18. Oktober 1977

Gerhard Richter 18. Oktober 1977 combines a lean, persuasively argued text with an elegantly sober design suited to the subject matter. Richter's 15 black-and-white paintings commemorate the day two leaders of the radical German Baader-Meinhof group were found dead in their prison cells. Gudrun Ensslin appeared to have hung herself. Andreas Baader had been fatally shot. Jan-Carl Raspe was near death from a bullet wound. Two other members of the group had died in prison earlier in the '70s: Holger Meins after a hunger strike; Ulrike Meinhof, by hanging.
On the Left, there was widespread suspicion the dead had been murdered. Photographs of the Baader-Meinhof members were ubiquitous in newspapers of the day. Using photographs as models, Richter painted the dead with a subtle technique--a blurring of certain details and an elegiac use of gray--that calls into question the murkiness of historical "knowledge" and emphasizes the uneasy mixture of compassion and horror evoked by the group's fate.
Source
Based on the text for Amazon.com by Cathy Curtis.
Images of the cyclus can be viewed on MoMA Collection. See also: Gerhard Richter Paintings and This is Baader-Meinhof.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

2005 Dresden
'Gerhard Richter "18. Oktober 1977"' at the Galerie Neuer Meister, Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (March 19-December 31, 2005).
- [exhibition catalogue] Gerhard Storck und Kasper König (Hg.), Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 / Beitr. van Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Stefan Germer und Gerhard Storck. 3. Erw. Aufl. (Walter König : Köln 2005).

2002 New York
'Gerhard Richter : Forty Years of Painting', at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (February 14 to May 21, 2002). The exhibition travelled to The Art Institute of Chicago (June 22 to September 15, 2002), The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (October 11, 2002 to January 14, 2003), The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden/Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (February 20 to May 18, 2003).
- [exhibition catalogue] Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. October 18, 1977 (Museum of Modern Art : New York 2000). Includes extensive bibliographical references (p. 144-147). Reviewed by Peter Wollen, for London Review of Books 23, nr. 7 (April 2001).
- [review] 'October 18, 1977'. An exhibition by Gerhard Richter; includes images and photographs in city review.
  In a conversation with curator Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter looks back on his 40 years as an artist: 'Gerhard Richter. The Day is Long', in Art in America (January 2002) [See FindArticle]. Michael Kimmelman discusses the work of Richter in 'Gerhard Richter. An Artist Beyond Isms', New York Times (January 27, 2002). In 'Call to order', Artforum (January 2002) Tom Holert discusses the exhibition with Robert Storr [See FindArticles]. The exhibition was reviewed (among others) by Jason Cowley for New Statesman (May 6, 2002) and Jonathan Jones for The Guardian (Thursday April 25, 2002).

1997 Berlin
'Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land', 47. Berliner Festwochen at the Martin-Gropius-Bau.
- [exhibition catalogue] Eckhart Gillen (Hrsg.), Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land. Katalog zur zentralen Ausstellung der 47. Berliner Festwochen im Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berliner Festspiele : Berlin/Dumont : Köln 1997) 406-435.

1995 London
'Gerhard Richter. Painting in the Nineties', Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London (31 May to 4 August 1995).
- [publication] Gerhard Richter. Stammheim / Foreword by Anne Seymour (Anthony d'Offay Gallery/Coracle Press : London 1995). A cycle of twenty-three paintings on pages of Pieter H. Bakker Schut, Stammheim. Der Prozess gegen die Rote Armee Fraktion published in 1986 by the Neuer Malik Verlag, Kiel.

Selected Press Reactions 1989
Jürgen Hohmeyer, 'Das Ende der RAF, gnädig weggemalt', in Der Spiegel 13 February 1989.
Betram Müller, 'Der Tod der Terroristen', in Rheinische Post 15 February 1989
Heiner Stachelhaus, 'Der Terroristen-Tod - malerisch verschlüsselt', in Neue Ruhr Zeitung Nr. 36 (11 February 1989).
Eduard Beaucamp, 'Das Terroristentrauma', in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2 March 1989.
Günter Engelhard, '18 Oktober 1977', in Rheinischer Merkur Nr. 9 (3 March 1989).
Christiane Vielhaber 'Manchmal hat man eben keine Lust abstrakt zu malen...', in Kunst Köln Nr. 1 (1989).
Hans Brender, 'Stammheim ist verdrängt und aktuell wie alles Unerledigte', in Deutsche Volkszeitung 24 March 1989.
Elisabeth Kiderlen, 'Kein Requiem', in PflasterStrand Nr. 312 (April 1989) 28-31.
Ulrich Wilmes, 'Anschläge auf die Wahrnehmung', in PflasterStrand Nr. 312 (April 1989) 32-33.
[interview] Jan Thorn-Prikker and Gerhard Richter 'Wir sehen auch unser eigenes Ende', in Frankfurter Rundschau 29 April 1989.
Michael Hierholzer, 'Zum Untergang verurteilt', in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 6 May 1989.
Gabriele Nicol, 'Der Schock wird dezent in Raten verabreicht', in Frankfurter Neue Presse 23 May 1989.
Andrew Graham-Dixon, 'Solemn History Into Art', in The Independent 29 July 1989.
James Hall, 'Oktober Revelation', in The Guardian 30 August 1989.
Sacha Craddock, 'Voices from the Gray', in The Guardian 30 August 1989.
Sarah Kent, 'Richter Scale', in Time Out 30 August 1989.
James Lingwood & Iwona Blazwick, 'Painting History', in New Statesman & Society 15 September 1989.
Richard Cork, 'Death Wish Three', in The Listener 17 September 1989.
William Feaver, 'Blue Local with No Pub Furniture', in The Observer 17 September 1989.
Els Hoek, 'Kleur bekennen door geen kleur te gebruiken', in (November 1989).
Luk Lambrecht, 'Overwegingen van een schilder', in Knack 8 November 1989.
Christoph Hahn, 'Gerhard Richters radikale Offenheit', in Aachener Nachrichten 9 November 1989.
Viktoria von Flemming, 'Stürzen, Kippen, Fallen, Sinken. Neue Bilder von Gerhard Richter', in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 17 November 1989.
J.V.H., 'Prachtige abstraktie van Gerhard Richter', in De Standaard 17 November 1989.
Janneke Wesseling, 'Richter neemt plechtig afscheid van de ideologieën', in NRC Handelsblad 25 November 1989.
Wolfgang Röller, 'Ohne Rücksicht auf menschliche Empfindungen', in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 29 December 1989.

1989 London
at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London.
- [publication] Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 / texts by Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Stefan Germer, Gerhard Storck and a discussion with Gerhard Richter and Jan Thorn-Prikker (Institute of Contemporary Art/Anthony d'Offay Gallery : London 1989).

1989 Rotterdam
'Gerhard Richter 1988-89', Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen Rotterdam (15 October-3 December 1989).
- [exhibition catalogue] Karel Schampers (ed.), Gerhard Richter 1988/89 / texts by Benjamin H.D. Buchloh and Anna Tilroe (Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen : Rotterdam 1989). The text by Anna Tilroe also published as 'Een morele handeling', in Anna Tilroe, De blauwe gitaar (Querido : Amsterdam 1990) 142-158.

1989 Frankfurt am Main
'Gerhard Richter 18. Oktober 1977' at the Portikus, Frankfurt am Main (29 April-4 June 1989).

1989 Krefeld
'Gerhard Richter 18. Oktober 1977' at Haus Esters, Krefeld (12 February-4 April 1989). The exhibition travelled to Portikus Frankfurt am Main, ICA London, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen Rotterdam, The Saint Louis Art Museum, Gray Art Gallery New York, Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal, the Lannen-Fondation Los Angeles and the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston.
- [exhibition catalogue] Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 / texts by Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Stefan Germer, Gerhard Storck (Walter König etc. : Köln etc. 1989). Added: Jan Thorn-Prikker, 'Gerhard Richter', reprinted from Parkett No. 19 (1989).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WRITINGS and INTERVIEWS
Hubertus Butin
'Kulturpolitik-Gespräche mit Künstlern. Gerhard Richter. Gerhard Richters RAF-Zyklus nach New York verkauft. Kultureller Gewinn oder Verlust?, in Kunstforum International Band 132 (November 1995-Januar 1996) 432-435.
Isabelle Graw
'View. Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977', in Artscribe International nº 77 (September-October 1989) 7-9. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 96-98, 99-103 as interview with Benjamin H.D. Buchloh.
Gregorio Magnani
'Gerhard Richter. For me it is absolutely necessary that the Baader-Meinhof is a subject for art', in Flash Art. International edition 146 (May-June 1989) 94-97. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 67-69.
Jan Thorn-Prikker
'Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977 = Gerhard Richter, October 18, 1988', in Parkett nº 19 (März 1989) 124-165. Partly reprinted as 'Conversation with Jan Thorn-Prikker concerning the cycle 18 October 1977, 1989', in The Daily Practice of Painting (Cambridge etc. 1995) 183-207; also reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 20-35.

FILMS & VIDEOS
Augenblicke - Gerhard Richter: 18.'Oktober 1977'
1989 (Deutschland) by Viktoria von Flemming (14 min.).
18. Oktober 1977
Documentary 1991; director Hans-Rüdiger Minow and Uwe Schäfer for Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR/Ludwig Metzger) [16mm., b&w, 29 mins.].

DISSERTATIONS/THESES
Henriette Kolb
Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 (Freie Universität Berlin 1998). Master Thesis.

MONOGRAPHS
Hubertus Butin
Zu Richters Oktober-Bildern. Schriften zur Sammlung des Museums für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main (Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König : Köln 1989).
Kai-Uwe Hemken
Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 Insel Taschenbücher (Frankfurt a. Main 1998). Reviewed by Barbara Welzel for Literaturkritik.de 1, Nr. 11 (November 1999).
Martin Henatsch
Gerhard Richter: 18, Oktober 1977. Das verwischte Bild der Geschichte (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag : Frankfurt a. Main 1998).
Ulrich Wilmes (Hrsg.)
Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Museum für Moderne Kunst : Frankfurt a.M. 1989/Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König : Köln 1989).

ARTICLES, ESSAYS and PAPERS
Jean-Christophe Ammann
'18 Oktober 1977', in Du (February 1989) nr. 2. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 11.
Jean-Christoph Amman
'Das Werk als Menetekel', in ZYMA 5 (November-December 1989) 18-21. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 129-131.
Benjamin H.D. Buchloh
'A Note on Gerhard Richter's October 18, 1977', in October nº 48 (Spring 1989) 88-109. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 48-52.
- "The group of paintings entitled October 18, 1977 that Gerhard Richter completed in the late fall of 1988 immediately confronts its viewers with the question of the very possibility of representing history, both in contemporary painting and in modernism in general. Despite their apparent continuity with Richter's early photopaintings, these paintings constitute the first attempt in Richter's oeuvre to address historically specific public experience. The two earlier series of paintings that one could easily identify as the precedent for the new series would be the Eight Student Nurses (1966) and the 48 Portraits (1971-72). As depictions of recent murder victims, on the one hand, and as presentations of figures of public history, on the other, however, a comparison with these two groups instantly clarifies their distance and their difference from the paintings October 18, 1977. Richter's recent decision to represent current public history, that is, simultaneously to violate the prohibition against representing historical subjects in modern painting and to break the taboo against remembering this particular episode of recent German history-the ectivities of the Baader-Meinhof Group and the murder of its members in Stammheim Prison-distinguish these paintings from all earlier works by Richter."
Benjamin H.D. Buchloh
'Gerhard Richter "18. Oktober 1977"', in Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 (Köln etc. 1989) 55-59.
Stefan Germer
'Ungebetene Erinnerung', in Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 (Köln etc. 1989) 51-53.
Walter Grasskamp
'Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977', in Jahresring. Jahrbuch für Moderne Kunst Band 36 (München 1989). Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 104 ff. See also: Gerhard Richter, 'Brief an Walter Grasskamp', in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 111-112.
James Hall
'Richter's Baader-Meinof Paintings', in Art International Nr. 9 (Winter 1989).
Kai-Uwe Hemken
'Leiden an Deutschland - Gerhard Richters Elegie der Moderne Geschichtsphilosophie im Zyklus "18. Oktober 1977"', in Eckhart Gillen (Hsg.), Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land. Katalog zur zentralen Ausstellung der 47. Berliner Festwochen im Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berliner Festspiele : Berlin/Dumont : Köln 1997) 413-435.
Martin Henatsch
'Das verwischte Bild der Geschichte: Gerhard Richters 18. Oktober 1977 - Die künstlerische Behauptung des Bildes im Zeitalter medialer Bildmächtigkeit', in Matteo Galli, Heinz-Peter Preusser (hrsg.), Mythos Terrorismus. Vom deutschen Herbst zum 11. September / Red. Udo Franke-Penski. Jahrbuch Literatur und Politik, Band 1 (Winter : Heidelberg 2007) 179-190.
Gerhard Hesler
'Graues Phantom Mitleid', in ZYMA 5 (November-December 1989) 8-15. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 126-128.
Klaus Krüger
'Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. Aesthetische Illusionen bei Gerhard Richter', in Bruckmanns Pantheon. Internationale Zeitschrift für Kunst 53 (1995) 149-166.
Donald Kuspit
'All Your Yesterdays', in Artforum 28/Nr. 8 (April 1990) 129-132.
Dirk Lauwaert
'Beelddeemstering. Over de Baader-Meinhof cyclus van Gerhard Richter', in De Witte Raaf nº 45 (september 1993) 7-9.
Johannes Meinhardt
'Gerhard Richter. "18. Oktober 1977"', in ZYMA 5 (November-December 1989) 2-7. Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 124-126.
Birgit Pelzer
'Das tragische Begehren', in Parkett nº 35 (März 1993) 58-65. Translated in English, 66-71.
Desa Philippi
'Moments of interpretation', in October 62 (Fall 1992) 114-122.
Birgit Richard
'Die Darstellung des Todes in den Bildenden Kunst der Gegenwart. C9: Gerhard Richter', in Birgit Richard , Todesbilder. Kunst, Subkultur, Medien (Wilhelm Fink Verlag : München 1995) 227-238.
Christoph Schreier
'Die Leere und der Tod im Bild', in Mitteilungen des Instituts für Moderne Kunst 10 (Oktober 1989). Reprinted in Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter '18. Oktober 1977' (Frankfurt/Köln 1989) 118-121.
Sabine Schütz
'Gerhard Richter', in Journal of Contemporary Art (Fall-Winter 1990) 34-46. Reprinted in The Daily Practice of Painting (Cambridge etc. 1995) 207-218.
Bettine Semmer
'18 oktober 1977', in Artscribe international nº 76 (Summer 1989) 68-69.
Gerhard Storck
'[No title] (Gemischte Gefühle)', in Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977 (Köln etc. 1989) 11-18.
Robert Storr
'Gerhard Richter. October 18, 1977', in Gerhard Richter. Doubt and Belief in Painting. Part three (Museum of Modern Art : New York 2003) 186-275.
Jonas Storsve
'Gerhard Richter. La Peinture à venir', in Art Press 161 (September 1991) 12-20. Reprinted in The Daily Practice of Painting (Cambridge etc. 1995) 223-231.
Karin Thomas
'Vernetzte Zeiten', in Kunstforum International Band 150 (April-Juni 2000) 298-309.
Rainer Usselmann
'18.Oktober 1977. Gerhard Richter’s Work of Mourning and Its New Audience', in Art Journal 61/nº 1 (Spring 2002) 4-25 [FindArticles].
Ulf Erdmann Ziegler
'Wie die Seele den Leib verlässt. Gerhard Richter Zyklus "18. Oktober 1977". Das letzte Kapitel westdeutscher Nachkriegsmalerei', in Eckhart Gillen (Hrsg.), Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land. Katalog zur zentralen Ausstellung der 47. Berliner Festwochen im Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berliner Festspiele : Berlin/Dumont : Köln 1997) 406-412.