Annika Döring

On today's warm September day, we set off for Bochum to meet an extraordinary young artist. Annika Döring is in the middle of her doctoral thesis, but took time out for the interview with artist ritual. Annika impressed me a lot in the preliminary research, because she does something very special for the art world: she paints nudes of men.

artist ritual: Annika, thank you very much for letting me visit you in Bochum today and for letting me interview you.
You prefer to paint nudes. Where did your interest in this style come from?

Annika: It almost came naturally. I have always loved painting and I noticed that I am more interested in painting natural forms - water, landscapes, flowers and bodies. Anything that is somehow technical, very straightforward like architecture, for example, is not my thing at all. Then I realised that the nudes are exactly what I find easiest and that it was also the thing that went down best.

artist ritual: You also paint nudes of men. That is very special, because men usually paint nudes of women. What fascinates you about that?
Annika: I am fascinated by how it is perceived. Because actually you would think that a nude by a man is basically the same as a nude by a woman. But it is perceived quite differently. I noticed that at my last exhibition, for example, where I showed nudes by men and by women. The nudes by women are judged purely aesthetically. People come and look at them, find them beautiful or not so beautiful, and then ask themselves, "Will this fit into our living room in terms of colour and size? And with men's files, you can really see that many people are frightened at first. I'm totally surprised because I think, of course, it's unusual. But it's nothing bad at all. I think it's funny that it's perceived as such a taboo. I have already experienced that it is perceived differently. For example, a couple came to the last exhibition and the wife said to me that she thought it was really great the way I was doing it: "Women have always been the objects for men, finally it's the other way round." And her husband said, "That's not true at all. Otherwise women have always taken the place away from us men and now finally someone sees that we men are beautiful too and gives us the appreciation we deserve." I think nudes of women are not so sexually loaded. You can also as a heterosexual woman find a nude of a woman simply beautiful as a picture. It doesn't seem to work with men's nudes for some reason. I don't know any man who isn't gay who would buy that and hang it up. I also find it very interesting that these nudes are often reduced to sexuality or eroticism. But I think that doesn't really have to be the case. Being naked can also symbolise something completely different, something like closeness to nature or vulnerability.

artist ritual: Please describe your artistic style.
Annika: My artistic style is composed of many previous currents. Once from naturalism, then also from symbolism; that something is released through the image - something imaginative, intoxicating, passionate, which takes place in the viewer's mind and is not given per se by the image. You notice this, for example, in the fact that people who see the nudes - although they are quite harmless - always see something erotic. My style also has something of decadence, that is, of the anti-bourgeois. By that I mean doing something that perhaps puts you in an outsider position, because it is absolutely not common. But that precisely this position promotes and increases artistic creativity.

artist ritual: You studied philosophy. How do your studies contribute to your art?
Annika: Generally speaking, philosophers question what is generally taken for granted, critically examine it and then arrive at a new position and take a personal stance on it. And you can see how philosophy comes into it for me, that I simply asked myself why there are no nudes of men. And I decided that I would simply do things differently.

artist ritual: You are doing your doctorate in the field of Mediterranean aesthetics. Tell us something about it.
Annika: My PhD project is about the connection between the Mediterranean, philosophy and art. Aesthetics is an area of philosophy, the question of what is beautiful. In this respect, the field in philosophy is already very closely linked to art or art history. There are then many theoretical philosophical writings about what is beautiful or what makes a work of art a successful work of art. Many of the philosophers who have dealt with the question of the beautiful come from Central Europe. It is almost completely unknown, however, that they were very strongly inspired by the Mediterranean - in fact, always when it comes to art in their writings. They all come to a different conclusion through their inspiration from the Mediterranean, which is what art actually is. For some, a work of art is a successful work of art when it reveals the motif in its essence, that one can better recognise in the work of art what the thing depicted really is, what it consists of, what is relevant about it or what its meaning is, than if one had the object as such in front of one. For other philosophers, art is freedom. Then, in addition, I also deal with how it is in modern art. Does the Mediterranean have a big influence on that too? There I came to the conclusion: Yes! And then in what way and what does it mean? The Mediterranean is important in anti-war art, as an inspiration for peace.

artist ritual: That's a very interesting topic. What is your general attitude towards the art market?
Annika: Basically, I often hear that people are very critical of the art market. I think that the art market itself is not a bad thing. It's normal and it should be that if a person makes a product that other people want to have, he gets money for it. I see no reason why that shouldn't be the case in art. It has to be that way because the artist also needs a livelihood to be able to continue working. That also has something to do with respect and is legitimate and fair and appropriate. Of course, the art market is a bit more opaque, a bit more complex than most other markets. That makes it complicated for many, I can understand that. But basically I think it's important that there is a market for art.

artist ritual: What are you working on at the moment, or what projects do you have coming up?
Annika: I have to finish my doctoral thesis first. That's a main topic. And then I would like to continue with art and have more exhibitions again.

artist ritual: Thank you Annika, for the interesting interview with you!