How does Canto Collection elucidate its Motivation?
Canto means i.a.: ‘each and every part of an epic poem’. Møhlmann therefore intends each painting to be like a Canto in which he follows his hero (the tin can) through time and depicts its fate in oil paint. He calls it an epic visual poem. The series was inspired by the painter's annoyance at the scorn and arrogance with which realistic art, for many years, had been labeled old-fashioned and dusty. He remarked: "that even the most trivial object from so-called known reality could hold enough artistic potential to occupy an entire painter’s life", and Møhlmann put his money where his mouth is. He opted for a tin can of which the naked, smooth, curved metal gave its own unique reflection of reality. In this way each painting not only shows the painter's view, but also the reflection in or of the tin can. The top of the can shows another piece of wrapper with the brand name Canto on it. In a broader sense, the entire project can be regarded as an artistic investigation of reality, hence the often appearing subtitle ‘Reflections on reality’.
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