Georg Baselitz, Monumental Prints. Rolf Iseli, Monumental Prints
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Georg Baselitz, monumental prints. Rolf Iseli, monumental prints Date 1983 Publisher The Museum of Modern Art Exhibition URL www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1830 The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition history— from our founding in 1929 to the present—is available online. It includes exhibition catalogues, primary documents, installation views, and an index of participating artists. MoMA © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art ROLFISELI MONUMENTALPRINTS Thedrypoints executed by RolfIseli since 1975 are big,confron an "original" and that this perceiveddistance from the printed tational,and iconic. Measuring for the mostpart 60 x 30inches, sheetallows him a degreeof objectivityconducive to unself- theseprints are introspectiveand yet reflectiveof the artist's consciousexperimentation. Technically, direct contact is be personalexperiences in the countrysideof St. Romain,France. tweenartist and copper, not artist and paper, so whatwe actually Printedin small numbersof progressivestates rather than seeis a secondhandregistration of an earlieraction. There is standardeditions, these monumentalworks documentIseli's not only a time lag, but also an intermediaryagent—factors searchfor the artisticmanner most expressive of his subject. that exert their own force independentof the artist's touch. Iseli was born in Bern,Switzerland, in 1934.Initially a suc Paradoxically,the urgencywith whichIseli incised the copper is cessfultachiste painter in the 1950s,in 1966he renounced paint an actionthat the papermerely records, not receives.As Iseli ing on canvasfor drawing on paper,which could be "torn, himselfso poeticallyput it: "c'estla cuivrequi chante,"it is the pasted,shredded, thrown out and replaced."In 1961,attracted copperthat sings. to what he experiencedas the freedomand openness of French Poetryaside, the strugglebetween artist andmatrix is some culture,he had purchasedland in St. Romainand hadbegun to what less romantic.In a tiny cavelikespace at the Centrede divide his time betweenSwitzerland and France,tapping his GravureContemporain in Geneva,Iseli and his printer,Daniel experienceswith natureto forgea newdirection for his art. He Divorne,devote unimaginable stretches of time to producing beganto alter vaguelyfigurative forms in a seriesof meta theseworks. There copperplates are walked on, hammered, and morphosedself-portraits called Mushroom Man, Feather Man, consideredfrom every angle as they lie strewnabout the ground. andRush Man. These "Men," creatures of the very soil hetilled Gougesmade by a waywardnail inadvertentlydragged across in the vineyard,were inspired by the artist'sshadow as hesaw theplate by Iseli'sslipper are later admired for theunique quality it caston a sheetof paperone day while working outdoors. of line created.In the recepetiveatmosphere of this atelier, Trainedas a lithographerduring his student days, Iseli always milesfrom the sceneof their conception,the worked surfaces of maintainedsome involvement with printmaking.When painting sheetsof metalare finally broughtto life. large abstractcanvases, he producedlithographs mimicking A crucial and delicatestage in this lengthyprocess is the his oils in their flat andbroad areas of purecolor. He continued actualinking of theplate, a task left to Divorne,who approaches printinglithographs with somedegree of regularity;then in 1966 the job muchlike a musicianinterpreting a composer'sscore. hetried his handat engraving,and in 1973he attempted etching. After generalinstructions from Iseli,Divorne takes a "reading" Thefirst etchedseries was on a traditional small scale.The of the plate, relying on both his visual and tactile sensesto seriesdepicted variations of theself-portrait image he had begun familiarizehimself with the eccentricitiesof the metal'ssur to formulatein his "earth pictures"—works on paperin which face—specificfurrows, holes, or abrasionsmay speakto him bits of soil, grass,and rock wererolled onto a gluedsheet of morethan others. Inking a plateof suchlarge dimensions takes paperwith a winebottle. In theseearly intaglio prints, vigorously severalhours. During this time Divorneworks alone,uninter scratchedlines obliterate the recognizableform andfeatures of rupted,and with an admirablecombination of intensityand the artist's own headand torso. This energetic use of an intrin sensitivity.As he wipesaway ink with the palm of his hand, sically linear mediumwas a significantharbinger of thingsto subtledifferences in pressureand directionof the strokeswill come. directlyinform the composition's structure and space. By 1975,as Iseli'svineyard matured and the rigorouslife in Onemight ask why an artist devotesso muchtime and energy St. Romain—in a rustic housewithout electricity or running to printmakingwhen drawing would seem to bean appropriate water—was becomingmore deeply imprinted on his sensibility, andfar easiermedium in whichto furtherdevelop his style.The Iseli'sart grew in size and scope.No longerdid he incisecon relativelyshort life of the delicatedrypoint burr preventsIseli ventionalcopperplates of preciousand tentative dimensions. In from releasingthese drypoints in largeeditions of identicalim fact, he abandonedetching altogether for the more confron pressions.Instead, he prints a few examplesof each state, tational drypoint mediumin which the artist directly attacks workingand reworking the copper in stages,thereby document metal with tool in hand. This significant changeof artistic ingthe evolution of individualcompositions. It is this reportorial mediumenabled Iseli to moreclosely parallel his life in his art. aspectof the print medium,combined with the immediacyof Handsaccustomed to workingthe earthwould now work with workingon a coppersurface without acid (as in etching),that copperin a waythey had never done before. motivatesIseli. Oncea compositionis resolved,however, the Iselihas said that for him a print is somewhatremoved from processhas ended, and he goeson to discoverthe possibilities of another plate. The bold red ink stamp, a souvenir from a memorabletrip to China,is then applied as if to say "finished." It is difficult to view Iseli's work without consideringits direct relationship to nature, but further consideration reveals more complex sources. Iseli began painting in Switzerland at a time when American Abstract Expressionismreigned. The European version of the movement,tachisme, was an attempt to follow the American lead; but for Europeanabstract painters the task was difficult, and artists such as Iseli found themselvespainting in the shadow of the New World. It was in this atmospherethat Iseli turned to figurative sources in the early 1970s.After his American counterparts had passed into the second phase of Abstract Expressionismand Pop Art, Iseli continuedto develop his own highly original and personalform of figurative expres sion. As he continued to evolve this vocabulary throughout the 1970s—the pluralist decadeof Minimalism, Conceptualism,and ProcessArt—he maintained a self-imposed distance from the mainstream. It is only in the 1980sthat a "neo-expressionist" movement has taken form, presenting a suitable backdrop in which to presentIseli's art. In reflecting upon Rolf Iseli's demandingapproach to the dry- point medium, several obvious descriptions immediately come to mind: the works are black and white; they are massive;they are straightforwardly executed.It is printmaking stripped down to the bare bones and without the use of seductive colors, mechanicalaids, or facile illusions. It is printmaking on a monu mental scale, not only becauseof the work's sheersize but also becauseof the tremendousambition with which it is conceived. Utilizing limited means,Rolf Iseli aggressivelyextracts an extra ordinarily vast rangeof expressionfrom the medium. —AudreyIsselbacher Assistant Curator Prints and Illustrated Books ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Museumof ModernArt is most grateful to the following for lending works to this exhibition: seven anonymouscollectors; Kunsthaus,Zurich; Kunstmuseum,Basel; and M. KnoedlerZurich AG. Profound thanks are extended to Rolf Iseli, Veith Turske, and the staff of M. Knoedler Zurich AG, particularly Dagmar Bolliger, whose participation was of incomparablevalue to the preparationof this exhibition and brochure.Sincere appreciation is also extendedto Daniel Divorne, Centrede GravureContem- porain, Geneva;and RainerMichael Mason, Musee d'Art et d'His- toire, Geneva,who greatly facilitated researchon the artist. The exhibition has been funded in part by a contribution from Pro Helvetia,Arts Councilof Switzerland. 1. MushroomMan (Homme champignon) 14. UnderRocks (Sous roches) 3. RushMan (Homme dejonc) ISELICHECKLIST Dimensionsgiven are in inchesand centimeters,height precedingwidth, andunless otherwise noted are platesize. 8" 1. MushroomMan (Homme champignon).1975. Drypoint ,58 1'Aex 31V (149x <* 79cm). Lent by the Kunsthaus,Zurich. n/i6 8" 2. MushroomMan (Homme champignon).1975. Drypoint ,58 x 31V (149x 79cm). Private collection, Munster, West Germany. 5/8 8" 3. RushMan (Homme de jonc). 1976.Drypoint, 60 x 31V (154x 79cm). Lent by the Kunstmuseum,Basel. 2 /,B" 4. NailHead (Vernagleti Bire). 1977. Drypoint, 42'/ x 31S (108x 79.5cm). Privatecollection, Cologne. 4 2" 5. FeatherMan (Faderman). 1978. Drypoint and lithograph, sheet: 47'/ x 31V (120x 80cm). Private collection, Bangerten, Switzerland. 6. Drypointand Lithograph (Kaltnadel und Lithoeindruck).1979. Drypoint and 4 5/,»" lithograph,58'/ x 30 (148x 77 cm). Privatecollection, Frauchwil, Swit zerland. 4 7. GenevaForms (Figuren Genf). first state.1979. Drypoint