L.A. Raeven
dal 24/9/2010 al 27/11/2010
Segnalato da
24/9/2010
L.A. Raeven
Arnhem Museum of Modern Art MMKA, Arnhem
The show present a selection of L.A Raeven's video installations, drawings, collages, and photos from 2000 to the present. The twins and artistic duo has been staging situations which question Western ideals of male and female beauty and corresponding patterns of consumption.
"Society creates an ideal image to which everyone must conform. The media dictate
that you must be attractive and successful, be a perfectionist, and have everything
under control," explain the twins and artistic duo Liesbeth and Angelique Raeven.
Since 2000, they have been staging situations which question Western ideals of male
and female beauty and corresponding patterns of consumption. They go to extremes to do so.
Their videos, photographs, drawings, and collages mercilessly record the obsession
with the perfect, fashionable body, as well as the way in which male and female
ideals of beauty are used in the marketing strategies of consumer society.
L.A. Raeven have staged numerous performances and situations in which they expose
young people to the torments models go through during auditions for fashion shows or
dancers experience while auditioning for ballet schools. Time in the videos passes
without plot, glamour, and spectacle, and sometimes the young people are thoroughly
measured and inspected by L.A. Raeven. An advertisement for such a selection was
rejected by the English newspaper The Guardian in 2001. Requirements to be met by
those interested in being considered for L.A. Raeven's "Ideal Army" were listed
under the heading "Ideal Individual" and included a bust measurement of 82 cm and
waist of 43 cm, plus a number of psychological peculiarities like "unusual eating
and drinking habits" and "at least one physical handicap." The measurements
correspond to a tall and extremely thin person with an androgynous appearance. This
figure is seen as the most attractive in the fashion world and is "reproduced" via
advertisements, but in real life these dimensions are associated with illness and
anorexic patients.
In the video Echoes of Despair, for instance, a young woman who forces herself to
drink only water is portrayed; this practice is common amongst those with anorexia.
From 2007, another kind of "manipulability" was featured in L.A. Raeven's work. The
video No Whites (2007) reveals a young white woman's search for the most ideal black
sperm donor. The subject of The Height of Vanity (2008) is the influence Western
European ideals of beauty have had in other parts of the world: L.A. Raeven follow
Chinese friends Sun Mei and Lu Yang in their struggle for perfection. One of the
friends has her legs surgically lengthened to comply with Western physical
standards. L.A. Raeven: "People lose their identity and can no longer see their own
beauty. They only emulate Western ideals."
From 26 September through 28 November, the MMKA will be presenting a selection of
L.A Raeven's video installations, drawings, collages, and photos from 2000 to the
present. The exhibition will travel a/o to Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade and
Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'Art Contemporain.
Publication
L.A. Raeven: Analyse/Research, 2010
Concept/design: Mevis & Van Deursen
Distribution: Hatje Cantz
Available at the museum shop MMKA and Ellen de Bruijne Projects
Opening and booklaunch 25 September 2010, 15 hrs
Arnhem Museum of Modern Art
Utrechtseweg 87, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, and holidays 11 a.m.-5 p.m
Admission: Adults € 7
Cultural Youth Pass (CJP), 65+, students € 5
Groups of 15 or more € 6
Under 18, Friends, Museum card, ICOM, Ver. Rembrandt free