Artwork
Hans Hartung (1904-1989)/Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
Hans Hartung (1904-1989)/Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is a drawing by Natassa Poulantza. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus. The work is a digital print generated through the interactive application “Game of Fortune.
About this work
Overview
The resulting print bears the artist’s signature, creating a one‑off piece that merges chance with curated cultural references.
The work is a digital print generated through the interactive application “Game of Fortune.” Users activate a virtual slot‑machine that spins images of celebrated painters and intellectuals; a random pairing appears in a third pane and can be printed on archival A4 paper. The resulting print bears the artist’s signature, creating a one‑off piece that merges chance with curated cultural references.
Subject & Meaning
In this edition the juxtaposition pairs a black‑and‑white portrait of Ernest Hemingway, the renowned 20th‑century American novelist, with a blurred representation of a painting by Hans Hartung, the German‑French abstract expressionist. The pairing invites reflection on the dialogue between literary narrative and visual abstraction, suggesting a serendipitous encounter between two distinct creative legacies.
Technique & Style
The image originates from a digital process: photographs of source works are digitized, then randomized by the app’s algorithm. The final composition is printed on high‑quality archival paper, preserving the contrast of Hemingway’s crisp portrait against the softened, gestural strokes characteristic of Hartung’s abstract style. The artist’s hand is evident in the signed signature applied post‑print.
History & Provenance
The print was produced on site at the Museum of Ethnography, where visitors could engage with the “Game of Fortune” interface. Each print is unique, created at the moment of user selection, and remains in the museum’s collection as part of the ongoing digital‑art experiment that documents participatory creation.
Context
“Game of Fortune” references traditional gambling machines such as slot and fruit machines, repurposing their mechanics to explore cultural randomness. By aligning visual art with literary figures, the project comments on the unpredictable ways in which artistic influence can intersect, echoing broader trends in interactive and algorithmic art practices of the early 21st century.
Artist & collection
Artist
These drawings mash up famous artists and writers—Franz Marc with Nikos Poulantzas, Mark Rothko with Michel Foucault—layering ink on paper to pair their styles.
Museum
Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus
Continue through works from the same source collection.
Franz Marc (1880-1916)/Nikos Poulantzas (1936-1979)
Mark Rothko (1903-1970)/Michel Foucault (1926-1984)
Anslem Kiefer (1945)/Nikos Kazantzakis (18831957)
Edward Hopper (1882-1967)/Walter Benjamin (1892-1940)
Gerhard Richter (1932)/Oskar Wilde (1854-1900)
James Ensor (1860-1949)/Jack Kérouac (1922-1969)
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)/André Beton
Anslem Kiefer (1945)/Nina Simone (1933-2003)
