P-06 Portraits — Ludwig Rauch

Portraits
since 1981

and how I met Sigmar Polke

The pain, which all of a sudden pierced my toe was short and stinging. But now it was up to me to endure it and in meantime not to loose contact to his greyblue eyes. Then something completely unexpected happened…

Sigmar Polke, 1986, Nimes

Sigmar Polke, 1986, Nîmes

The French art journal „Beaux Arts Magazine“ had assigned me to cover Sigmar Polke on the occasion of his great Exhibition in the Carré d’Art, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Nîmes. There was not much preparation necessary as Sigmar Polke was one of the artists who fascinated me all my life, and whose work I knew very well and still is influencing my own artistic works. No other of the international stars of his generation had so much succeeded in triggering and provoking, in surprising, in showing a great sense of humor and in meantime developing a perfect aesthetic language. So there couldn´t be an assignment more welcome for me. It was summer, there was Nimes, a beautiful museum out of glass and steel and full of light, just built by Norman Foster in a nice relation to a Roman Temple nearby.
The maestro was walking around, always surrounded by an entourage of assistants and press Attachés, his film camera with him all day, he was supervising the hanging of his works. I was photographing with my plate camera picture after picture, he switched the works, I photographed again, and the other way round. The only thing: I couldn´t meet him, couldn´t make pictures of him – which was the important part of my assignment. Every try to approach him was banned. Maybe later, maybe not at all, who are you, what is your point, just take pictures of the exhibition….

I talked to the director. He was nervous and excited. He really wanted that feature story about his museum to be covered in the most important art magazine of the country. But obviously he couldn´t help me approaching Polke. The next day passed by as the day before, besides Polke seemed to be even more unaccessible. I felt frustration and anger piling up. What an arrogant dude. And let the director know, that in case I had no access to the artist till the end of next day I would leave and provide no pictures at all. And decided to make a last direct try.

I was lurking behind a corner and getting more aggressive every minute. Then, after a while, the entourage was approaching and Polke in front. I darted out of my hiding place, extended my hand, and blocked his way. He was large and strong and had a belly, and he looked at me through his colored glasses kind of top-down, although he was smaller. But his handshake was spongy. That was my chance: I gripped his hand and I pressed as strong as I could. When I was a young man I sometimes earned money by arm-wrestling against construction workers. He endured my pressing and kept a straight face. Then all of a sudden I felt that pain in my toe. I needn´t look down: Vehement and precisely he stepped fully on purpose with his heel on my foot. He smiled, then laughed, first restrained then open and loud. „What do you want, you want me to strip for you“, were his first words to me. „That would be nice“ I answered.

He stepped in front of one of those glass walls, who opened up towards the beautiful city with that nice Italian flair and started to get rid of his short-sleeved shirt, then his undershirt, and started posing with naked upper body. I started photographing, aware, that the backlight would spoil every single picture. The people in the room couldn´t trust their eyes, they didn´t notice, what had happened between us.

From that moment I could accompany him all day. Made hundreds of pictures, observational, staged, or something in between. That picture I photographed in black and white with my small Leica and that is the one I love most.

Later we had coffee and talked. He was interested in my work as well – a little. More in my camera equipment. He took it, let me explain made some portraits of me. There are not much portraits of me, and I never showed these ones in public. After all these years my heart is still pounding, when I think back of this wonderful encounter.

And I am a little proud that some of the few portraits of myself are made by Sigmar Polke.

Photo by Sigmar Polke, 1996, Nimes

Portraits

Reinhard Melzer, Berlin, 1982, Mouth Painter
1938-2024

Sigmar Polke, 1986, Nîmes, Artist
1941-2010

Neo Rauch.2022, Leipzig, Artist

Georg Baselitz, 1996, Derneburg, Artist

Jan Hoet 1992, Curator documenta IX, 1936–2014

Chatarine David, Berlin, 2005, Curator documenta X

Kasper König, Berlin, 1996,
Curator, 1943-2024

Duglas Gordon, 2010, Berlin, Artist

Herrike Naumann, Potsdam 2020, A

Ernst Jünger Venedig 1993, Writer, 1895–1998

Eduardo Ponjuan, Rene Francisco,
Havanna, 1994, Artist

Roman Opalka, Venedig, 1997, Artist, 1931-2011

Titus Schade, Leipzig, 2022, Artist

Martin Walser, Nußdorf, 2008, Writer
1927–2023

Arsen Savadov, Kiew, 2005, Artist

Andrei Dmitrijewitsch Sacharow, Moskau, Kremel,
1989, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 1921 -1989

Bernhard Heisig, Strodehne, 1992, Artist
1925–2011

Rio Reiser, 1990, Fresenhagen, Musician
1950-1996

Ernst Beyeler, Fondation Beyeler, Schweiz,2006,
Galerist, 1921–2010

Tina Bara, Berlin, 1988, Photogrpher

Sam Keller, Miami, USA, 2005,
Director Fondation Beyeler

Uwe Kowski, Berlin, 2022, Artist

Yvette Kießling, Leipzig, 2022, Artist

Paolo Bianchi, Christoph Doswald,
Havanna, 1994, Art historian

Enno Kaufhold, Berlin, 2019, Photo historian

Cai Guo-Qiang, Venedig, 1999, Artist

Alfred Hdlicka, Berlin, 1986, Artist
1928–2009

Rosa Loy, Neo Rauch, Leipzig, 2022, Artist

Jonas Burgert, Berlin, 2006, Artist

Volker Stelzmann,Berlin, 2007, Artist

Neo Rauch, Leipzig, 2014, Artist

Angela Hampel, Dresden, 1988, Artist

Blalla W. Hallman, Berlin, 1996, Artist
1941-1997

César Baldaccini, Venedig, 1993, Sculptor
1921–1998

Clemens Gröszer, Berlin, 1994, Artist
1951-2014

David Chipperfield, London, 2010, Achitect

Hanns Schimanski, Berlin, 1988, Artist

Fritz Cremer, 1988, Berlin, Artist
1906–1993

Heiner Müller, 1988, Berlin, Writer
1929-1995

Ulrich Wüst, Berlin, 1991, Photogrpher

Gisela Kleinlein, Düsseldorf, 1991, Artist

Muhammad Ali, Berlin, 2005, Berlin, Boxer
1942-2016

Horst Bartnig, Berlin, 1995, Artist

Isabella Rossellini, Berlin, 2006, Actress

Judy Lübke, Berlin, 1991, Gallerist

Kristina Schuldt, Leipzig, 2022, Artist

Ingrid Roscheck, Köln, 1994, Artist

Sam Keller, Iggy Pop, Miami, 2006

Klaus Hähner-Springmühl, Karl-Marx-Stadt,
1988, Artist, 1950 - 2006

Klaus Werner, 1996, Leipzig, Art Historian

Matthias Weischer, Bielefeld, 2005, Artist

Martin Eder, Miami, 2005, Artist

Micha Ullman, Tel Aviv, 1997, Artist

Michael Morgner, Chemnitz, 1996, Artist

Nightingale of Paris, 1996, Paris, Artist

Neo Rauch, 1988, Leipzig, Artist

Neo Rauch, 2010, Leipzig, Artist

Arno Rink, Leipzig, 2005, Artist
1940 -2017

Rune Mields, Köln, 1993, Artist

Richard Hamilton, Venedig, 1995, Artist
1922–2011

Robert Liebknecht, Berlin, 1992, Artist
1903–1994

Rosa Martinez, Venedig, 2005, Curator

Rosa Loy, Leipzig, 2022, Artist

Sabine Herrmann, Berlin, 1988, Artist

Werner Stötzer, Altlangsow, 1996, Artist
1931-2010

Strawalde, 2013, Berlin, Artist

Antoni Tapies, Venedig, 1993, Artist
1923–201

Wolfgang Smy, Dresden, 1988, Artist

Max Uhlig, Dresden, 2014, Artist

Yoshua Neustein, Venedig, 1997, Artist

Lena Freitag, Berlin, 2005

Nam Yune Paik, Venedig, 1995, Artist
1932-2006

William Kentridge, Miami, 2005, Artis

Hella Stroletzki Cottbus 2024, Artist

Via Lewandowsky, Berlin, 1988, Artist

Thomas Schütte, Düsseldorf, 1994, Artist

Gundula Schulze Eldowy, Berlin, 1988, Photogrpher

Roman Siegner, Venedig, 1999, Artist

Andreas Küchler, Dresden, 1988, Artist
1953–2001

Franziska Holstein, Leipzig, 2005, Artist

Harald Metzges, Wegendorf, 2014, Artist