Dario Rutigliano: (ARTiculAction)

interviewing Immo Jalass

Dario Rutigliano: (1) Hello Immo, and a warm welcome to ARTiculAction. I
would start this interview with my usual introductory question: what in your
opinion defines a work of Art? By the way, what could be in your opinion the
features that mark an artwork as a piece of Contemporary Art?
Immo: My definition of an art work in general combines the criteria
Idea, Object/subject and techniques in it's quality while contemporary
art is always spacetime bound, the space time it was or is made in.
Dario Rutigliano: (2) As a basically self-taught artist, what did you find to be
the biggest challenges to improving your work through the years of your long
career? In particular, are there any experience that has impacted on you and
on your development as an artist?
Immo: The missing of my father in the first 8 years because of the
beginning of world war 2 that caused a now slowly ending for some
kinds of distortions, my drawing works at school, my attempts to find
my right way in a world of hopeless desease. Meeting the painter Jens
Cords in Hamburg who impressed me with his acribic handling of the
oil colors in nature studies. Amsterdam 1969 when I was working as
an Art instructor for the Famous Artits School that opened some new
ways to draw and paint while explaining what and how to do so.
Dario Rutigliano: (3) By the way, what particular artists, if any, did influence
you during your early years of painting and how did you first come across their
work?
Immo: Reading and studying books about Leonardo da Vinci, Hercules
Seeghers one of Rembrandt van Rijn's teachers, Paul Cezanne,
Gauguin, Modigliani, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Vincent van
Gogh, Paul Klee, Giacometti, Oskar Kokoschka, later Francis Bacon
and many others. Corneille and Martin Kippenberger I met personally.
Some of them in the Kunsthalle Hamburg.
Dario Rutigliano: (4) Before starting to elaborate about your production, would
you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for
making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly
focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before
and during the process of creating a piece?
Immo: In my early years (round about at the age of 18 I was sitting

together with a school friend outside on the meadows drawing the

landscapes with pencil, color pencil and ink. I did linol cuts
associating natural impressions. At my 21th birthday I got an oil color
set and started with natural impressions ranging from landscape
views to plant structures under the microscope that fascinated me.
Later I went to Sweden and made some scetches here and there. 1962
I first travelled to the Netherlands (Dordrecht) sitting outside in the
lands making series of ink drawings on paper.
Dario Rutigliano: (5) Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from
Evelyn and Imageproof that our readers have already started to admire in
the introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest to our readers to
visit your website directly at http://galeriejalass.tripod.com in order to get a
wider idea of your artistic production ... In the meanwhile, would you like to tell
us something about the genesis of these pieces? What was your initial
inspiration?
Immo: Living alone on Ibiza (Spain) in the years 1965 1968 at the
age of 27 I made drawings (scetches) from posing girl friends that I
had met there. This pencil scetches formed the base I was working
out later in oil on canvas while keeping their personality in mind
(Evelyn has originally been one of them drawn on paper with pencil,
color pencil and ink.) Later I photographed this drawing/s and worked
it/them out with Photoshop (over expressing Evelyn being in great
fear of the dentist). Imageproof is based on a photo of myself that
went through many stages of sizing and resizing, color changes,
copying another picture in transparent modus into it, setting slight
corrections here and there, again some color corrections until I was
somewhat satisfied with the expression of myself as taking up a kind
of imprint from my surroundings.

Dario Rutigliano: (6) Multidisciplinarity is a crucial feature of your artistic

approach: in particular, in these years you have dedicated yourself to
Computer Art and I have highly appreciated the effective synergy between
different materials and techniques that you have been capable of establishing
by replacing the easel with a computer monitor and the palette of oil colors
with digital graphics programs... while crossing the borders of different
techinques have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between
different techniques is the only way to achieve some results, to express some
concepts, especially in modern times?
Immo: Yes indeed. Crossing the border from oil paintings to
computerprograms has been an evolutionary upgrade. Working on
photographies of my old oil paintings has brought me to new concepts
with new results, especially the possibility to create tremendous
variations on one subject (theme) in relatively short time without
loosing the original. This is fascinating. Creating endless series is an
exaggeration but I often create 5, 6, 7 or some times even much more
variations, kind of developments of one theme. At the end there are
remaining mostly one or two art works which are outstanding and the
best on that theme (subject).
Dario Rutigliano: (7) As you have remarked once, one of the goal of your Art is
is to create for the viewer worlds of images of infinite vastness that are both
exciting, eerie, inspiring, images that should therefore be seen as "moments of
eternity.
I have highly appreciated the way your approach investigates about the
concept of landscape, challenging the viewer's perception, establishing a deep
involvement with the viewers, both on an intellectual aspect and - I dare sayon a physical one... so I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal
experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you
think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?
Immo: Yes, I would say that the creative process can be disconnected
from direct experience especially while working out different series
on a or one subject (theme). Often I start with a photography working
on it by copying (eventually parts), start new coloring, decoloring and
recoloring, strechting, detailing forms, controlling the run of color,
copying again, settings strokes, shifting forms, experimenting with
cuts until not one of the original photographical pixels are left. Then
starting the series or copying two picture into each other until I
mostly can't remember with which photography I originally started.
Dario Rutigliano: (8) One of the feature of your works that has mostly struck
on me is the dynamicity, the sense of movement that you have been capable
of impressing on your pieces... and I have highly appreciated the nuance of

intense tones which creates an interesting synergy rather than a contrast

between such bright tones, as in Paris Intersection and in the extemely
interesting Urban Shift and Rotation, which I have to admit are some of my
favourite pieces of your recent ones... by the way, any comments on your
choice of "palette" and how it has changed over time?
Immo: My favorite colors in my oil paintings on Ibiza where ochre and
blue. Now with the computer I am up with the full color palette and all
possible shapes. In Urbanshift I brought the colors extremely down
to very vague tones. Urbanshift goes back to a photography I have
taken on a street scene in Amsterdam near the Haarlemmer Plein. It's
an amazing way from such a photography to the art work Urbanshift
a development I never could have seen in advance.

Dario Rutigliano: (9) And I couldn't do without mentioning Landsend,

Landstress and Landscapethought which are part of your lansscape
series... I would dare say that these works eloquently succeed in conveying
the perception of an inner harmony: moreover, I would like to stop for a
moment to consider the "function" of the landscape suggested by this
stimulating series: it has suggested me the concept that some informations &
ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we
need -in a way- to decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could
be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature...
what's your point about this?
Immo: I have practised Yoga for several years and my landscape
series indeed are in some way contemplations in search for inner
peace eloquently succeeded in conveying the perception of an inner
harmony. That is really well observed and recognized by you.

Regarding encrypted information I would like to speak about hidden

forces in nature and in the world that are waiting to be discovered.
Perhaps I may be try to evoke them. I may want to evoke a
resentment, a requital or revenge for some kind of hidden forces
setting them into symbols. But up to now there is no key to decipher,
just recentments but a constant search for it and them probably exist.
Dario Rutigliano: (10) Dealing with your imagery, I noticed that many of your
pieces are imaginary landscapes, abstract expanses or shots of cities that, as
you have remarked once, seem to be taken on another planet. Many
contemporary landscape artists have some form of environmental or even
political message in their works: do you consider that your images could have
such a political connotation in this way or do you seek to maintain a neutral
approach?
Immo: No, there is no political connotation at all, more a scientific
approach. As Elizabeth Hoeveler wrote in her comment on my work:
... Immo Jalass makes us realize what scientific minds have been talking
about for years if I where teaching Quantum Physics and this would be part
of my tutorial even the sleepiest student would be galvanized into realizing
that, not only is this art, but quantum textbook illustrations of leaping
exercises. Look at these pictures ...
Dario Rutigliano: (11) During your over 50 years career your works have been
shown in several occasions: what impressions did you receive from these
wonderful experiences? By the way, it goes without saying that feedbacks and
especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I sometimes wonder if
the expectation of a positive feedback- could even influence the process of an
artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your
audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive
your pieces?
Immo: I would say Yes and No. How much is conscious and how
much is unconscious in perceiving words, written and/or spoken. It
makes me somewhat happy if there is some kind of understanding as I
have met it for example in E Hoevelers words as cited above and in
your interview.
(if you like, we could pubish some photos from your recent exhibitions)

Good idea. I would like it.

Dario Rutigliano: (12) Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your
thoughts, Immo. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for
you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to
be aware of?

Immo: First many thanks to you for your interesting and

understanding questions regarding my art work. I really enjoy to
answer. Regarding my future I only want to say: Just going on!. I have
nearly no idea what is to come up. Often I am asking myself if more
technical support (features, possibilities) regarding the programs I
am working with could or would influence and/or develope my work.
Some times I am thinking that it would be great if this or that new
feature would exist to do this or that in my pictures but I am
relatively happy with the actual situation.
Sure it would make me happy if I would or could sell some of my work.
Ideally I would prefer to sell just the digital file (TIFF in highest
resolution together with all copyrights documented) but who has the
right digital frame at home to give it a good place. I am dreaming of
digital displays without frame with USB support in larger sizes but
couldn't find such equipment yet. Again thanks and success for us.
Immo at http://galeriejalass.tripod.com