In the dialogue with Klinge’s work of art, as elementary as it is universally titled “Figure”, the viewer may find it difficult to contain his stream of thoughts. What exactly is the androgynous being that gives birth to its own arms in the form of budding forsythia? The association tends towards statuettes or grave goods from ancient civilizations – favoured by the oriental headgear, countered by the occidental tree or shrub. Less pathetically, it is a “monstrosity” according to the pre-Enlightenment definition: “contrary to nature, or denying its true origin by assuming an alien form”. Pointing the finger at nature offers a fruitful approach: the term “mimesis” is often used in connection with the visual arts, whereby this is by no means a simple imitation of nature, but rather an imitation of the creative power of nature. The artist creates something new and different, he augments the (known) reality and changes his and the viewer’s position in it. Ideally, this change results in the obsolescence of outdated concepts of reality, a reduction in dependence on the seemingly tried and tested, an emancipation. If, in this way, the work of art refuses to attempt to define it clearly, the artist gives us the freedom to think for ourselves – in other words: the work of art does not give the viewer answers, but helps him to ask questions.
