Exhibition at the Museum Kunstpalast: Jean Tinguely, Super Meta Maxi

When approaching Tinguely’s works ‘in the flesh’ it becomes a much more magical piece of work. One is not able experience the full extent of the size of the sculpture from a photograph or behind a screen and especially the kinetic aspect of it. Tinguely’s ‘Große Méta-Maxi-Maxi Utopia’ , finished in 1987 is a huge kinetic sculpture made out of all sorts of items and even stairs and paths for viewers to walk along.

In general with sculptures and large scale works it is very vital to see it in person because of the difference in impact it can have on you. This work creates and even bigger value only when the sculpture is seen in the flesh because you somewhat become part of the piece just by physically walking in/on it. The whole atmosphere and experience is much more exiting in person rather than seeing it still or even from a video, therefore the Value of this piece of work can only be fully expressed when seen in the flesh.

Jean Tinguely, Große Méta-Maxi-Maxi-Utopia, 1987, 810 x 1683 x 887 cm, Mixed Media.

https://www.artrust.ch/events/jean-tinguely-super-meta-maxi-museum-kunstpalast-dusseldorf/?lang=en

Museum Tinguely, Basel, photo: Christian Baur, © Museum Tinguely, Basel, Donation Niki de Saint Phalle © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2015

Exhibition at the Museum Kunstpalast: Jean Tinguely, Super Meta Maxi

In collaboration with the Tinguely Museum and the Stedelijk museum a show of over 100 of Jean Tinguely’s works was presented starting with his first wire sculptures all the way through to his most famous metamechanics. This show was the first major exhibition of the late Swiss painter and sculptor (died 1991) in 15 years.

A lot of Tinguely’s sculptures were created with random found items and machinery constructing a piece of work that comes to life. The works were placed in various areas of 2 halls with the larger works taking up a wall of corner of its own. Some of the sculptures had provided buttons that would trigger movements and some of those movements created certain sounds like the iconic work Ballet des pauvres (1961).

A particular work at the exhibition that always fascinates is Schnudernase (1988) and various other sculptures that all hung from the ceiling. They had many functioning light bulbs of different colours attached on metal bars which would come is many shapes and forms as well as some having metal wheels  which rotated certain parts of the sculpture or other found items, creating a fantastic atmosphere with them moving all together.

This painting shows a man of colour sitting on a white sofa, naked with only glasses on, holding a pipe (or cigarette). A shirt printed with a woman’s face hangs on the top of the sofa, the carpet is a clear blue colour with a pattern going across and there is very vibrantly patterned wallpaper. At first one might just see the naked man on the sofa, but when one studies the image closely it may have a deeper message it tries to convey.

His facial expression shows that he is aware that the viewer is looking at him or at least he is not ashamed of the viewer’s looking at him even though he is not covering himself up. It may suggest that he is presenting himself in this manner on purpose to maybe provoke the viewer. The position he is sitting in also looks rather relaxed as well as him possibly smoking which conveys that he is not bothered and comfortable. The title stating “no naked niggahs” suggests that the figure was presented this way to suggest that he is breaking a rule and that he probably isn’t concerned about breaking it.

Family Jules: NNN (No naked niggahs) by Barkley L. Hendricks, 1974, Oil on Linen, 72 x 66 inches. http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/in-focus/family-jules/the-painting

George Condo Metal states looks at Condo’s art career from 1982 onward. It was published relating to the exhibition: George Condo: Mental states. Condo’s relationship to art history, pop culture and contemporary society are also elaborated in the monograph. George Condo is an American Contemporary visual artist and his works are known for their psychological cubism.

The tone of this book conveys is quite positive. “Condo proves through his production that he can do anything – has done almost anything.” (L.Hoptman, 2011) is a key quotation from this book because it acknowledges that Condo has explored so many different modes of art practice. Condo has studied so many of the famous predating artist’s practices and he is able to imitate and channel them to some extent for audiences to recognise without Condo copying individual motifs.

The purpose of this book is share the range of artworks created by George Condo, to describe his practice and the context of his subject matter to the contemporary audience. It also acknowledges the background of how he works, the effects of his works on the viewers and the meanings they imply.

[Bibliography]

Self, W., Rugoff, R., Hoptman, L. and Means, D. (2011). George Condo: Mental States. London: Hayward Publishing.

For a recent art examination I have painted a portrait of myself using the techniques I have developed in the last year. The task of the exam was to create a painting of choice and I have not painted a self-portrait using the techniques I have developed, therefore I thought that this would be a great opportunity to try something new. During the creation of this work as well as painting what is seen from the photograph, I added random colours and shapes to make the portrait more visually exciting. As much as the figure in the foreground takes the main focus, certain smaller details and features in the background stand out too and make it just as visually stimulating.

To develop this piece further, I would love to expand it. I would add more characters/ shapes and scenery to build the narrative further. I personally think that large pieces have such an impact of the viewer, because they can be filled with so many details. I could also attempt turning it into a triptych, where I’d have three or more portraits of myself creating a step by step story of e.g. my emotions, mental states etc.

self portrait, 01.09.2017, oil on canvas (~ 40 cm x 50 cm)