Feathers (Paperback)

Manon

ISBN 10: 3907236106 / ISBN 13: 9783907236109

Published by Edition Patrick Frey, Switzerland, 2021

About this Item

Paperback. A documentary film that was supposed to be made for the cinema is mentioned in my notes, as is a biography that a journalist was planning to write, writes Manon. I ended up calling off both, along with plenty of other stuff. But the Swiss artists notes for the planned documentary in 2005, diary-like entries about the passage of time, and about the passage of my times, as she puts it, remained, and are published here for the first time. In light of the multitude of details they provide, it seems a bit of an understatement to call them notes. Feathers actually takes the shape of a diary, and turns out to be a multi-layered narrative providing a succinct and yet feather-light look back on Manon's life, art, men and day-to-day concerns.In a mix of timidly restrained, resolute and at times drily humorous prose, the artist cautiously but confidently attempts to put into words the balancing act between her everyday life and her artistic career of highly stylized self-portrayals. Feathers interweaves memories and the present with comments on apparently minor matters. In contrast to her elaborate mises-en-scene, what interests the author of these notes is not pageantry and sensationalism, but minute mood swings, poetic observations of her urban and natural surroundings, the trials and tribulations of the heart, and reflections on aging and transience. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9783907236109

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Feathers (Paperback)
• Publisher: Edition Patrick Frey, Switzerland
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3907236106
• ISBN 13: 9783907236109
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Memories and observations from the five-decade career of feminist installation artist Manon

Swiss artist Manon (born 1940) came to prominence in the 1970s with her installation The Salmon coloured boudoir, a meticulously furnished bedroom in a Zurich loft filled with fetish objects, feathers and glittery materials. Her intimate installations and staged photographs explore social transformations around sexuality and gender. This volume of her writings gathers diaristic entries made for a 2005 documentary on her work, “about the passage of time, and about the passage of my times,” as she puts it.

Published here for the first time, Feathers offers a succinct look back on Manon's life and art, interweaving memories with everyday concerns and observations. In contrast to her elaborate mises-en-scène, what interests the author of these notes is not pageantry and sensationalism, but minute mood swings, poetic observations of her urban and natural surroundings, the trials and tribulations of the heart, and reflections on aging and transience.

About the Author

Manon (née en 1946 à Berne, vit et travaille à Zurich) est considérée aujourd'hui comme la plus importante représentante de l'art de la performance en Suisse, tout en s'inscrivant dans l'avant-garde européenne du début des années 1970.
Durant sa jeunesse, elle étudie les arts et le théâtre à Zurich, avant d'atteindre une certaine renommée avec sa première installation, Salmon-Colored Boudoir, datée de 1974. Installée à Paris à la fin des années 1970, elle se tourne vers la photographie, produisant de nombreuses séries en noir et blanc, dont La dame au crâne rasé. Le travail de Manon explore les thèmes de l'identité, du genre, de l'érotisme et du temps qui passe.
Profondément marquée par une conscience féministe, Manon, contrairement à la plupart de ses contemporaines, ne vise ni la provocation, ni le militantisme. Son travail se situe plutôt dans une sphère fantasmagorique où luxure et jeux de rôles se mêlent en un monde onirique, parfois même cauchemardesque.
Manon a reçu le Prix Meret Oppenheim en 2008.