My Paintings Are Wiser Than I Am.

The Atlas Belongs To The Lenbachhaus In Munich - It's Long Since Ceased To Belong To Me. Occasionally I Run Across It Somewhere, And I Think It's Interesting Because It Looks Different Each Time.

Well, I Don't Believe There Are Subjects That Can't Be Painted, But There Are A Lot Of Things That I Personally Can't Paint.

Everything Has A Reason, Including The Selection Of The Photos, Which Was Not Arbitrary But Appropriate To The Period, Its Highs And Lows And My Sense Of Them.

When I Look Back On The Townscapes Now, They Do Seem To Me To Recall Certain Images Of The Destruction Of Dresden During The War.

I Wanted To Say Something Different: The Pictures Are Also A Leave-taking, In Several Respects. Factually: These Specific Persons Are Dead; As A General Statement, Death Is Leave-taking. And Then Ideologically: A Leave-taking From A Specific Doctrine Of Salvation And, Beyond That, From The Illusion That Unacceptable Circumstances Of Life Can Be Changed By This Conventional Expedient Of Violent Struggle.