Margarete (1981) by Anselm Kiefer
Monday 15 April 2013
Monday 8 April 2013
Around Sound Art Festival + Osage Opening
We visited the Around Sound Exhibition at Kwun Tong Ferry Pier on 26 January. When I first knew we were going to visit an exhibition at a ferry pier, I put a lot of question marks in my head "Why ferry pier?" "Why outdoor?" "Why Kwun Tong?"(since my only impression of this place was industrial estates). But after we arrived there, the avenue answered my questions.
Cedric Maridet, a sound artist was performing his work in the avenue. He used electronics to connect the current on different devices to make the noise music. For example, one of the noise was the lid hit the bowl. This performance was made by found noise. The environment there was quite quiet. As show in the right picture, the area was very spacey and the sound dispersed.
This was a sound performance by Akio Suzuki. He put some planks as a horizontal line in front him and he hammered the nails one by one like a carpentry. He nailed them in different positions haphazardly. It took him around 10 minutes to finish. After he was done, he used one nail to hit all the hammered nails to make connective sound. A clear and pleasant rhythm was the result. At the same time, a girl danced around the planks. She used her body movement to match the frame of sound. It was a really nice performance that the sound art and visual performing art were both presented. Since it was in open area, the sound dispersed and went on with the environmental sound. I felt very clam and relaxed during this sound art performance.
There was another performance by Suzuki. Some bottles filled with water were placed in the middle of an area. The female artist started her body movement and poured out the water from the bottles in different speed and motions. The sound of the poured water hit the ground was presented. Since it was really quiet there, every single sound made a difference. Later Suzuki picked up some bottles and put them down. Since the volume of water was different in each bottle, the sound he made was not the same. Again, this performance merge the space, sound and visual contemporary art together.
My thoughts
I was not familiar with sound art before. Back in high school I was studying Fine Art so I only knew things from the visual form of contemporary art. This visit was the only sound art exhibition I have ever been. It had definitely built up a basic understanding of sound art for me. I really enjoyed the hammering performance because it was soul-stirring and I really like acoustics sound. Compare to electronics sound, I prefer acoustics more since I think it is more connected to the sound of nature. After the visit, I won't say I am a big fan of sound art since I don't have much knowledge about this genre, but I certainly have grown some interests. It changed my view of visual art dominated the contemporary art. Sound art is also fairly important in the development of contemporary art.
Osage Opening - Andy Warhol's Cinema
After the Around Sound Exhibition, we went to the Andy Warhol's Cinema. Since we were not allowed to take pictures inside, I did not have any pictures of any videos. But I really like the video Blowjob (1964) and Kiss (1963). Both of his videos completely captured the passion and intimidation between lovers. Both videos also reflected Andy Warhol's supportive attitude towards homosexuality.
Asian Hotel Art Fair
I went to the Asian Hotel Art Fair on 23 February. It was held in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with more than 3000 artworks and over 60 primary galleries from Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong etc. participated in this fair. I was so excited about this fair because it was a great opportunity to see many contemporary Asian artwork and some other western ones in one fair.
Since it was a big fair, the style and media of the artwork varied. There were paintings, sketching, scene art, sculpture, computer art, photography and installation art. All the artworks were placed in different hotel room. It was a visual enjoyment to appreciate the high standard art pieces in luxury hotel rooms.
First room I went to filled with works of Korean contemporary artists.
^ These two works were completed by Kim Jae III. They are imitation marbles painted with acrylic. The texture and form are like honeycomb, so interesting!
^ These works "Accompany" were done by Maeng, Gi-Ho. The material used were mixed media on silk screen. It has strong oriental appearance, for example the cherry blossom on the background, the poem and the signature was written on the top right corner. I thought it was imitating the tradition oriental art, but when I looked closer, the characters in the paintings was ''formed' 'by different graphics from the Pokemon! These paintings have mixed the traditional art culture and the modern manga culture together.
^ Apart from the Korean contemporary art, some western contemporary artworks were featured in the same room. Including drawings from Picasso, Roy Lictenstein and Andy Warhol. Although those were only some minor works by them, they costed A LOT!
Later, I visited another room with more paintings and drawings.
^ These three works were done by Kang Hyo-jin. They looked like some graphic works, but NO, they were oil-painted. I love the surreal style of the artist. He shows the disinterested play of thoughts in his works.
This "My Pet" series (2011) was drawn by KIM So-hee. It is a good sarcasm against human domination in the planet and provoked thoughts - will there be a real "dog days are over"?
< ^ Audrey Hepburn is waiting for you in the hotel room...oh no, it's Gregory Peck.
Audrey Hepburn v Gregory Peck (2010) by KIM Dong-yoo, oil on canvas.
In another room, there were some awesome lenticular artworks by Bae Joonsung. They were my favourite artworks in the whole art fair. The technology of lenticular has been widely used in advertisement, but it was my first time to see lenticualr artworks. In the series of The Costume of Painter, he painted on transparent acrylic films. Through different angle to view the paintings, you can either see dressed Asian females or nudes appear in some old masterpieces. The series shows how Bae Joonsung contextualized the original old paintings and his creativity.
I really like his idea of creating chemistry between Asian females and the classical paintings. When the character is well-dressed, you can see the completed paintings with other characters involved. But when you look in another angle and she becomes naked, every character is gone. In the paintings, The Asian females somehow look like they are living in the fantasy. The series rises the communication with old paintings and contemporary art and encounters harmony between East and West. It has unique style with special lenticular technique and deep meanings.
Phantom in the Painting, J.S. Sargent family jk (2012)
Another highlight from the Art Fair would be a Korean artist Chan-hyo Bao's artwork. His series of Existing in Costume (2009),c-print was very impressive. From the photos below, you may think he just used Photoshop to "swap" his face into some middle age paintings and made them as his works. In fact, those were original photographs with the artist himself featured in the works. He imitated the settings, decorations, makeup and costume from some old paintings to create the works. All his works are humorous with his male face featured in ancient female characters.
Existing in Costume (2009)
^ Reborn by Akatin, toso clay. This artwork is humorous and somehow reminds me of a quote "Impossible is nothing."
^ A Japanese artist 石田克 's artwork. He used ink to create very rough and misery images. They have very strong stokes and contrast. He was in the Art Fair on that day and he explained the artwork on the right implied someone was being flushed.
^ These two are very innovative artwork.
References:
http://www.albemarlegallery.com/artists/bae-joonsung
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_printing
http://www.arcadja.com/auctions/en/bae_joonsung/artist/278910/
Since it was a big fair, the style and media of the artwork varied. There were paintings, sketching, scene art, sculpture, computer art, photography and installation art. All the artworks were placed in different hotel room. It was a visual enjoyment to appreciate the high standard art pieces in luxury hotel rooms.
First room I went to filled with works of Korean contemporary artists.
^ These two works were completed by Kim Jae III. They are imitation marbles painted with acrylic. The texture and form are like honeycomb, so interesting!
^ These works "Accompany" were done by Maeng, Gi-Ho. The material used were mixed media on silk screen. It has strong oriental appearance, for example the cherry blossom on the background, the poem and the signature was written on the top right corner. I thought it was imitating the tradition oriental art, but when I looked closer, the characters in the paintings was ''formed' 'by different graphics from the Pokemon! These paintings have mixed the traditional art culture and the modern manga culture together.
Western artworks by famous artists
^ Apart from the Korean contemporary art, some western contemporary artworks were featured in the same room. Including drawings from Picasso, Roy Lictenstein and Andy Warhol. Although those were only some minor works by them, they costed A LOT!
Later, I visited another room with more paintings and drawings.
^ These three works were done by Kang Hyo-jin. They looked like some graphic works, but NO, they were oil-painted. I love the surreal style of the artist. He shows the disinterested play of thoughts in his works.
This "My Pet" series (2011) was drawn by KIM So-hee. It is a good sarcasm against human domination in the planet and provoked thoughts - will there be a real "dog days are over"?
< ^ Audrey Hepburn is waiting for you in the hotel room...oh no, it's Gregory Peck.
Audrey Hepburn v Gregory Peck (2010) by KIM Dong-yoo, oil on canvas.
Lenticular Art
In another room, there were some awesome lenticular artworks by Bae Joonsung. They were my favourite artworks in the whole art fair. The technology of lenticular has been widely used in advertisement, but it was my first time to see lenticualr artworks. In the series of The Costume of Painter, he painted on transparent acrylic films. Through different angle to view the paintings, you can either see dressed Asian females or nudes appear in some old masterpieces. The series shows how Bae Joonsung contextualized the original old paintings and his creativity. I really like his idea of creating chemistry between Asian females and the classical paintings. When the character is well-dressed, you can see the completed paintings with other characters involved. But when you look in another angle and she becomes naked, every character is gone. In the paintings, The Asian females somehow look like they are living in the fantasy. The series rises the communication with old paintings and contemporary art and encounters harmony between East and West. It has unique style with special lenticular technique and deep meanings.
Phantom in the Painting, J.S. Sargent family jk (2012)
Another highlight from the Art Fair would be a Korean artist Chan-hyo Bao's artwork. His series of Existing in Costume (2009),c-print was very impressive. From the photos below, you may think he just used Photoshop to "swap" his face into some middle age paintings and made them as his works. In fact, those were original photographs with the artist himself featured in the works. He imitated the settings, decorations, makeup and costume from some old paintings to create the works. All his works are humorous with his male face featured in ancient female characters.
Existing in Costume (2009)
Other rooms
^ Reborn by Akatin, toso clay. This artwork is humorous and somehow reminds me of a quote "Impossible is nothing."
^ A Japanese artist 石田克 's artwork. He used ink to create very rough and misery images. They have very strong stokes and contrast. He was in the Art Fair on that day and he explained the artwork on the right implied someone was being flushed.
^ These two are very innovative artwork.
My thoughts
It was a great opportunity to visit this Art Fair, I was really glad I asked for the ticket. I did not expect too much before the visit since I was not familiar with many Asian artists. This visit totally widened my horizon of contemporary Asian art. There are a lot of leading and amazing contemporary artists in Asia and their works are getting in the global market. In this visit I also saw a lot of artworks in different media and forms. The mix of technology, media and creativity become a new trend in contemporary and I am so fascinated with the diversity of art. I would love to visit the Asian Hotel Art Fair again next year!
References:
http://www.albemarlegallery.com/artists/bae-joonsung
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_printing
http://www.arcadja.com/auctions/en/bae_joonsung/artist/278910/
Monday 25 March 2013
Margarete (1981) by Anselm Kiefer
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Background
As mentioned in the previous blog post, Kiefer has reflected his feelings and ambivalence about the German history through his paintings. Margarete is one of the most significant paintings of his series about the Nazi rules.
Relevant to the poem Death Fugue and Faust
The painting Margarete was based on a painful poem, "Death Fugue" by a Romanian poet Paul Celan when he was imprisoning in the Nazi concentration camp. He was the only survivor of his family in the death camp. In the poem, two figures act as the central metaphor: Margarete, with her cascade of blonde Aryan hair and a Jewish Semitic woman, Shulamite with black hair.
Kiefer has done a series of work about Margarete and Shulamite. In this painting, Margarette in the main character concluded. Back to Goethe's work, in Faust, Margarete is a pure and innocent woman. But love leads to a series of tragedies and she kills her own baby. She lays on a bed of straw, meanwhile Faust kills her brother and her innocence is tainted. This story inspired Kiefer using straws in this painting to depict Margarete. Yellow straws represent her blonde hair and the tangled areas of the black lines imply the erased presence of Shulamite.
Link to the Holocaust
Margarete has a complex relationship with the German history, especially the horrors of the Holocaust and its aftermath. It uses Margarete as a metaphor of Germany. The tendrils of straw like smoke from death-camp chimney, ruining the innocence of her. On the other hand, in his work of Shulamite, a metaphor of the Holocaust, he added straws to show Margarete's golden tresses. The paintings of Margarete and Shulamite were paired together. Kiefer tried to show Germany and Holocaust are always linked. He searched for the restoration of wholeness in the German history.
My thoughts
Margarete may seem to be enigmatic and has no common ground like other contemporary artworks, but it is very thought provoking and deep. This painting links to history and counter-memory. Kiefer uses Margarete from Death Fugue and Faust as a base to illustrate the deplorable Holocaust during Second World War. Kiefer did not only use his significant dull and destructive painting style to depict the reverberation, but also use a central metaphor "acts" as Germany to inscribe the story. The yellow straws represents the blonde hair of Margarete, meaning Germany itself was originally pure but it had been destroyed by the fascism; it also refer to the Nazi blonde ideal from grotesque. The painting has complex contexts in showing Kiefer's patriotic thought of facing and acceptable the German history as a whole. This painting is a very significant one of Kiefer to intersect the history, counter-memory and aesthetics in one single work. Some people may want to evade from their shameful history, but this painting suggests there are always tangle areas that can never be erased, just like the ruthless Nazi rule. From this painting, I start asking myself - What is history? How do we face the fugitive moment in our history? Should we recognize the temporal movements or just pretend nothing had happened? Maragarete is certainly a masterpiece and I hope by sharing this in the blog(or presentation in the future), more people will know about Kiefer and this great work.
References
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/margarete-1981-by-anselm-kiefer-saatchi-collection-970630.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/anselm-kiefer
http://www.judithwinther.dk/emner/niveau_3/visual_culture/margarete.html
http://www.siue.edu/~ejoy/KiernanBarcilonText.htm
Friday 15 February 2013
I am not trying to illustrate religion. I’m a storyteller with a broken history. —Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer (born on 8 March 1945, in Donauschingen, Germany) is a German contemporary artist. He used mixed media such as straw, ash, clay, lead and shellac in his works. He developed themes about German history particularly reflected the Nazi rule during Second World War. His painting, sculpture and installation have made him one of the most important artists among his generation. His spiritual paintings reflect the ambivalence and his feeling towards the German nationalism and its impact on history. He criticized the legacy and called up the German history.
In 1966, Kiefer abandoned his Law and Romance Language Studies at University of Freiburg to study at art academies in Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Dusseldorf. By 1970s, he studied art formally under Joseph Beuy, another German comtemporary artist. Kiefer started working with gloss, straw, wood and plant parts to develop and enrich his works. He aimed to show that the materials in a way in which they were not disguised could be represented in their natural form. His style was heavily influenced by Beuy - the Neo-Expressionism.
Kiefer was awarded the Wolf Prize in 1990. In 1999, the Japan Art Association awarded him the Premium Imperiale for his outstanding achievements in the art field. In 2008, he was awarded Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. Kiefer gains international attention and have contemporary art exhibitions worldwide.
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| Parsifal I, 1973 |
His subject-matter mainly ranges over mythology and history, alchemy and the nature of belief in the early 1970s.
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| Parsifal II, 1973 |
Kiefer's works were also influenced by Paul Celan's poems about German history and the horror of the Holocaust, which have the spiritual concepts of Kabbalan. One of the examples is Margarethe. It was inspired by Celan's poem "Todesfuge"
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| Margarethe, 1981 |
In general, Kiefer's works are in musty, depressive and destructive style. His works provoke negative feelings. He incorporated with different media on his works and the paintings have very thick and rich texture. Departure from Egypt, 1984 is an example of his rough brushwork. It is sort of abstract formed by found subjects and other materials. It has a very destructive and violence-like scene. Innenraum is one of my favourite paintings of Kiefer. It has simplex colour tone. The natural light get through from the glass ceiling creates strong contrast with the darkness in the room. This painting also has high extensity.
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| Departure from Egypt, 1984 |
| Innenraum, 1981 |
By the mid 1980s, Kiefer widened his theme from a focus on Germany's role in civilization to the fate of art and culture. His work not only involved national identify and collective memory, but also occult symbolism, theology and mysticism.
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| Osiris und Isis, 1985-1987 |
Osiris und Isis is based on an Egyptian myth but Kiefer also connected the painting with the allegory of the Nazi rules in World War II.
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| Palm Sunday, 2006 |
This is a mixed media installation by Kiefer. It consists a 30 ft long palm tree surrounded by 44 paintings on the wall.
My thoughts
Anselm Kiefer has been one of my favourite contemporary artist since high school. During sixth form I had a quick research on him for my art project. It is quite rare to find artists that are very into depressive style and I was so fascinated of his paintings. Also, I found Kiefer is quite different from other artists, he is patriotic - which was the main ambition for him to produce artwork. Kiefer illustrated his thoughts and beliefs completely in his works. His depressive paintings shows he felt biting about the German history and we can see his emotional journey throughout his work. I like the fact that his paintings implied the horrible side of nationalism and fascism which provoke thoughts, arouse reflection and send strong message to the audience. I appreciated that he has faith art can heal a traumatized nation and he keens on developing artwork as a medium of approaching the world with the German history and culture. We can rarely find contemporary artists have such deep mind and positive attitude to implicate humanity and ethical questions in artwork.
On the other hand, I like the style and skill that Kiefer has adopted in his paintings. His paintings are mostly in dark and musty tone, it would be difficult to show clear three-dimensional objects and good extensity. But in all his interior paintings he tackled the difficulties well. Also, he was a risk-taking artist, putting different found objects in his works and did a lot mixed media experiment, which created unique effects in his artwork. He inspired me a lot on my final year Fine Art project - dare to put everything I found in the paintings and mix all the possible materials together.
I like Kiefer's works not only because of the aesthetic reasons, but also the deep meaning behind each paintings. He is a great influence in a lot of aspects. I hope more people will know about him and his paintings.
Reference:
http://artblart.com/2011/01/03/exhibition-anselm-kiefer-at-baltic-centre-for-contemporary-art-gateshead/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselm_Kiefer
http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/171
http://www.c4gallery.com/artist/database/anselm-kiefer/anselm-kiefer.html
http://www.moca.org/pc/viewArtWork.php?id=32
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