Agulha Revista de Cultura: Jan Dočekal | With painter Josef Bubeník about color and composition

When painter Josef Bubeník (1965), a member of the group Stir up, talks about his work, he uses different names. It defines them through commonly known terms. But it also has its own interpretations. This is Bubeník's journey to his own theoretical texts. They go beyond the dimension of primary art work, in which they have a fundamentals of opinion. In general, they are not always fully certain. However, for Josef Bubeník, he says, he is an important starting point and direction for further consideration.

JD | Let us focus on two key themes, color and composition. These are stones whose place in the construction of paintings, not just yours, is of utmost importance.

JB | I realize that the words would be more understandable: When I sit in front of an empty canvas, I have ideas full of mystery and concern. I feel that my first brush strokes will be entering a sandy and arid landscape. I, the creator, will fill the landscape, create something similar to a new life. I touch the stars, putting positive energy in the image. I think that the energy has healing effects, has a positive effect on… and also… and still… Somehow this might look like a painter's confession. Not mine.

JD | Well, to the point. How do you view the color?

JB | The impressionists solved the relationship of color and shape one hundred and forty-five years ago. Also the relationship of color and open space when lighting changes. This included the decomposition of color in relation to incident light. They knew nothing about wavelengths or the relativity of virtually everything around us. Yet, intuitively, they were probably the first to be so equipped that human perception is not always generally valid.

The most fascinating thing about colors is that it is actually electromagnetic waves. The light present, which distinguishes the palette of colors, unfolds in arcs of nanometer distances. When the object is smaller than these nanometer ripples, they are invisible to our eyes. This is an example of viruses that we don't even see with a normal microscope. They are invisible to us because the light passes by and does not reflect anything. Wave spectra penetrate us, but only a narrow segment of the wave is visible to us. And in the middle of this slice is a wide variety of greens of all kinds.

JD | Green shades are your current colors.

JB | Green, teal, turquoise. In the sum of the spectrum of colors seen, they have become the starting point for me painting in recent years. In this green spectrum I find a higher foundation of our existence. Art historian Vaclav Pajurek wrote to me: Monochrome is in a large quantity considerably redundant. That was what abstract art paid for. For me, however, the chosen color scheme is not redundant. I haven't exhausted the possibilities of its color range yet. After all, I move from white to all shades of green, possibly blue, to a pasty dark color. Its density absorbs all reflections, so it is actually black.

JD | In previous years, you have repeatedly mentioned the spectrum of planetary gravity in your exhibition texts. How does this attraction affect our perception of color?

JB | Our thinking, as well as seeing and perceiving colors, is enclosed within a narrow spectrum of planetary gravity. Even the most noble thoughts cannot overcome the limitations of physical order. Our vision is only adapted to the perception of a certain spectrum of electromagnetic waves. It's the same for all organisms on Earth. The ripples reach us through the atmosphere, so the thought processes are filtered by the earthly existence. This definition affects the colors we use. Therefore, the universe appears to us as an empty and dark space. Through such space, we can see the remnants of light from the farthest and brightest stars.

JD | And how is the composition?

JB | There are precise calculations of ideal cuts. They are based on mathematics, in precisely calculated and drawn spirals. For me it is all this: I have to feel the nature of creation. Artwork should be pure and non-speculative. Emotion and empathy are more than calculations. In life and painting, indeed in any work in general. I focus on a kind of central balance, pushing the subject into a golden section does not suit me. I see the geometric center of the image more appropriate.