Christian Krausch

„Works of art that are entirely understood by insight and intellect are not really art.“ Theodor W. Adorno

Museums are erotic places. The relationship between a work of art and the observer is based on intimacy and familiarity the way it is (ideally) a requirement of great closeness.

The confrontation with the work of art, be it spontaneous and eruptive or a gradual development, creates a climate of energetic tension that strives for release in the form of recognition.

What is particularly appealing in this is the play with mystery, which guarantees that the observer’s interest is continuously renewed. Secrecy is the basis of continuous curiosity.

Rita Rohlfing is also aware of the power of the mysterious. By means of their partial transparence, her voluminous works made of aluminum, sheets of Plexiglas as well as lacquer paint or colored plastic sheets play with the observer’s perception. Diffuse shimmers of color behind an opaque sheet raise the question of their origin, like reflections of red paint on gleaming layers of metal. Elsewhere the dull surfaces of stainless steel plates play with the angularity of the exhibition space, which becomes unrealistic in the diffuse, distorted mirror image. This is similarly true for the aluminum floor-wall objects, whose apparent volume, which is produced by mirrors, strives to extend the surrounding space on a transcendental level. Each object demands to be walked around or at least looked at from different angles, as only then can one comprehend its complexity. The eye constantly attempts to establish clarity when dealing with the mysterious and shadowy nature of the objects.

Illusion and reality alternate, which leads to an examination of the facts. A tension is created that invariably increases one’s awareness. Consequently, Rita Rohlfing’s works do not have to woo our attention: Their unconventional nature guarantees it. In their combination of simplicity and emotionality, the artist’s sculptures arouse our curiosity for the unknown and the foreign. This lure alone lends her works sustained meaning and power.

The current interior installation Red Light District in the Alte Rotation in Bonn is eloquent testimony to this way of thinking. Even more so than many of Rohlfing’s earlier works, this sculpture lives from the reduction of its media with regard to our superficial perception. At first glance, the object wants to hide itself from sight more than it wants to release itself to our contemplation. The two simple, monumental aluminum boxes, whose surfaces consist of transparent sheets of PVC, quickly direct our complete attention to the industrial architecture of the exhibition space, which is taken up in its clarity. The functional character of the aluminum corresponds with the functionality of the former industrial complex. The observer is enveloped by pragmatic severity. Looking at the PVC sheeting, the initial impression of sole neutrality is contradicted as one becomes aware of a level deep within

the object that cannot be immediately defined. An apparent red light of varying valence shimmers in the belly of the objects and radiates out into the room through the transparent sheeting. This light breaks open the sobriety of the sculpture in favor of an emotionality that compels us to examine the object more closely. Walking around the sculpture one sees various shades of red that change to purple and blue. Because the PVC sheeting stretched over the top of the box is opaque, the precise origin of the different colors being radiated out is unclear. One can only suspect that colored plastic sheets have been stretched within the sculptures and that they are being flooded by artificial lighting from an even deeperlying

level. The changing intensities of the colors can be explained by the varying distances of the different colored sheets to the surface sheeting coupled with the diverging volumes within the massive objects. There is nothing unambiguous about them, which causes us to continuously examine the objects.

Our interest to investigate the inner life of the sculpture is intensified by its mysteriousness.

Its supposed multi-layerdness and surprising depth become a projection surface for assumptions, which in turn expand out into the exhibition space. The architecture appears more complex than it does at first sight. Even if the objects convey an impression of utmost self-evidence that appears to rule out another arrangement of the space, the architecture’s status gains meaning. Its function changes from being an accompanying shell to an essential component of the installation. The space itself becomes an integral part of the sculpture.

Red Light District is Rita Rohlfing’s largest installation to date. It holds numerous secrets with regard to the interaction between object and the surrounding space and the associated variety of perception. The work has experimental character, also for the artist, as the effect at the actual site cannot be fathomed with the use of models. Consequently, its mysteriousness is rooted in the planning. The sculpture remains the custodian of its actual effect and substance until the final moment of its completion and presentation. Each confrontation with the installation can consequently only be an approach towards it; the large number of possible interpretations ensures that the observer remains in a state of tension.

Although it was not a central intention, there prevails an almost intimate relationship of communication between the object and the recipient. The desire to lift the secrets of the work is tantamount to a permanent attempt to approach it, which however only leads to partial recognition. As a place of desire it is not really comprehensible; the „red light district“ in Rita Rohlfing’s installation ultimately remains unapproachable. Consequently, the desires, dreams and possible longing of the observer remain restricted to an intellectual level and in the end can only be fulfilled in one’s fantasy.

Christian Krausch
in: RITA ROHLFING – ROTLICHTBEZIRK, Ausst.-Kat./exh. cat. Bonn, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Bonn 2002, S./pp. 11–15