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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.

Artist Factory

Artist Seth Price

was born in East Jerusalem, a district of Jerusalem claimed by Palestine and Israel, in 1973.

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?

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 Wolfgang Tillmans

was born in Remscheid in 1968. He lives and works alternately in Berlin and London.

Artist Factory

Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

was born in New York, USA, in 1960 and dies there in 1988.

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 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.

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 Alex Katz, The Black Dress, 1960

Alex Katz paints his wife Ada in a fashion classic—the black cocktail dress. Like a photo shoot, she is shown in six different poses and from changing perspectives; only the dress remains the same. The painted image looks flat, as if the artist wants to put the surfaces in the foreground. He succeeds in this with his recognizable painting style, where there is not one brushstroke too many.

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 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 Andy Warhol, One Dollar Bill (Front), 1962

Andy Warhol’s first silkscreens, made in early 1962, took the front and back sides of one- and two-dollar bills as their motif. In this version, the artist prints the front of a one-dollar bill he drew himself onto the canvas. He colors the background green with diluted watercolor, and stains the main motif with blood-red paint.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Atelier E.B (Lucy McKenzie und Beca Lipscombe), Faux Shop, 2018

“Faux Shop” is a sculptural installation and at the same time a shop window for a fashion collection. The shop window mimics a women's clothing store. Lucy McKenzie painted the marbled parts of the installation herself in an illusionistic manner. Like moving ghosts, the clothes were either pinned to the walls, placed in the display, or suspended dynamically from wires. The clothes are from Atelier E.B, a collaborative fashion label and research studio that Lucy McKenzie runs with designer Beca Lipscombe.