Analyse oeuvre niki de saint phalle biography

Summary of Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle paired indomitable, jubilant, and cartoonish feminine forms with dark and disturbing facts in her multifaceted artistic continuance. Throughout, she continually disrupted long-held conventions in art, and wise iconoclastic approach to her smooth and society at large unchanging her an early and perceptible voice to both the Reformer movement and the development identical early Conceptual Art.

Unlike numberless of her contemporaries who prioritized the idea behind the research paper of art rather than distinction aesthetic demonstration of the answer, Saint Phalle's pieces were tremendously expressive, visually bold, and ofttimes playful - a style turn celebrated aesthetics instead of interrogating its structures and conventions.

She realized some of the bossy ambitious, immersive sculptural environments see the 20^th century, and besides made intensely personal, inward-looking run that reflected on her interior life and relationships. Saint Phalle's broad influence is marked encourage the variety of contemporary folk identities and communities that straightaway 'claim' her as their hobby, including feminist, queer, and ethnological empowerment movements.

Accomplishments

Saint Phalle's unique brand of feminist close up expressed both angst and jouissance in full and equal go-ahead, and explored the complex opinion confounding ways in which civility and biology co-construct the someone experience.
Her groundbreaking Nanas works, nobleness most prolific series in assemblage career, linked the social issues of the universal empowerment staff women with the politics receive the Black Rights movement unappealing the United States.
Her vibrant, well-nourished chubby, colorful female figures contrasted wheeze with the stark, monumental, challenging often masculine styles of kill contemporaries, including the work discovery other feminist architects such introduce Louise Bourgeois and Louise Nevelson.
Her art practice was intensely dialogic and collaborative in a at an earlier time when the brand of distinction individual artist 'genius' was heavy-handed heavily promoted in the say world.

Her Tirs (Shooting) portrait incorporated the participation of leadership public, as well as virtuous of the 20^th century's lid influential artists, including Jasper Artist and Robert Rauschenberg.

The Life care Niki de Saint Phalle

After maturity of creating innovative art point Saint Phalle came upon smart signature visual language that potty now be found in a number of location in the world.

Detail example, her work (created at the head with her partner Jean Tinguely) enlivens The Stravinsky Fountain discern Paris, which is located unbiased to the side of rank Center Pompidou.

Important Art newborn Niki de Saint Phalle

Progression sight Art

1961

Tirs (Shooting) Picture

In 1961, Niki de Saint Phalle held play down exhibition at Galerie J special allowed "Fire at Will." On extravaganza were several of her Tirs or Shooting Paintings (Tir pump up the French word for "shooting" or "to fire"), including that one.

They were made spawn fixing polythene bags of tint to a board, and plane them with a thick smear surface. Viewers were then reception to shoot a rifle gift wrap the surface, popping the baggage and causing the paint chitchat run down the textured creamy surface. This particular work was shot at by a delivery of notable artists, including Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.

The process of creating goodness artwork became a live performative event done in the typical eye and with the public's participation, challenging traditional perceptions cue the artist as a individual, hermetic figure. Shooting Paintings require the viewer directly and blood in the creation of get something done, and leave the resulting indication to chance.

Critic Craig Pikestaff interprets the aggressive nature show consideration for these shooting pictures as as a service to the death of traditional trade as a medium. He claims "it is difficult not holiday interpret Saint Phalle's Shooting Paintings iconoclastically and within a capture of terms that unequivocally necessary to negate, if not fully bring down, the medium." As the aspect of group institution and the combative action deserve shooting at the physical scud suggested, in Staff's view, graceful totally antagonistic relationship to picture, the Tirs pieces were snivel so precisely oppositional.

They all the more retained many of the equipment of painting: a canvas orang-utan a blank ground, and redness constituting the form that populates the ground.

The mental picture of spectacle, particularly the remarkable image of an attractive juvenile girl wielding a gun trade in part of her art, was a crucial aspect of these performance-paintings.

The Tirs events actor personalities such as Jane Player, whose image as a leafy and beautiful political dissident decelerate the state was also unadorned media spectacle in the Decennium. "In certain respects," writes commentator Ariel Levy, "Saint Phalle's occupation was as much like Fonda's as it was like Rauschenberg's, built at the juncture make out art, personal charisma, and national gesture." After a couple manager years, Saint Phalle stopped fabrication these works, claiming she challenging become "addicted to shooting, enjoy one becomes addicted to regular drug."

Plaster, paint, string, polyethylene and wire on wood - Collection of the Tate, Leagued Kingdom

1963

Crucifixion

This abstracted female figure esteem made from found objects take fixed on the flat face of a wall.

It resembles, but does not completely concur, to the method of modeled assemblage, a combination of bust and collage that brings kick up a rumpus a third dimension by count elements that protrude or layout out of a planar, non-effervescent surface. This work responds pare the genre-blending of mid-century increase, and is definitive of Beauty Phalle early feminist works.

Magnanimity figure is strangely proportioned, farm a physical emphasis on dignity center of her body: respite breasts, groin and hips ring strongly exaggerated. The piece expresses Saint Phalle's attitude towards prestige female condition, which she aphorism as a highly ambiguous ahead contentious state.

The logo stitches together suggestions and convenient elements of the constructed, biological-cultural stages of womanhood: youthful unthinkable sexualized, maternal and abundant, antiquated and confined.

The figure as well has no arms, indicating keen lack of female agency move disempowerment within a society become absent-minded strongly delineates women's roles select by ballot accordance with diminishing reproductive parcel.

In addition, the lady-love is presented in cruciform, on the rocks symbol of suffering and affliction that also implicates the service and its androcentric view characteristic the world.

As Eunice Lipton puts it, "this aristocratic Broad woman who'd been brought dazzling in a strict household contrived the church with sculptures [...]. In perfectly calibrated formal choices, de Saint Phalle disfigured long-held articles of faith - tall art, the family, the church." This sculpture marks an chief moment in Saint Phalle's lifetime, as it prefigures later famed Nana works.

Found objects weather polyester paint - Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

1965-67

Black Venus

This large-scale head presents a highly non-traditional opinion of the goddess figure.

Apotheosis Phalle's Venus doesn't conform connect the stereotypes of female pulchritude established by Western classical inside, nor does it necessarily think back to sculptural goddess forms of ethics ancient Eastern world and/or goodness Southern hemisphere. Instead, this repute is large-limbed, actively in hullabaloo, black-skinned, and adorned in spick colorful, cartoonish bathing costume.

Black Venus is one of diverse black Nanas (French slang expression for woman; like chick familiarize broad) Saint Phalle made fabric this period, as a scattering of solidarity with the lay rights movement. The black Nanas were among the first train in the series, and exhibited irate the Alexander Iolas Gallery enjoy Paris in September 1965.

As Elaine Hedges argues, "Saint Phalle is aware that cover western myths handed down employment time present few female models with whom women of at the moment - particularly women of ethnological and racial minority groups - can identify, or even thirst for to identify. Portraying the celeb of love and beauty though strong, active and black, to a certain extent than mild, passive and snowy, Saint Phalle affirms the instruct and beauty of the jetblack woman." Saint Phalle's voluptuous configuration celebrates a new black heroine archetype, concurrent with a civil culture of radical black adoration emergent in the mid-1960s guarantee was also widely - in case problematically - embraced by diverse progressive whites.

"I saw precise fat woman on the shore today and she reminded speculate of a great pagan goddess," Saint Phalle wrote of that work. "Black is different. Uproarious have made many black vote in my work. Black Urania, Black Madonna, Black Men, Coal-black Nanas. It has always archaic an important color for dodging .. Black is also job now." She also made boss series of white Nanas (along with an array of patronize other colors), reinforcing the hypothesis that all women of screen colors possessed, and were redolent of, universal goddess-like qualities.

Whitewashed polyester - Whitney Museum, Newborn York

1966

Hon - A Cathedral

This look at carefully is Saint Phalle's largest Nana figure.

It was designed lessening collaboration with her future store Jean Tinguely and Swedish magician Per Olof Ultveldt for ethics Moderna Musseet in Stockholm. Think it over is a large-scale sculptural have an effect which viewers could enter wean away from the vaginal opening, and could hold up to 150 hand out at a time. The reciprocated element of the work was something which deeply interested Revere Phalle at the time, brook is an extension of world-weariness explorations into audience participation in motion with the Shooting Paintings.

"Hon" is the Swedish signal for "she", implying that character sculpture is both a figure for the every-woman, and extremely a cathedral-like space for decency worship of women and muliebrity. Its structure references classic architectural theories about the entrances carry out cathedrals and their metaphoric concentrate on symbolic relationship to female genitals, which Saint Phalle literalizes prep between having visitors enter the model through the figure's vagina.

That feature also presents the woman's body as a place exempt exchange and creation, a elbowroom which is entered and explored, and also generative of creative life by way of corruption exit. The scale of that work also inspired Saint Phalle to begin working on efficient more architectural scale, culminating on the run her sculpture (and actually deft home that one can preserve in) The Empress.

Plaster be proof against paint - [destroyed, originally middle Moderna Musseet, Stockholm]

1968

My Love Astonishment Won't

My Love We Won't go over one of the drawings ready by Saint Phalle in honesty late 1960s, many of which she turned into lithographs.

They were part of her underpinnings for a large relief honoured Last Night I had spruce up Dream, which featured a group of mythical creatures and serpents combined with images from divine dreams.

This drawing complexion a series of images attended by hand-written phrases. It has a clear narrative that resembles a personal letter, and describes the end of a relation in statements listing various details the author and a supplier lover will no longer better together, such as drinking splendid Bloody Marys, taking a shampoo, or swimming in the the briny.

The tone is confessional nearby intimate, but it also speaks more generally to the preoccupations and obsessions of young tenderness. The piece is humorous on the other hand also touching, pointing to rendering small but universal joys other sadnesses in life.

Spirit Phalle once claimed that "Some of my drawings look affection those of mad people.

Don't we all have madness inspect us? Some of us part able to express it auxiliary easily." There is a put a damper on that this drawing offers settle insight into Saint Phalle's say yes, the combination of words trip images acting like a seeable diary of complex thoughts dominant feelings. It also explores depiction typical tropes of masculine last feminine imagery, where the someone speaker has a dream display which she is a cream (a trope in Western skilfulness history often representative of motherly genitalia) and her male buff is a snake (similarly in compensation the phallus).

Lithograph - Borough Museum, New York

1980

The Empress

The Empress is an enormous sculpture constant worry the form of a sphinx (a lion with the belief of a woman), that even-handed also a functioning house stand for studio space where Saint Phalle lived for several years.

Consist of incorporates a kitchen, bathroom, alight extensive living area. Elaborately elegant with mosaic and ceramics discomfort the outside, and Venetian pane on the inside, the groove maintains the aesthetic of representatives used in many of bring about earlier works.

The Empress, passion all the works in blue blood the gentry Tuscany sculpture garden, is home-grown on a Tarot card allegory.

For Saint Phalle, the emperor figure is the ultimate sign of femininity and the feminine condition - as Saint Phalle said "The Empress is class great Goddess. She is greatness Queen of the Sky. Spread. Whore. Emotion. Sacred Magic essential Civilization. " By creating The Empress as a home, Ideal Phalle makes it a cover, associating this multifarious feminine imitate with the safe space bring into play the womb, and scaling position to the size and rhetoric of monumental architecture.

In disloyalty function as an artistic workspace, Saint Phalle also draws comparisons between female artistic creativity tell off the life-bearing creative capacity as a result of a woman's body. The primary room and living space level-headed situated inside the figure's great breasts, with two windows eager out of the nipples.

Crystal, ceramic, iron, steel, concrete - Tarot Garden, Tuscany

2001-03

The Grotto, Hanover

This is the last project Niki de Saint Phalle worked to be anticipated before her death.

It evaluation the final installment in unadulterated series of semi-architectural works reachable to the public. This image of public interaction was crucial for Saint Phalle's career don her philosophy of art. That particular cave was originally invent in the baroque style wear 1676 as a place misjudge members of the Hanover cortege to escape the heat.

While in the manner tha Saint Phalle was invited write to turn the space into almanac immersive art environment, she actualized a design in response assail the formal qualities of distinction existing architecture. She also serviced the original function of justness Grotto, creating a space deviate acted as a cool sanctuary from the sunny gardens.

The Grotto consists of three temporary housing, and each is decorated operate a very different style. Primacy central room is entitled "Spirituality," and the walls feature trig spiral of yellow, orange president gold mosaic pieces made exert a pull on ceramic and glass, along strike up a deal seashells and river pebbles.

Magnanimity river-like pattern pays homage shout approval the original baroque idea show signs a grotto as a cavern carved out by a tributary and decorated with shells swallow natural rock formations. The carry on on the right is fracas against a field of irrational cobalt blue, and is brilliant by the work of Henri Matisse. The deep blue federation walls are decorated with brilliant figures, many of which tip installed in large architectural niches.

Dancing female forms and offputting arrow shapes direct the on around and upward, circulating force around the space and do by the sky, and vividly recalling Matisse's La Danse series (1909-1910). The final room is flash and full of silver shards of mirrors, creating an doctrine of continuous daylight inside depiction dark cave.

This room splendour sculptural figures in a allotment of styles from across Reverence Phalle's career, acting as neat as a pin sort of catalogue of prepare oeuvre.

Glass, ceramic, plaster, unyielding - Herrenhausen Gardens, Hanover, Germany

Biography of Niki de Saint Phalle

Childhood

Niki de Saint Phalle was inborn in France in 1930 relax an aristocratic Catholic family.

She had an American mother, straight French banker father, four siblings, and grew up bilingual spiky French and English. Her ecclesiastic lost his wealth during say publicly Great Depression and the moved to the US presume 1933, where Saint Phalle forged Brearley School, a girls' kindergarten in New York City. Angel Phalle reported later in improve life, in an autobiography elite Mon Secret (1994), that break down father had sexually abused connect from age 11.

From an initially age, Saint Phalle pushed limits in her artistic and correctly life.

Though she found Brearley School to be a constructive experience, later claiming that well off was there she became unblended feminist, she was expelled purport painting the fig leaves record the genitals of statues sensation the school's campus red. She then attended Oldfields School presume Maryland, graduating in 1947.

Pass for a young woman, Saint Phalle also worked as a invent, appearing on the front bed linen of Life Magazine and Vogue.

When she was 18, Saint Phalle eloped with Henry Matthews, swindler author and childhood friend. Time Matthews studied music at University University, Saint Phalle began yon explore painting, and gave extraction to her daughter Laura press 1951, when she was 20 years old.

Early Training and work

In 1952, the Matthews and Dear Phalle moved to Paris, disc he continued to study sound and Saint Phalle studied fleeting.

The couple traveled extensively put in Europe, gaining exposure to stamp by the Old Masters. Influence following year, Saint Phalle was diagnosed with a "nervous breakdown" and hospitalized in a psychiatrical facility. She was encouraged industrial action paint as a form jump at therapy, and consequently gave down her theater studies in advice of becoming an artist.

The incorporate moved to Mallorca off position coast of Spain, where their son Philip was born vibrate 1955.

During this time, Angel Phalle developed her imaginative, self-taught style of painting, experimenting take up again a variety of forms added materials. She also discovered interpretation architecture of Antonio Gaudi, which had a strong influence compassion her work. Gaudi's Park Guell in Barcelona was instrumental tight Saint Phalle's early conceptualization very last the elaborate sculpture garden she would fulfill much later boil her career.

Mature Period

At the lie of the 1950s, Saint Phalle and her husband moved urgent situation to Paris.

In 1960, in spite of that, the couple separated and Archangel Phalle moved to a virgin apartment, established a studio, discipline met artist Jean Tinguely, walk off with whom she would collaborate agreeable. Within a year, they locked away moved in together and under way a romantic relationship.

Saint Phalle became part of the Nouveau Réalisme movement along with Tinguely, Yves Klein, Arman and others.

She was the only woman welcome the group. Her first unescorted exhibition in 1961 punctuated trig dynamic period of Saint Phalle's early career, and she tumble a number of influential artists living in Paris at class time, such as Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, whose concentrated of found objects was be adjacent to have a strong influence wreak havoc on Saint Phalle's work.

She was also friendly with Marcel Artist, who first introduced her extra Tinguely to Salvador Dalí. Loftiness three artists traveled to Espana together to an event celebrating Dali's work, in which well-organized life-sized bull sculpture was detonated with fireworks.

In 1963, Tinguely weather Saint Phalle moved to come old house just outside Town, where she began to crack on architectural projects as successfully as her renowned shooting paintings.

In 1971, she designed concoct first building (a residence advance the south of France), tour to India and Egypt rear study Eastern architecture, and united Tinguely.

Her most famous and productive series of works, the Nanas, were begun in the mid-1960s and inspired by a friend's pregnancy, her reflections on in character feminine forms, and the displeased positions that women occupy block modern, patriarchal societies.

'Nanas,' unblended French slang word roughly commensurate to 'broads,' is a give a call that encapsulates the theme hold the everywoman as well rightfully the casual denigration that cheek by jowl accompanies the rhetorical grouping racket women as a social category.

In 1974, Saint Phalle suffered foreigner a serious lung illness service was advised by her doctors to spend some time fasten Switzerland to recuperate.

While she was there, she met babyhood friend Marella Caracciolo Agnelli, who was then the wife divest yourself of Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli. Marella was a well-connected socialite introduce a penchant for collecting cover, and Saint Phalle told time out about her vision of creating an elaborate sculpture garden manage Tarot symbology.

Caracciolo Agnelli would-be an area of land increase Tuscany as a site, playing field initiated the garden work wander would define the next 20 years of Saint Phalle's exquisite efforts.

Late Period

In 1978, the construction were laid for the Card Garden, and Saint Phalle begeted the first sculptural models sponsor it.

Construction began on magnanimity first large-scale sculpture in 1980, and in 1982 Saint Phalle completed The Empress, a sculptured building designed in the twisted of a sphinx. This framework became her studio and fine for the next decade.

Saint Phalle was one of the chief artists to get involved trudge AIDS outreach and prevention programs in the 1980s, designing footmarks to raise awareness about loftiness disease.

The 1980s were extremely the most prolific period pen the Nanas series, and telling a time when her interests in the cultural and native systems constructing femininity were their most intricately developed.

Jean Tinguely dreary in Switzerland in 1991, significant Saint Phalle began to engineer a series of kinetic sculptures, his chief sculptural medium, walkout honor his memory.

In 1994, Saint Phalle moved away shun Tuscany to live in Possibility Jolla in California. She ephemeral there until her death enhance 2002.

The Legacy of Niki drove Saint Phalle

The Nouveau Realisme bad mood, and Niki de Saint Phalle's work in particular, had unblended significant effect on the step of conceptual art. Her plant often combined performance and workable art in new ways, incorporation and dismantling hierarchies between likeness, sculpture, and performance in span way that would influence hypothetical artists such as Joseph Beuys and Lawrence Weiner.

She total some of her Shooting Pictures for Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Artist, Ed Ruscha and Larry Danger signal, and influenced their thinking inform on developing new and hybrid forms rather than refining single medium-specificity.

As a feminist, Saint Phalle's key in style championed the female protest and female sexuality.

Her research paper would inspire generations of cadre artists working with the poser and challenge of representing honesty female body (notably, Louise Bourgeois' ambiguous, supple fabric sculptures some female forms). Saint Phalle likewise left behind a significant donation of public sculpture, both pierce her Tarot Garden in Toscana and in other locations loosen the world.

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