8 oilpaintings on canvas, adapted copies of old
masters:
- Olympia by Manet
- Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon
on the Grass) by Manet
- The raft of the Medusa by Géricault
- Matthew and the angel by Caravaggio
- Meal at the Levi home by Veronese
- Nu descendant un escalier (Nude descending
a staircase) by Duchamp
- Rock-breakers by Courbet
- Woman with fish-hat’ by Picasso.
These originals were chosen to star in a new painting installation.
When they arrived on the art-scene, they each on different, moral
grounds, aroused a big controversy. Because they didn’t conform
to religious doctrine, moral codes or decency standards, they were
unacceptable to the clients.
This rejection resulted in works being painted over, renamed or
put in depot.
Years later another ultimate moral judgement was passed on some
of these paintings, when the were lost during the bombing of Dresden
in the second world war.
Nowadays they have all found their prominent places in art history.
Some of them can even be found on mugs, calendars and placemats.
Few people will be aware of the controversy they once raised; changing
times, changing morals.
In an attempt to raise new controversy, monochrome copies were painted
along with a few additions.
We look at the models that once posed for the artists, rather than
at the people they portray. Artists were often not very wealthy,
and have probably not always used beautiful professional models.
Cheap models like farmers daughters, hobo’s, and beggars filled
the studios. People not known for their grace or angelic appearances.
That’s why now they have been given big, coarse hands, and
an unidentifiable “street-face”. I don’t know
them or their stories, but they’ve been all given an empty
balloon. If they wish to tell us their tale, they now can.
People have been very interested in buying the series, if it wasn’t
for those damn smilies and balloons.
A mural by Dutch artist Karel Appel once graced an employee-canteen
wall at former Amsterdam City Hall. The workers however expressed
their horror over the piece, saying they were unable to swallow
a single bite in the presence of such apparent ugliness. A wall
was built in front of the mural, and all was well again.
When the building was reverted into a hotel, the mural was found,
and is now the prized possession of the new owners.
In this installation, the mural features as background to the paintings,
that are hung over it in the crowded fashion formerly used in museums.
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