by: Alex Blanco

Every artist—be it a painter, photographer, filmmaker, musician, bookmaker, or designer—achieves recognition by cultivating a distinctive style. This signature can manifest through their choice of colors, the repetition of specific shapes, or the way they frame their work. And most importantly, it lies in what the artist aims to communicate emotionally and spiritually through their chosen medium.

The colors of Wim Wenders in Paris, Texas

Take, for example, Paris, Texas (1984), the iconic film by Wim Wenders. Wenders is known for avoiding zoom lenses in his scenes, a stylistic decision that gives his work a unique visual identity. In collaboration with the legendary cinematographer Robby Müller, Wenders creates films that are as much about storytelling as they are about visual artistry.

In Paris, Texas, the striking use of vivid reds, bright blues, together with fluorescent pinks and purples transforms each frame into a standalone masterpiece. The visuals are so aesthetically rich that the film feels like a gallery of paintings you could stand before, mesmerized. Wenders achieves this painterly effect by working closely with Müller, who ensures that every color in the film harmonizes to form a stunning composition.

Another hallmark of Wenders and Müller’s work is their deep respect for location and natural light. Müller once explained: “Everything starts with the finding of the location. We find the locations that fit the story and fit the man or woman who has to move around in that place, so a lot is already given. The same with the light, actually, because you choose a location, whether you’re conscious of it or not, because you have a certain light there.” (Quote from The American Cinematographer from 1985 written by Barbara Scharres)

Müller’s preference for natural or available light shapes the authenticity of his films. He strives to preserve the light as it exists on location, avoiding the addition of artificial lighting whenever possible. This approach—grounded in careful selection of location, a reverence for natural light, and meticulous color composition—defines not just the visual language of Paris, Texas, but the timeless appeal of Wenders’ broader oeuvre. Together, Wenders and Müller demonstrate how a cohesive and thoughtful aesthetic can elevate a film to the level of fine art. 

Where to watch Paris, Texas?

You can rent the movie on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.

Paris, Texas, 1984, Wim Wender

Paris, Texas, 1984, Wim Wenders

The Spiritual Aura of Mark Rothko’s Art?

Encountering Mark Rothko’s art is more than a deeply aesthetic experience—it’s profoundly spiritual. This sentiment is perhaps most tangible in the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, a space designed to foster meditation, dialogue, and quiet reflection. Described as “a place for solitude and gathering, an epicenter for civil rights activists, a quiet disruption, a stillness that moves,” the chapel houses 14 monumental murals of the artist.

Rothko’s vision transcends mere visuals; his art invites participation in an emotional dialogue. He once declared, “A painting is not a picture of an experience; it is an experience per se,” and “If you are only moved by color relationships, you are missing the point. I am interested in expressing the big emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom.”

In his work, you notice the simplicity and the deliberate absence of symbolic references. The paintings exude depth and intensity, with a luminous quality that makes the canvases feel larger than they physically are.

  Mark Rothko, Untitled (Red), 1969  |  Mark Rothko, Clearing Away, 1968, Pace Gallery

Rothko’s signature style—a flat picture plane dominated by large rectangular fields of color—feels deceptively simple at first. These blocks of color seem to hover, shifting subtly in and out of the canvas. As you observe longer, the layers of paint begin to reveal themselves: a hint of blue peeking from beneath a burgundy expanse, or a whisper of green emerging through a veil of red. This subtle unlayering feels akin to witnessing the artist’s creative process in reverse. Even the absence of frames on Rothko’s works is intentional. For him, framing implied a separation between the artwork and the surrounding world—a division he actively rejected.  

Whether standing before a Rothko piece in the chapel or a gallery, the encounter is less about what you see and more about what you feel—a quiet, profound disruption that lingers long after you’ve left.

Where to find Mark Rothko’s work?

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C (United States)
Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas (United States)
Tate Modern , London (UK) 

Man Ray and the everyday objects

In 1922, Man Ray introduced the world to his groundbreaking “rayographs”—a term he coined by blending his surname with the word "photography." These innovative images were created without a camera, using photosensitive paper as the canvas. By arranging objects, materials, or even body parts directly on the paper and exposing them to light, Ray manipulated angles and light sources to produce negatives. 

Man Ray, Rayograph, 1921-1928 | Man Ray, Rayograph, La Maison, 1931 

Shapes played a pivotal role in Ray’s rayographs. He often used everyday objects—such as light bulbs, coils of wire, thumbtacks—to create compositions that hovered between abstraction and representation. By strategically placing these elements on photosensitized paper and exposing them to light, Ray transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary, revealing new ways of seeing. These visionary images delighted Dadaist poets, who championed his work, and foreshadowed the dreamlike aesthetics of the Surrealist writers and painters who followed. His exploration of shapes and their interplay with light elevated his photographic experiments to the level of avant-garde painting, putting Ray on par with the leading artists of his time.

Through his innovative approach to shapes, light, and composition, Man Ray expanded the boundaries of photography and art, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire new ways of visual thinking.

Where to find Man Ray’s work?

J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (United States)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (United States)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris (France)
The Museum of Modern Art in New York (United States)