Gerhard Richter and Sonic Youth partner on Daydream Nation


Gerhard Richter’s Two candles (499-4) 1982 belongs to a series of vanitas-inspired images that were a focus for Richter in the early 1980s. The vanitas tradition and the closely related concept of memento mori, at their height in the seventeenth century, used symbolic objects to remind the viewer of their mortality and the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures.

Still-life painting was the vehicle by which this concept could be communicated visually. Motifs, such as skulls, the hourglass, rotting fruit and wilting flowers, were emblematic of the passage of time and the inevitability of death and decay. Similarly, the candle is a familiar vanitas motif, reminding the viewer of their mortality. The candle’s flame will burn for a finite time, then, as the wax melts away, the light will be extinguished.

Gerhard Richter, Germany b.1932 / Two candles (499-4) 1982 / Oil on canvas / Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea / © Gerhard Richter 2017

A similar painting Candle 1983 was used by American band Sonic Youth for the cover of their 1988 rock album Daydream Nation and references the name of one of their songs. Daydream Nation‘s title came from a lyric in the song ‘Hyperstation’, also considered was ‘Tonight’s the Day’ a lyric in ‘Candle’. The album is considered to be the band’s best work. Do you know of other recent album covers designed by artists

The cover of Daydream Nation features paintings by Gerhard Richter, Candle 1983 on the front and Candle 1982 on the back / © Gerhard Richter 2017

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Feature image: Gerhard Richter’s Two candles (499-4) 1982 on view in ‘Gerhard Richter: The Life of Images’