vendredi 20 décembre 2019

Francis BACON. In FIVE BLOCK LETTERS.

Exhibition view, Triptych, 1970.
Photo © FDM, 2019.

"BACON EN TOUTES LETTRES".
Centre Pompidou, Paris
From 11 september 2019 to 20 january 2020

During a full month yet, the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Center Pompidou offers an immersion in the colorful works and large triptychs painter of the flesh of the body, meat and scholars magmas pictorial.

And that is no mistake : the two exhibition views that "frame" this paper have no other purpose than to dazzle you - by contrast - when you discover the wealth plastic (and color) of exposure.

The bias (assumed) Didier Ottinger (curator), namely the discovery of possible literary influences ( "Bacon IN WORDS") has - finally - the effect (if intended) that to make clear that Bacon is not a history painter or illustrator of fairy tales for adults.

Bacon's painting is not a "literary" painting or illustrative. It has continued to repeat it in most of his interviews. As for his readings, they were brewed (like all "influences" which will inevitably multiply in the life of an artist "cultivated", as was Francis Bacon) thousand and one ways to join this humus and this documentary watered soil that his work of a polymorphic cultural food.

Who will tell the delicate - oh how difficult - question of influences ? The "Achilles heel" - not in this exhibition (which remains - by its breadth and quality twelve large triptychs and a large amount of works mistresses - a wonderful exhibition) - but that's about the underlying is to have significantly restricts and reduces the immense field of possible influences. - Bacon ate everything, absolutely everything. So why would reduce the extreme variety of its cultural power a few books, a few names and literary figures or criticism ?

The very titles of the works were sometimes drawn not by Bacon, but his gallery. - Historians, critics and curators of exhibitions, we often do too much. - This means that quite works here "is enough." Their mere contemplation takes us far beyond the "letters", words from which we see pretend arise. The film projection of Francis Bacon talks that closes the exhibition is rich in lessons, just restore the situation. It is more then just re-exposure to the upside, armed this time glasses properly "Baconian".

What's it all about ? Paint. Organ, fragments, body, disjoint figures. On the one frame and generally clear spatial composition and burr (circles, squares, doorways, angles, etc.), which has the counterpoint the flesh material, the uncluttered postures and to these materials and objects perceived as avatars existential : a fountain, sink, sink, multiple sets of shadows, the wake left by a passing car.

The human is one such mobile which - from metamorphosis to metamorphosis - although joins the fantasy of the Furies or clubfoot Oedipus. But this is as good a boxer or the bad boy of a London suburb. Who will tell the labyrinthine paths of all these impressions on the work of Francis Bacon ?

The views of the work can only be plural, multiple, moving. Like this look life painter who constantly moved, the contours or absence of contours of beings and places that he crosses.

The Exhibition

Just published : BACON ARTAUD VINCI

Exhibition View: The "Watchers".
Photo © FDM, 2019.

3 commentaires:

Erwan Blesbois a dit…

Comme si Matzneff n'étalait pas sa vie privée, comme si les baby-boomers avaient respecté l'autorité, et comme si les baby-boomers à travers Macron et ses sbires, avaient une quelconque légitimité à représenter l'autorité !

fdemeredieu a dit…

Bonjour Erwan Blesbois,

et Bonne année 2020.

Il me semble que vous devriez ouvrir votre propre blog. Cela vous permettrait d'y développer tout ce que vous avez à dire.
Ce pourrait être une façon d'y asseoir une forme d'autorité et de vous y mesurer.
Et d'y échanger sur toutes ces questions qui hantent chacun.
Ou bien écrire un livre… sur votre propre expérience et votre façon de voir le monde et de le prendre en mains ce monde - si difficile, contradictoire et fuyant.

Avec mes salutations.

fdemeredieu a dit…

Merci pour vos vœux, Erwan.

OUI : les cours de Tolbiac. Cela commence à être loin. Mais je garde de très bons souvenirs de cette époque. J'aimais bien le contact des étudiants et comme je pouvais choisir les thèmes de mes cours (dans la fourchette du programme que je m'imposais) ces cours furent toujours agréables et fructueux pour moi comme (je le pense) pour beaucoup d'étudiants, qui me le rappellent parfois, comme vous.

Donc : avancez. Sans esprit de culpabilité et avec l'idée de construire quelque chose. - Laissons la destruction aux autres… Il y a pléthore sur ce point. Essayons de ne pas ajouter de destruction à la destruction.
Et à construire. Ce n'est pas simple et les stratégies pour y parvenir sont souvent à inventer…
Cela n'empêche en rien la critique et l'esprit critique. Mais ne nous laissons pas détruire (autodétruire) par notre esprit critique. Gardons-nous (en l'inventant)notre propre territoire et notre propre positivité. Envers et contre tout, tous, et (parfois) nous-mêmes…

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