America America: How real is real?
Is the American way of life in danger? Has the American Dream turned into a nightmare? Contemporary artists fascinated by American mythology are on display in the Frieder Burda Museum in Germany's Black Forest.
"In Alice’s Front Yard" by Tom Wesselmann
Throughout the centuries, art has played a vital role in shining a light on culture. American contemporary artists are strongly aware of the importance of their work for provoking thought — and capturing the times for future generations. An exhibition that draws on the collection of the Frieder Burda Museum explores how such artists reflect on the American dream and way of life.
"Imaginary Flag for U.S.A.," William N. Copley
The flag holds a highly symbolic place in the American imagination. In 1972, surrealist William N. Copley recreated the 13 stripes of the flag but replaced the 50 stars with the word THINK. "Imaginary Flag for U.S.A." is a subversive response to ideological patriotism in America toward the end of the Vietnam War and at the beginning of the Watergate scandal. It is the exhibition's leitmotif.
Pop art: Smoker #10
In the 1960s, Andy Warhol turned the narrative of the American way of life on its head by focusing on the consumerism shaping everyday life. Pop artists including James Rosenquist and Tom Wesselmann (whose oil painting Smoker #10 is seen above), exploited the commercial production methods of advertising while relaying a message about the dangers that these consumer myths posed.
The Haunting (Triptych)
Media images continue to heavily influence the work of contemporary American artists. Perceptions of reality have increasingly been shaped as a media construct, prone to manipulation. Horrific events that hold a permanent place in the American imagination, such as an image of the planes flying into the World Trade Center on 9/11, is the subject of Robert Longo's work recast in black-and-white.
Scott and John
The influence of the pop art movement on American artists can be found not only in the choice of the subject matter but also the techniques used by many artists. Alex Katz, born in New York in 1927, was at the edges of the movement when he produced "Scott and John" in 1966, a painting which uses reduction to capture the essence of two young American men.
Cindy Sherman as "Untitled Marilyn"
Perhaps one of the most renowned American portrait photographers living today, Cindy Sherman is also something of a performance artist, posing as her subjects. Here, she portrays the long-dead celebrity Marilyn Monroe in a manner most are unaccostumed to seeing: fully clothed, not posing for the gaze. The piece is part of a larger series of work aimed at dissembling notions of female beauty.
Living Room Scene III, Eric Fischl
The so-called American way of life is a mythology produced by the media and entertainment industries. The portrayals of this falsified reality cement existing power structures but they can also call them into question. "America! America! How real is real?" has chosen works that do the latter, making clear that it is the traumas of American society that inspire artists.
Jeff Koons' "Bear and Policeman"
A life-size wooden sculpture of a bear hugging a British policeman by Jeff Koons is one of the 70 pieces of contemporary artworks on display. The exhibition looks to portray reality in a new way as it responds to the question "How real is real?" It runs from December 9, 2017 through May 21, 2018 at the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden.