Skip to main content
0
Info
Theme world

Mise-en-scène

Our subjective perception is often subject to skillful manipulation—personal stories, characters or images. Does what we see correspond to actual events? How good is our memory, what things color our memories? How objective are the media in their reporting? Artists also make (self-)presentation or dramatization the subject of their artistic work. What means do they use to present their views or to protect their privacy?

Are we always able to distinguish clearly between actual events, subjective perception and reporting?

Does our perception always have the upper hand? Is it sensitive to all kinds of external and internal influences? Sometimes we see what we want to see, other times we are cleverly deceived and only rarely do we experience “objective” reporting based only on facts. The selection and compilation of images and information has an enormous power over us.

Artist Factory

Artist Arthur Jafa

was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, in 1960.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Wolfgang Tillmans, Buchholz & Buchholz Installation 1993, 1993

This room represents an exact replica of the Buchholz & Buchholz Gallery, where Wolfgang Tillmans exhibited his photographs in 1993. Here the artist tested a form of presentation in which photographs, photocopies, and reproductions of magazine pages stand side by side on an equal footing and are distributed throughout the room.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Andy Warhol, Mustard Race Riot, 1963

The title of this large diptych by Andy Warhol, almost 4 x 3 m in size, refers on the one hand to the photographs used and on the other hand to the color of the two canvases. Densely printed motifs of violence stand next to a mustard-yellow void. Here, as in many of his works, Andy Warhol combined the techniques of painting and silkscreen.

Who are your role models and what have you learned from them?

Self-dramatization and interest in body trends are part of our world. We are always on the lookout for role models and guidance. Nowadays, we also draw heavily on the media. This in turn influences the way we present ourselves on social media with posts, photos and videos. How do your role models from your environment and in the media present themselves? What do you admire about them?

Artist Factory

Artist Nicole Eisenman

was born in Verdun, France, in 1965. They live and work in Brooklyn.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Arthur Jafa, Monster, 1988/2019

Arthur Jafa points the camera directly at his mirror image. He stares at us with his penetrating gaze. The artist developed the photo at human scale, thus confronting the self-portrait even more directly with the person viewing it. What is notable for his photography is his work on developing sensitive techniques for representing black and dark tones on film. Throughout the image, black and white flow into one another.

Artist Factory

Artist Andy Warhol

was born in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA in 1928 and died in New York in 1987.

How do you show yourself to others?

There are different ways to showcase something, another person or yourself. You can use them to emphasize different things and hide or paint over others. What means do you like to use to present yourself? Loud, provocative; quiet or withdrawn? What do you want to awaken in your audience? Do you have a favorite artist or work of art that uses deception? How do they do it?

Artwork Factory

Artwork Cady Noland, Deep Social Space, 1989

Numerous objects are arranged around three metal scaffolding poles: kettle grill, beer cans, burger buns, American flag, chips and a Marlboro garbage can, plus some insignia of rural America, such as horse saddles and blankets. But the scaffolding poles that frame everything create an unsettling, even aggressive mood and seem to prevent any free movement.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Andy Warhol, Ladies and Gentlemen (Wilhelmina Ross), 1975

The work on paper is composed of several layers of images: the print based on a portrait photo, a transparency, colored paper and tape. Andy Warhol assembles the portrait of an unknown person using a so-called collage technique. The figure looks at us with captivating eyes in a strong pose.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Lucy McKenzie, Rebecca, 2019

A painted mannequin is at the center of this picture. She is placed in an interior full of specially-designed objects. Marble, wooden and silky materials. A book about the dramatic staging of fashion. And a map of Glasgow, Lucy McKenzie’s birthplace, which is hung as wallpaper.

Why do we change, distort or manipulate images?

Sometimes a certain dramatization can only be seen when we look closely, or it speak to us in ways we didn’t expect. It does not follow the usual patterns or models; instead, artists question the self-evident. Other works scream at us with their distortions. They are loud and explosive and want to provoke us to see how explicit they can be.

Artwork Factory

Artwork David LaChapelle, Recollections in America, VI: Kahlua and Milk, 2006

The photograph is part of the series “Recollections in America” by the US- American artist David LaChapelle. In this photo, a lively party seems to be in progress. But the celebration gets out of hand: a child is given the coffee liquor Kahlua in a flask. A gun and a grenade are lying on the dresser. Is the photo staged or did the photographer take a snapshot of a bizarre party?

Artwork Factory

Artwork Louise Lawler, Plexi (adjusted to fit), 2010/2011

Each of the photographed boxes is covered with a Plexiglas sleeve, protecting it from possible exposure. Louise Lawler’s photograph of packaging is applied as wallpaper in the museum, matching the proportions of the particular wall on which it is seen. The resulting distortion of the image draws the focus not only to the contents, but also to the space. The photograph thus shows what we usually disregard when looking at pictures: the wall and hence the frame in which art is presented.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Lucy McKenzie, Rebecca, 2019

A painted mannequin is at the center of this picture. She is placed in an interior full of specially-designed objects. Marble, wooden and silky materials. A book about the dramatic staging of fashion. And a map of Glasgow, Lucy McKenzie’s birthplace, which is hung as wallpaper.