Hans Bellmer
dal 27/6/2006 al 26/8/2006
Segnalato da
27/6/2006
Hans Bellmer
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
Engineer of the Erotic. The retrospective is the first exhibition for over a quarter of a century in Germany to be dedicated to Bellmer’s work and was originally organized by the Centre Pompidou. It assembles numerous and hitherto unknown drawings from museums and private collections, photographs, paintings, unpublished note pads and sketch books as well as some sculptural objects, among them "La poupe'e".
Engineer of the Erotic. Drawings, Photographs, Paintings and Sculptures
>>The origin of my pictures is scandalous, because for me the world is a
scandal.<< (Hans Bellmer)
Hans Bellmer (1902-1975) is one of the most important and, at the same time,
least known of the German Surrealists. To this day, his oeuvre remains
surrounded by mystery and taboos.
The retrospective in the Pinakothek der Moderne is the first exhibition for
over a quarter of a century in Germany to be dedicated to Bellmer’s work and
was originally organized by the Centre Pompidou, Paris. It assembles
numerous and hitherto unknown drawings from museums and private collections,
photographs, paintings, unpublished note pads and sketch books as well as
some sculptural objects, among them >>La poupe'e<< (>>The doll<<).
In1933/34 Hans Bellmer created >>La poupe'e<<, the surrealistic object par
excellence. It is a life-sized, plaster-covered skeleton made of wood and
metal, onto which he projected his suppressed desires as if it were an
object of fetishism. Initially, he had created it as a gesture of rebellion
against ideologies and all forms of authority. However, the anatomically
variable doll soon became for Bellmer an instrument of fresh reflection on
the body. This preoccupation turned the object of fetishism into a
paradigmatic point of reference for contemporary artistic expression of the
erotic.
>>La poupe'e<<, at the same time fascinating and disturbing, is a reflection of
his own obsessive explorations into the anatomy of the unknown, a theme
running through his entire work. His second, more elaborate doll which he
created in 1935/36, consisted of a female torso with swivel joints. The
>>invention of new forms of desire<< with the aid of the doll finds expression
in the medium of photography for which he creates theatrical and sadistic
scenarios, and even more particularly in his drawings reminiscent of the
refinement of the Old Masters and at times of mannerist finesse. It is on
these features of his work that Bellmer’s fame is founded.
In 1938 Bellmer fled Germany for Paris, where he became friends with
Surrealists such as Paul Eluard, Yves Tanguy, Hans Arp and Max Ernst. In a
constant flow of new experiments the artist extended the limits of
representing the body - just as Hieronymus Bosch and Giuseppe Arcimboldo
once did - and concentrated them into an epic myth about the >>anatomy of the
image<<. The numerous drawings made by Bellmer in the course of his artistic
career reveal a spectrum ranging from naturalistic portraits to depictions
of jumbled arrays of joints that dissolve into almost biomorphic
abstractions. Many of his drawings merge male and female shapes to form
ambivalent, flowing organisms that point to the androgynous as a constant
feature of his obsession.
In a presentation designed to resemble a labyrinth, the exhibition circles
around the >>anatomy of desire<< as the central concept of Bellmer’s creative
work. It highlights the singularity of his work, one that in the context of
the 1920’s and 1930’s was highly subversive in its discourse on the body, on
childhood, psychoanalysis, the erotic and violence. The exhibition and
accompanying publication demonstrate that today more than ever Bellmer’s
oeuvre is of particular interest. The calling into question of human
identity, opposition to conservative ideologies and mainstream stereotypes
are issues of current relevance in contemporary art. They are to be found in
the works of influential artists of the present day, among them Matthew
Barney, Cindy Sherman and Paul McCarthy.
Bellmer’s role as an outsider was supported by the persistent power of his
rebellion. No matter what his political convictions or unbounded intentions
may have been, the eerie, violent and obsessive features of Bellmer’s oeuvre
are unmistakable.
Exhibition organised by the Centre Pompidou, Muse'e National d’Art Moderne,
Paris.
Curators: Agne's de la Beaumelle, Alain Sayag.
The exhibition will be held in the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London from
18.09.-19.11.2006.
Catalogue accompanying the exhibition (296 pages, approx. 250 Ill., edited
by Michael Semff and Anthony Spira) with essays by Agne's de la Beaumelle,
Alain Sayag and Wieland Schmied, HatjeCantz, Euro 39.80
Opening of the exhibition at 6 p.m. on 28th June 2006 in the Pinakothek der Moderne.
Pinakothek der Moderne
Barer Strasse 40 - Munich