Helmut Starcke; South African 1935-2017; Prayer 7 (For Enlightenment)
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Note : In the present lot, Helmut Starcke presents a striking image of a darkened hillside beneath a vivid cobalt sky. The central form, a grass-covered low mountain, somewhat recalling the form of his earlier haystack screenprints, is rendered with graphic simplicity and textured brushwork. The ground below is scattered with what appear to be boulders or debris, painted in stark whites and greys, giving the terrain a scorched or otherworldly quality. Over the entire scene, evenly spaced flames fall from above, arranged in a loose grid. These bright orange fire-marks feel more symbolic than natural, suspended between meteor shower, digital pattern and religious iconography. Their repetition introduces a Pop Art sensibility, yet their subject matter suggests threat, warning, or spiritual reckoning. This balance between formal control and emotional charge is central to Starcke's work. He draws from photographic reference but distorts and simplifies his images to make space for ambiguity. Influences from Pop Art and Surrealism can be seen in the flattened colour planes, manipulated repetition and disjunction between foreground and background. The title suggests that this is not just a landscape, but a meditation: a visual prayer for clarity or transcendence, set against a backdrop of environmental or existential unease. As in much of Starcke's work, the viewer is left to decide whether the fire signals destruction or transformation Helmut Starke was born in West Germany in 1935. He completed an apprenticeship at the Werbekunst Publicity Studio, Frankfurt and went on to work as a graphic designer for J Walter Thompson, Frankfurt. Starke then moved to Cape Town to work at P N Barrett Advertising and Lindsay Smithers (Cape) Pty Advertising. In 1973, he was appointed as a full-time lecturer in Graphic Design at the University of Cape Town's Michaelis School of Fine Art. Starke participated in numerous solo and group shows; most notably in the 1964 and 1966 Venice Biennale and the 1963 Sao Paolo Biennale. Starke often used his art to critique social and political issues, drawing inspiration from Pop Art-particularly artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein-as well as from Photorealism and Surrealism. He experimented with visual ambiguities by merging two environments within a single picture plane and manipulating light and colour to transcend the objectivity of the photographic source images.
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