an artist couple • Self Portrait as an artist couple •
Work in progress since 1998 Mixed Media This series of works comments on the topos of auto-portraiture in art and also constitutes an engagement of the artist couple with themselves as an artist couple. As a rule (but there are excep tions!) the works in the series are created for the traditional annual or Christmas exhibitions 1 at art institutions near Haus am Gern. 1 The traditional annual or Christmas exhibitions are an established part of the Swiss art scene. They provide a yearly overview of local and regional art production while the cantonal and communal art commissions also conduct a large part of their acquisitions at these exhibitions. As a rule, participation is tied to conditions such as place of residence, place of work or place of origin (or, in some cases, committed participation in the local art scene). These conditions are decided on individually by each organisation. Usually there is a jury that selects from among submitted work, in order to guarantee a standard of artistic quality. The annual or Christmas exhibitions also take place at important institutions such as the Kunsthalle Bern or the Kunst halle Basel. All attempts by the directors to abolish this tradition, which is a bit of an annoyance for them, have failed due to resistance from local artists.
Self Portrait as an artist couple • Self Portrait as an artist couple
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple
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Self Portrait as an artist couple • Self Portrait as
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple I (The open chamber) 1998 Black and white photographic paper laminated with aluminium, 90 x 150 cm each, 5 parts Christmas Exhibition, Kunsthaus Langenthal The artists recorded themselves in the act of making love using a large pin-hole camera. The exposure time was 20 minutes.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple II (We enlarged our colour pictures) 1999 C-prints from Polaroid, PVC laminated, 50 x 70 cm, 35 parts Christmas Exhibition, Kunsthaus Langenthal The subtitle “We enlarged our colour pictures” refers to a statement from photo and video artist Annelies Štrba about her work Shades of Time. Using a Polaroid camera the artists took pictures of each other in domestic situations with fluffy toys in their arms.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple III (The right light) 2000 C-prints between two sheets of plexiglass, ca. 20 x 30 cm each, 7 parts Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne Having newly moved to Biel (as artists-in-residence at Atelier Robert), the artist couple had their picture taken at seven different photographic studios in Biel and presented themselves to the public of Biel. Photos from top left to bottom right: Photo Studio Liselotte Fankhauser; Photo Studio Olivier Evard; Bandi Photo, Ruth Patzer; Photo M. Ammann, Nachf. P.Fankhauser-D端rig; Studio for Photography Stefan Weber; Photo-Video Dufour Bruno Facchinetti; PhotoStudio TopOne, Anita Marti.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple IV (Self portrait as an artist couple) 2001 Oil on fibreboard, 80 x 130 cm each Painting: Claude Hohl Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne IV was a commission to the painter Claude Hohl. In this period of his work, Hohl painted every picture twice, including the commissioned painting. He took it upon himself to hand in the second picture to the same Christmas Exhibition under his name. The exhibition jury hung the two pictures on the first and second floor respectively, but in identical positions “above” each other. Claude Hohl’s picture was cheaper and was sold.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple V (OH MY GODS) 2002 Digital print on Forex, 42 x 58,5 cm each, 8 parts Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne
V shows the artist couple facing its icons: Marcel Duchamp, Clown, Monkey, Dolores Denaro, Harald Szeemann, AdobeBottichelli-Venus, The Virgin of Guadaloupe, Sathia Sai Baba.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple VI (SPLASH or ZEUS AND ATHENA) 2003 Digitalprint on satin, je 108 x 108 cm Kunstmuseum Bern The two self-portraits covered the two medallions of Zeus and Athena above the entrance to the Museum of Fine Art in Bern on the occasion of the award ceremony for a prize given by the art commission of the City of Bern to Haus am Gern. The artists pose as Bruce Naum an’s Self Portrait as a Fountain.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple VII (SPLASH) 2003 LIDI (laser-induced-damage-image) from 3D-Face-Scan, 5 x 5 x 8 cm each, on a disco turntable, plinth and bell jar. Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne They’re usually for sale at market stalls: fascinating 3D images in a glass container, often depicting famous monuments or different animals. SPLASH was made with a lot of patience at the Mystery Park near Bern.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple VIII (speedcontrol) 2004 Photograph, pigment ink jet on A3 + Hahnemühle paper, framed, 50 x 60 cm, 2 parts Photos: Marcel Vacheresse, Cantonal Police of Solothurn Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne
VIII was created by setting off a police speed camera. The jury placed the two works separately on the first and second floors, but in identical positions “above” each other.
Cécile Haenni
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple IX (DNA 4U) 2005 DNA of the artists; coloured and certified. Cap of sterling silver 925 “Coupling” tube in a pendant, 8 x ca. 3 cm, cap sterling silver 925 “Coupling” heart in a blown-glass pendant, ca. 3 x 1.5 x 1 cm (h/w/d) Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne IX was worn by the exhibition attendants at the CentrePasquArt.
Rosmarie Wyss
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple X (Così fan tutte!) 2006 Intervention, pigment ink jet on Hahnemühle paper, hand writing, signature, 40 x 50 cm. Seal-Design: Dirk Bonsma Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne
Haus am Gern asked Dirk Bonsma to design a portrait of the artist couple. Dirk Bonsma is one of the great illustrators of record sleeves and concert posters in the international independent music scene. The portrait was stamped to visitors’ chosen body parts at the exhibition opening, like the entry stamp at a concert.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple XI (LA RIVOLUTIONE SIAMO NOI) 2007 2-part installation; metal, milled PE polyethylene, 250 x 300 cm, Hole in the Wall Christmas Exhibition, CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne 2008 SUBSTITUT, exhibition space for contemporary art from Switzerland, Berlin Haus am Gern cite Joseph Beuys’ work of 1972 with the same title. The two speech bubbles made of white polyethylene are attached to the front and back of a wall at the same height. Where the speech bubbles end, a small hole breaks through the wall between the two parts of the installation. Despite the concerns of the directorship of the CentrePasquArt, the jury accepted the work for inclusion in the exhibition. But only after Haus am Gern had signed a contract accepting liability for all possible damages to the building, was a construction firm (also authorised by the director) allowed to drill a fist-sized hole in the wall. In Berlin the hole in the wall did not cause any problems.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple XII (absent) 2008 Photograph for the invitation card and poster for the Christmas Exhibition at CentrePasquArt, Biel/Bienne The artist couple is absent in the picture. They stood behind the camera.
Self-Portrait as an Artist Couple XIII (Theory & Practice) 2009 100 pairs of cotton gloves, screen print Christmas Exhibition, Kunsthalle Bern The cotton gloves with the portraits of the artists printed on them where worn by the technical staff of the Kunsthalle Bern during the installation of the Christmas Exhibition 2009 and subsequently shown in the exhibition.
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple XIV (Huis clos) 2010 photo-shoot, dye-sublimation print,10 x 15 cm framed Hommage to Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. In 1929 Simone de Beauvoir shot a self-portrait of the couple at a photo stall in Paris with her eyes closed.
Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Porte d’Orléans, juin 1929
Self Portrait as an Artist Couple XV (nos Aventures) 2010 20 pigment pen drawings, freely after “Les Aventures de Tintin” by Hergé
XV was created for the monograph of Haus am Gern. Each of the 20 monograph magazines contains a self portrait picture. The sentence appearing in speech bubbles, “L’œuvre d’art n’a pas d’idée, elle est idée.” (The work of art does not have an idea, it is an idea.) is a quote by the German art historian Konrad Fidler (1841 – 1895). 1 1
Konrad Fiedler; Aphorism 77, p. 45 in volume 2 of his collected writings,see Gottfried Boehm (ed.) Schriften zur Kunst, 1971, 2nd edition 1991.
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Credits: Hosts
Kunsthaus Langenthal CentrePasquArt Biel/Bienne Kunstmuseum Bern Kunsthalle Bern
Studio portraits III Photostudio Liselotte Fankhauser Photostudio Olivier Evard Photo Bandi, Ruth Patzer Photo M. Ammann, Nachf. P. Fankhauser-Dürig Studio for Photography Stefan Weber Photo-Video Dufour, Bruno Facchinetti PhotoStudio TopOne, Anita Marti
Painting IV Claude Hohl
Speed camera VIII Marcel Vacheresse (Cantonal Police of Solothurn)
Pendant IX DNA4U, Münster (D)
Presentation Rosmarie Wyss Cécile Haenni
Rubber stamp
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Dirk Bonsma, Ziegelried
Reception Zuzanna Steiner Sven Weber
Metalwork XI Rudolf Steiner sen.
Technology XIII Team Kunsthalle Bern
Quote XV Konrad Fiedler
n artist couple • Self Portrait as an artist couple
Self Portrait as an artist couple • Self Portrait as an artist couple
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