9/3/2012
Rumours
Madmusee, Liege
The exhibition invites to discover and appreciate the strong sense of Bartlett, Godie, Loulou et Tichy's compositions. Not as a collection of stories but as a collection of images.
Bartlett, Godie, Loulou et Tichý have a history of unusual life. Lee Godie lived in the streets of Chicago, and the self-proclaimed «French Impressionist» realized some photographic portraits and self-portraits. Miroslav Tichý lived in loneliness and secretly took pictures of women in Prague using a handmade camera. Morton Bartlett also secretly created plaster dolls, mostly female, then put them in scenes through photography. Loulou, nurse in the past, began, in her later years to sculpt a variety of clay statuettes representatives of various, sometimes disturbing, characters. Each of these artists lived a life where the passion of the image took shape in exhausting conditions, making the discovery of their work even more troubling.
It's ironic that these «specific realities» have become a sort of urban legends that have obscured the images they're rooted in. As if the extraordinary biography of these artists where an obstacle to interpret the objects and images they have made.
The exhibition RUMOURS invites to discover and appreciate the strong sense of Bartlett, Godie, Loulou et Tichý's compositions. Not as a collection of stories but as a collection of images. An invitation to reconsider what has forged the myth that we believe to be the «real story»
Located in the heart of the Parc d’Avroy, the Exhibition Room in the MADmusée pursues a policy of intelligently and sensitively promoting the works of “outsiders”. Recently appointed Director, Pierre Muylle (previously at the SMAK in Ghent) is featuring, at BIP2012, a group of four artists who are very much out of the ordinary.
Interest in the work of Miroslav Tichý (CZ), who died recently, is currently enjoying a revival because of the unique and extraordinary character of a photographer obsessed with the female image. The photographs of Lee Godie (US) and Morton Bartlett (US) are rarities. Godie first became known for her pictorial work and some self-portraits shot in a photo booth will be on display. Bartlett will be represented by the disturbing images of dolls, which were kept secret in his lifetime. Finally, alongside these photographs will be a group of sculptures by Loulou (B). This native of Liège created hundreds of clay figurines which had either been scattered all over the place or simply lost – the team at the MADmusée tracked them down and assembled them for the occasion.
“The artists we have put together for this Exhibition have all had an unusual life. Lee Godie, the self-proclaimed “French Impressionist”, lived in the streets of Chicago, whilst the Czech artist Miroslav Tichý, a lonely figure, secretly took photos of women in Prague with a camera he had made with his own hands – rather in the fashion of a traditional craftsman. Morton Bartlett, who had been a professional graphics artist in the 40s, made dolls of little girls before photographing them. And Loulou, who had previously been a nurse, began, in her later years, to sculpt a great many clay statuettes.
Each of them lived a life where the passion for the image took its form in very trying conditions which, in turn, imbued their work with an extremely troubling dimension. Their life story can actually make it hard to interpret their work. However, beyond the realms of legend and even if the secret intention of these creators lies beyond our grasp, the scope for interpretation remains wide open, allowing each of us to discover in these images a story beyond myth, a story which takes account of the love of the image just as much as the image of love. Even then, travelling along this particular path neither reduces nor excludes other possible interpretations, depending on how each of us reacts individually. That’s why “Rumours/Rumeurs”, behind the purely anecdotal, invites us, the public, to discover these strong creations less as a collection of stories but far more as a collection of images”.
(Pierre Muylle)
Opening: 10 march 15-18
Madmusee
Parc d'Avroy - Liege
Wednesday-thirsday-friday 1pm - 6pm / on saturday- sunday 10am - 6pm. Closed on monday-tuesday
Admission: 3 euro