vera Molnar." Vera Molnar. http://www.veramolnar.com/ (accessed October 6, 2013).

Baby, Vincent. "The Livrimages." In Vera Molnar, Inventory 1946-1999. Munich: Preysing, 1999. (Excrept).

"DAM - Digital Art Museum." Vera Molnar. http://dam.org (accessed October 3, 2013).

Moles, Abraham A., and Elisabeth Rohmer. Art et ordinateur. Paris: Blusson, 1990.

"MUSEUM RITTER - Vera Molnar." MUSEUM RITTER. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. <http://www.museum-ritter.de/sprache2/n679906/i804965.html>.