Saturday 22 April 2017

Arjan Janssen / Alberto Giacometti



Alberto Giacometti
Bust of a man (Lotar II)
1965
bronze
57 x 38 x 25 cm



Dark tones, introspection, rejection
When I think of Giacometti, I also think of Jean Genet. One of my first great discoveries during my student days. The years in which I was formed, when I came into contact with new worlds, in which I got to know myself through those worlds. A time I remember wistfully, a time I'm still related to in my work today. Of course there were many other new experiences, and I gained many new insights. But it hasn't been as intense as then.
Artists like Genet and Giacommetti voiced exactly the dark life feeling I had. The longing for the selvedge, the need to rebel, the refusal to conform. It felt like a safe haven where I could hide. From where I could look at the surrounding world with a frown. Like the figures of Giacommetti: being there and not being there. Show and hide at the same time. Surrounded by a quiet, solitary space.
The sculptures of Giacometti chant the tormented man. They give him the opportunity to withdraw into himself. Without having to account for it. They are generous to the misfits among us. Like Our Lady of the Flowers by Genet, or the dark tones of Joy Division.

Arjan Janssen, 2017




Arjan Janssen (NL)
Zonder titel
2017
chalk and graphite on paper
76 x 56 cm


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