Major retrospective of Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs @ the NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf
Robert Mapplethorpe: Self Portrait, 1988. © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
DUSSELDORF.- Robert Mapplethorpe, who was born in 1946 and passed away in 1989, is one of the few artists who truly deserve to be known far beyond the borders of the art world. Mapplethorpe dominated photography in the late twentieth century and paved the way for the recognition of photography as an art form in its own right; he firmly anchored the subject of homosexuality in mass culture and created a classic photographic image, mostly of male bodies, which found its way into commercial photography.
In 2010, the NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf will organise a major retrospective of Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs. His work was first shown in Germany in 1977 as part of documenta 6 in Kassel and then in a European solo exhibition in 1981 with German venues in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. In addition to various museum and gallery exhibitions the largest museum exhibition in Germany of Mapplethorpe’s work took place in 1997 when the worldwide Mapplethorpe retrospective, which opened at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, traveled to the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart. The last time Robert Mapplethorpe's works were shown in Düsseldorf was in the exhibition ‘Mapplethorpe versus Rodin’ at the Kunsthalle in 1992.
Both during his life and since his death, Mapplethorpe’s work has been the subject of much controversial debate, particularly in the USA. Right up until the end of the twentieth century, exhibitions of his photographs were sometimes boycotted, censured, or in one case cancelled. His radical portrayals of nudity and sexual acts were always controversial; his photos of sadomasochistic practices in particular caused a stir and frequently resulted in protests outside exhibitions and in one instance, a lawsuits was brought against a museum director.
In 2008, the Supreme Court in Japan ruled that Mapplethorpe’s erotic images did not contravene the country’s ban on pornography and released a volume of his photographs that had been seized and held for over eight years. As far as the American critic Arthur C. Danto was concerned, Mapplethorpe created ‘some of the most shocking and indeed some of the most dangerous images in modern photography, or even in the history of art.’
In Germany, on the other hand, Mapplethorpe’s photographs were part of the ‘aesthetic socialisation’ of the generations that grew up in the 1980s and early 1990s. Lisa Ortgioes, the presenter of the German women’s television programme ‘frau tv’, notes that during this time, Mapplethorpe’s photos were sold as posters; his ‘black’ portraits in particular being a regular feature on the walls of student bedrooms at the time.
The curator of the exhibition, Werner Lippert, is quick to point out that ‘this exhibition needs no justification. Mapplethorpe was quite simply and unquestionably one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century. It is an artistic necessity.’
The exhibition in the NRW-Forum covers all areas of Mapplethorpe’s work, from portraits and self-portraits, homosexuality, nudes, flowers and the quintessence of his oeuvre the photographic images of sculptures, including early Polaroids. The photographs are arranged according to themes such as ‘self portraits’, which includes the infamous shot of him with a bullwhip inserted in his anus, as well as his almost poetic portraits of his muse, Patti Smith, the photographs of black men versus white women, the body builder Lisa Lyon, the juxtaposition of penises and flowers (which Mapplethorpe himself commented on in an interview: ‘… I've tried to juxtapose a flower, then a picture of a cock, then a portrait, so that you could see they were the same’), and finally those images of classical beauty based on renaissance sculptures, and impressive portraits of children and celebrities of the day.
Despite the obvious references to the Renaissance idea of what constitutes ideal beauty and the history of photography from Wilhelm von Gloeden to Man Ray, this exhibition shows Robert Mapplethorpe as an artist who is firmly anchored is his era; his contemporaries are Andy Warhol and Brice Marden; Polaroids were the medium of choice in the 1970s, and the focus on the body and sexuality was, at the time, for many artists like Vito Acconci or Bruce Nauman a theme that was key to social change. Above all, Robert Mapplethorpe developed his own photographic style that paid homage to the ideals of perfection and form. ‘I look for the perfection of form. I do this in portraits, in photographs of penises, in photographs of flowers.’ The fact that the photographs are displayed on snow-white walls underpins this view of his work and consciously moves away from the coy Boudoir-style presentation of his photographs on lilac and purple walls a dominant feature of exhibitions of Mapplethorpe’s work for many years and opens up the work to a more concept-based, minimalist view of things.
The selection of over 150 photographs covers early Polaroids from 1973 to his final self-portraits from the year 1988, which show how marked he was by illness and hint at his impending death, and also includes both many well-known, almost iconic images as well as some never-before seen or rarely shown works. The curators delved deep into the collection of the New York-based Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation to create this retrospective.
Robert Mapplethorpe: David Hockney, 1976. © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Phillip Prioleau, 1980 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Ajitto, 1981 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Patti Smith, 1975 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Greg Cauley-Cock, 1980 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Parrot Tulips, 1988 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Lowell Smith, 1981 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Renoldo Kolodzle, 1982 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Robert Mapplethorpe: Thomas, 1987 © 2010 Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, used by permission
Pat Andrea, Iris Levasseur & Florence Reymond, DISTURBING... @ galerie Pierrick Touchefeu
Pat Andrea, « El angelito o the sweetheart », Huile et caséine sur toile 2007/2008, 160x160cm. courtesy galerie Pierrick Touchefeu
Cette exposition réunira des dessins et des peintures de trois artistes qui développent un imaginaire figuratif où psychologie et inconscient prédominent. Cette tension narrative se traduit dans le travail de Pat Andrea par la représentation de grands personnages érotiques et inquiétants, souvent féminins. Les oeuvres d’Iris Levasseur sont elles empruntes de mystère et fréquemment de violence.
Quant à Florence Reymond, elle se reconstruit en construisant des images à partir de ses souvenirs d’enfance gommés par le temps.
Tous trois emploient une gamme chromatique variée et caractérisée par l’utilisation de couleurs vives et le plus souvent improbables.
galerie Pierrick Touchefeu. 2 rue Marguerite Renaudin 92300 SCEAUX. Tél: 01 47 02 10 62 - 06 18 18 03 56 - www.pierricktouchefeu.com
Paul Iribe (d'après) (1883 1935) Crucifixion. Vers 1930.
Paul Iribe (d'après) (1883 1935) Crucifixion. Vers 1930.
Gravé sur bois par H. Lespinasse. 400 x 400. Parfaite épreuve sur japon, justifiée et signée à la mine de plomb par Iribe. Toutes marges non ébarbées. Tirage à 75 épreuves . Estimation : 100 / 120 €
Ader - Paris. Vente du Jeudi 11 février 2010. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 9 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. Pour tout renseignement, veuillez contacter la maison de ventes au 01 53 40 77 10
Pina Bausch. Femmes chorégraphes 5, le 4 février 2010 @ Centre Pompidou
Pina Bausch, portrait. Courtesy Fabienne Cabado © DR
Disparue brutalement au printemps 2009, la chorégraphe allemande se découvre ici à travers sa lecture du mythe de Barbe-Bleue, et le documentaire de Chantal Akerman. Une plongée en images dans un univers sombre et poétique, dont on ne sort pas indemne.
Barbe-Bleue (1984), 109 min
— Chorégraphie et réalisation : Pina Bausch
— Interprétation : Beatrice Libonati, Jan Minarik, Jacob Andersen, Anne-Marie Benati, Bénédicte Billiet, Marion Cito, Dominique Duszynski, Jo-Ann Endicott, Lutz Förster, Mechthild Grossmann, Kyomi Ichida, Urs Kaufmann, Ed Kortlandt, Elena Majnoni, Anne Martin, Yolanda Meier, Dominique Mercy, Nazareth Panadero, Helena Pikon, Hans Pop, Arthur Rosenfeld, Monika Sagon, Jean-Laurent Sasportes, Janusz Subicz, Francis Viet
Dans l'univers de la chorégraphe allemande empli de désirs, de pouvoir et de soumission caractérisés par les rapports amoureux, l'histoire de Barbe-Bleue fait figure tutélaire tant elle brasse les complexités humaines chères à Pina Bausch. Une théâtralité sombre et parfois effrayante, que tous les personnages, hommes et femmes, parcourent entre sauvagerie et délicatesse. Les liens se construisent progressivement comme des éclats sombres dans la violence des sentiments, rassemblant des images aussi variées que celles d'un chœur militaire, de scènes d'hystérie collective et de champs de bataille, de duos oscillants toujours entre haine et passion, de solos, tragiquement intimes et lumineux. Barbe-Bleue est une œuvre au noir, désespérée, qui s'attache à l'exacerbation de ses figures féminines et masculines, longs cheveux au vent et robes d'un autre temps pour les unes, costumes noirs et virilité exhibée pour les autres.
Un jour Pina a demandé (1983), 60 min
— Chorégraphie : Pina Bausch
— Réalisation : Chantal Akerman
En regardant le film de Chantal Akerman réalisé en 1983 sur l'univers artistique de Pina Bausch, c'est autant le parcours de la réalisatrice vers la chorégraphe que l'on découvre qu'un répertoire comptant parmi les plus belles pièces de Pina Bausch. Il s'agit d'abord d'une première découverte de spectatrice marquée par "une émotion très forte proche du bonheur" selon son témoignage. Puis la rencontre entre la caméra et la danse, s'attachant aux moments de répétitions, à ceux des spectacles, aux témoignages des danseurs jusqu'à l'apparition de Pina Bausch. Le film est traversé d'un parti pris discret qui nous fait mieux sentir que, face aux pièces de Pina Bausch, il est difficile de rester indemne. Chantal Akerman ne s'en cache pas. Les images de Kontakthof succèdent à celles de Nelken, Walzer, Ein Stück et Komm Tanz Mit Mir, des pièces réalisées entre 1977 et 1983 et qui signent avec génie l'univers de Pina Bausch — sombre et poétique.
Pina Bausch. Femmes chorégraphes 5. 04 fév.-04 fév. 2010. Paris 4e. Centre Pompidou
Simon Starling, Red Rivers @ Galerie Kamel Mennour
Simon Starling, Red Rivers (in the Search of the Elusive Okapi), 2009. Capture vidéo. Courtesy Kamel Mennour © Simon Starling
À l'occasion de l'échange «Berlin-Paris» avec la galerie neugerriemschneider, Kamel Mennour présente «Red Rivers» une exposition personnelle de l'artiste écossais Simon Starling.
Cela fait maintenant quinze ans que Simon Starling développe une oeuvre aussi magique que singulière. Qualifié de contextuel et de processuel, son travail privilégie l'activité, le «pendant» du geste artistique et non l'unique aboutissement d'une forme au sein de l'espace d'exposition.
Force est de constater l'inversion. Car si en général, la fin justifie les moyens, chez Simon Starling, ce sont les moyens qui justifient la fin. Cependant même dans ce retournement de situation, l'objet final n'en n'est pas pour autant négligé. Il acquiert la valeur d'indice, de trace, de trame narrative. Ainsi se dessine une méthode singulière, particulière de pratiquer l'art.
Chacun des protocoles poétiques de cet artiste sont discursifs pour ne pas dire romantiques. Les oeuvres s'apparentent à des contes contemporains directement
déduits du réel, ancrés dans l'histoire. Chaque projet embraye littéralement des pans entiers du passé, plus ou moins oubliés, et ce dans la perspective de les prolonger, de les compiler et de les sampler avec notre monde, ici et maintenant.
Les deux pièces présentées à la galerie Kamel Mennour sont d'ailleurs emblématiques de cette invitation au voyage poétique. Intitulée Three Birds, Seven Stories, Interpolation and Bifurcations, la suite photographique, exposée dans la première salle, s'articule autour d'un ensemble de versions à la fois réelles et fictives, d'une même histoire, celle de l'architecte allemand Eckart Muthesius.
Entré au service du jeune maharadjah Yeswant Rao Holkar (1908-1961), ce dernier eut pour mission de lui édifier un palais incroyable, un Gesamtkunstwerk à la pointe du design et des technologies de son temps. Avec une alchimie complexe, la variation d'images proposées présente un enchevêtrement de lieux et de destins; un univers, qui bien que réel, rappelle celui de Jorge Luis Borges, un univers où Constantin Brancusi, Fritz Lang, Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier se croisent, et où l'Allemagne, l'Italie et l'Inde résonnent à l'unisson.
Produit l'année passée et présenté dans la seconde salle de la galerie, le film Red Rivers (in the Search of the Elusive Okapi) fédère quant à lui les récits de deux périples situés à exactement un siècle d'intervalle. En 1909, Herbet Lang prend part à une expédition au Congo, organisée par le Musée d'histoire naturelle de la ville de New York, en tant que zoologue et photographe. Documentée via des photographies sur plaques de verre, cette excursion sera pour l'artiste le point de départ d'un travail qui nécessitera trois années de recherche. C'est en effet grâce à ces clichés montrant pour la première fois un Okapi vivant, et par la fabrication d'un canoë hautement improbable (de par les matériaux contradictoires qu'il métisse - bois de noyer et bandes de peau grise imitant le pelage de l'Okapi), inspiré des embarcations traditionnelles des indiens d'Amérique, que Starling superpose les temps et les cultures avec un art maîtrisé de la boucle.
Après sept jours de voyage, sur plus de 250 kilomètres de North Adams (Massachusetts) à New York, ce dernier déposera son canoë sur le perron du musée d'Histoire naturelle, afin qu'il prenne place au coté du Diorama de Lang consacré à l'Okapi.
Simon Starling, Red Rivers. 29 janv.-06 mars 2010. Paris 6e. Galerie Kamel Mennour galerie@kamelmennour.fr - www.kamelmennour.fr
Michele Oka Doner @ Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Michele Oka Doner, 'Terrible Chair', ca. 1990. Bronze with gold leaf, 27.5 x 13.5 x 10.5 inches. Photo; Courtesy: Doner Studio
GRAND RAPIDS, MI.- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, one of the nation’s most significant sculpture and botanic experiences, is hosting an exclusive exhibition by American artist Michele Oka Doner. Among the most versatile artists working today, Oka Doner is widely celebrated for her exquisitely beautiful public commissions as well as sculpture, prints, jewelry and functional objects that are now found in public and private collections throughout the world. Spirit and Form: Michele Oka Doner and the Natural World will be on display January 29 through May 9, 2010.
The source of Oka Doner’s governing passion emanates from the spiritual nature that forms around us. Drawing inspiration from objects found both on and within land and water, she renders raw materials into strange and secret forms. She considers herself as a hunter/gatherer, seeking the inventiveness of nature and repurposing it into a one-of-a-kind sculpture.
“Religion and spirituality exist all around us, binding humankind and nature together in dialogue; art and design becomes the language for our conversation,” said Oka Doner.
In her largest exhibition to date, Spirit and Form presents a rare opportunity to experience Oka Doner’s versatility and the breadth of her endeavors from recent figurative projects in bronze and on paper to decorative objects in bronze and silver. The exhibition shows nature as the underlying theme of her work, applied in a variety of usage, scale, materials and media.
“Oka Doner’s work suggests the interconnectedness of all things,” said Joseph Becherer, Chief Curator and Vice President. “With her openness to the spirit of nature, Oka Doner’s work presents a profoundly mystical dimension that is not accidental but rather a combination of her experiences in a variety of settings.”
After growing up in Miami Beach, Oka Doner moved to Michigan to begin her career. As a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Science and Design and a Master of Fine Arts, Oka Doner took part in her first major solo museum exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1978. She continued her work living in Michigan for 12 years before moving to New York City.
Spirit and Form showcases eight large scale relief prints of human forms from organic material; several functional items including serving pieces in bronze and sterling silver, and magnifiers; and Root System a 55 square foot candelabra made of roots cast in bronze. Central to the exhibition is a large installation of 1,500 Soul Catchers.
Oka Doner’s work is represented in Meijer Garden’s permanent collection. Her work Colossus can be viewed within the 32-acre Sculpture Park and Gnomon is on display indoors. In 2008, the artist installed Beneath the Leafy Crown, a 13,607 foot floor sculpture consisting of more than 1,650 bronze leaf and botanical-inspired elements suspended in deep green terrazzo.
"Michele’s work has helped transform Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park aesthetically and philosophically,” said David Hooker, President and CEO of Meijer Gardens. “This exhibition is an undeniable tribute to her transformational powers as a creator and thinker.”
Michele Oka Doner
Michele Oka Doner was born in Miami Beach in 1945. As a child, Oka Doner wanted to be a biologist. Instead, she merged what the came to see as the “art of biology with the science of art.” The artist lived in Michigan from 1963-1981 and new resides in New York City. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Science and Design and a Master of Fine Arts. Her post-graduate work was done at Wayne State University in Detroit. Oka Doner is the recipient of many awards and grants. Among them are the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the School of Art at the University of Michigan; Legends Award from the Pratt Institute in 2006, Award of Excellence in 2004 from the United Nations Society of Writers & Artists, first place in the Herald Square Subway Competition resulting in a 200-foot long wall, Radiant Site installed in 1990; New York State Council for the Arts and American Institute of Architects Certificate of Excellence for Celestial Plaza installed at the entrance to the Hayden Planetarium; and selection by Metro-Dade’s Art in Public Places program for the central pedestrian walkway of the Miami International Airport. Her first public art piece, Fallen Leaf is in the Franking Historic Cemetery in Michigan. She is represented in the public collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Detroit Institute of Arts, American Museum of Natural History, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, St. Lois Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Art, Miami Art Museum and Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
Michele Oka Doner, 'Root System', 2002–2003. Bronze, 69 x 116 x 77 inches. Photo; Courtesy: Doner Studio
