Sigmar Polke: Girlfriends

<p>With <em>Freundinnen</em> (Girlfriends, 1965/66), Sigmar Polke took found imagery of two women and offered a compelling statement about the use, production and social function of pictures. Adopting the raster dots found in mass media reproductions, Polke’s Girlfriends foregrounds a prolific body of work crossing a broad range of media – photography, painting, printmaking, sculpture and film – and styles varying from Abstract Expressionism to Pop.</p> <p>In this book, Stefan Gronert approaches Girlfriends through its technical detail and historical context, analysing Polke’s relationship to his tutors, peers and friends – especially Gerhard Richter. Considering such topics as the use of photographed material, the raster technique and the feminist discourse of the time, this illustrated study draws on a variety of critical interpretations of Polke’s work, including some material that has not previously been translated into English.</p>