Thore´s artmachine 2.0

The idea of building a machine that paints independently came to the artist Thore Sundermeyer very spontaneously. He was just experimenting with abstract images when the idea came to him. Before doing his work, he applied one coat of paint on top of the next. “This process isn't really anything complicated”, which is why the artist asked himself: “Why can't a construction or a machine do this job?” Then the artist cobbled together an improvised construction in which two canvases were placed one above the other layer. Above them he mounted an old can and drilled a hole in it so that paint could drop onto the canvases. This worked quite well and the results satisfied the artist. He didn't continue to use the construction because the artist pursued other ideas. Some months later, the artist had an interview with the personnel of the museum Leonora Carrington about his artwork, he mentioned about the art machine and they decided to make a collaboration to exhibit it, so the people could see how it works and which are the results.

However, the artist didn't want to exhibit an improvised construction of the machine so he worked on a second version of it in December 2021. This consists of a wooden construction with a tree stump at the foot for stabilization. The most important part are the three canvases, which are stretched between six rods with clamps. Above or behind it are several taps and tubes constructions, which have the task of slowly transporting a diluted acrylic-water mixture onto the canvases by dropping them. A pipe construction even leads down to the second level of the canvases so as not to mix the colors. Since the canvas is not coated, the paint drips through the canvases and each step gets an interesting coloring, when the mix dries it forms a structure which looks like crystals formations. The greatest challenge for him was to construct the taps and tubes in such a way that the paint was targeted and not drained at random.

Behind the machine there are three images that present the results of the first runs. These were framed and stretched by the artist. In addition, there is a flat plastic tub under the machine, which fulfills the function of catching the excess paint so that it doesn't flow into the ground. The artist would theoretically have the opportunity to exhibit more of his pictures in the same room, but in order not to overcrowd it, only two more works are presented.

Let's just ask: What exactly is the work of art here? Everyone thinks of art when they think of paintings, but these paintings were produced mechanically by a machine. On the other hand, the machine is again man's work - so the machine is the work of art, not the paintings. But everyone who goes to the museum will think something like "Oh exciting, a machine that makes art" - although actually the machine itself is already the art. This forces the viewer to question the way they identify art objects as such and distinguish them from other types of objects.