Wolfgang Laib: Returning to What Is

This interview with Laib gives us  an impression of his views on his practice as well as how his work is viewed. Laib seems very straight forward with his ideas on life and his goals, its almost as if the distinctions that separte work, llife and art are blurred from the way that Laib describes his practice. A simple, “that’s fine” seems to be justification for him feeling that his art is to be viewed in galleries as long as context of taking nature out of its environment is still valid. Most of the interview talks about his art practice, where he finds influence and what it means to be an artist. The most important piece of information I drew from the interview was the distinctions he drew between his practice and spiritualism. Even though his work is often misinterpreted he remains hopeful that his art I a by-product of his outlook on life. Laib also touches on the connections between himself and his work, drawing comparisons between his art and his life experience. His inspiration includes his past profession as a doctor, where he grew up and lives and his life experiences. Through working as a doctor he realised that he could only reach a certain “physical” level. However through his art practice he believes ht can touch people even deeper, possibly the entire world. His aim seems to be to give people the ability to see themselves in relation to the world in a different way.

 

His use of the word,  “Neutral space” when talking about a gallery, gives a unique spin on the idea of how a gallery or institution can function. He seems to be depoliticising the position a gallery takes in relation to art that is shown within it. The gallery may as well just function as four walls and a door as far as he is concerned.

 It seems this position he takes of what type of environment a gallery is informs the decisions he makes about his materials. This use of a foreign object in a neutral place allows a more “pure” form of work to be represented and abstracted. It is through this extraction of the raw material a deeper understanding of the material can be formed. From my reading of the work I find that he is trying to find definition of an object, how it exists. It is through this observation of a material outside of its frame we can discover more about what a material is and how we relate to it. 

 Throughout the interview we are brought back to the act of living itself being an artistic practice. Laib’s tedious day-to-day routine informed his artwork and in the end his work was evidence of that. The collection of the pollen alone was a performance and metaphor of life itself. The final act of dispersing the pollen within an empty space for others to view is an act of demonstration. It is through this demonstration Laib hopes to change the way in which we view life.