Werner Buettner: Undichte Schluesselloecher: Exhibition Catalogue Cfa Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin

Has Werner Buettner’s world of images indeed grown funnier, more colorful, or should one, follow ing Kristian Vistrup Madsen’s observations, consider it to be invariably gloomy and oppressive? The latter certainly applies to a work such as Brueder (Kain + Abel) from 1983, but no longer in such exclusivity to his most recent works. Here, the bitter singing of NO-FUTURE by the protagonists of the 1980s is accompanied by a good portion of ironic melancholy and caustic mockery. His use of color has also changed–the earthy tones giving way to a certain signal-like quality, yet without severing the connection to his earlier works. But what led to such a melancholy softening of his worldview? Is it a general consequence of getting older? Or is it based on the more specific consciousness of now actually being too old for the Not-wanting-to-become-like-the-old-folk (in the 1980s)? Or does everything have its rather simple reason in the realization: Alcohol (dis-)solves everything–or is it self-knowledge which outshines everything, but still can hardly prevent that madness and confusion that continues to play their game with us?