From the talk "Catastrophe and commerce: about the relations of art to
the rheinfalls" by Roger Fayet. The talk took place on March 19
in the museum "Allerheiligen" in Schaffhausen:
In a lithograph of Sebastian Münzer, the rheinfalls are reduced
to the elements "rock", "fall", "vortices' as well as "waves".
Also Leonardo da Vinci had dealt with the phenomenon: in many of his
pictures, the dynamics of the water near resistances is displayed
using waves and vortices analogous to hairlines.
In the case of the rheinfalls, the actual fall is
often modeled with cascades. The rheinfalls are placed within a
theater.
The spectacle always included a taste of horror. The large and powerful
phenomenon of nature is attractive. Also Friedrich Schiller
stressed the physical danger over the esthetic power. The impression
of weakness motivates moral action. The silent force of the water which
falls down the abyss has a dynamics, which forced that spectator to
the reflection:
"My heart boiled. Get up and act. Be not afraid!"
|
