Showing papers by "Mieke Bal published in 2017"

Sensing the Present: “Conceptual Art of the Senses”

Abstract: After Rachel E. Burke briefly introduces the essays presented with a focus on our contemporary relationship to modern subjectivity, Mieke Bal will make the case for the sense of presentness on an affective and sensuous level in Munch’s paintings and Flaubert’s writing by selecting a few topics and cases from the book Emma and Edvard Looking Sideways: Loneliness and the Cinematic, published by the Munch Museum in conjunction with the exhibition Emma & Edvard. It is this foregrounded presentness that not only produces the ongoing thematic relevance of these works, but more importantly, the sense-based conceptualism that declares art and life tightly bound together. If neither artist eliminated figuration in favour of abstraction, they had a good reason for that. Art is not a representation of life, but belongs to it, illuminates it and helps us cope with it by sharpening our senses. As an example, a few paintings will clarify what I mean by the noun-qualifier “cinematic” and how that aesthetic explains the production of loneliness.

Emma and Edward: Love in the Time of Loneliness, Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway

Abstract: Emma and Edward: Love in the Time of Loneliness curated by Mieke Bal, featuring the works of Edvard Munch, Mieke Bal & Michelle Williams Gamaker For the first time, the works of Edvard Munch are being exhibited together with a comprehensive video installation. Madame B (2014) has been created by Michelle Williams Gamaker together with the internationally renowned culture theorist, artist and curator Mieke Bal, who is also curator of this exhibition. Madame B is a modern interpretation of Flaubert’s 1856 novel. By juxtaposing Edvard Munch’s works and the video installations, the modernity of Munch’s works is brought into focus. Through this confrontation, we are challenged to reflect upon how we view one another in social contexts. The installation comprises eight video installations together with around 75 of Munch’s works – both well-known works as well as rarely exhibited paintings and graphic works. The different halls of the exhibition are linked to themes surrounding the subject of social loneliness and the cinematic form of expression. Loneliness is often caused by a lack of communication and manifests itself through a socially awkward exchange of sideways glances. The Wedding of a Bohemian, one of Munch’s great works, provides a good example of failed communication: the bride is isolated in her loneliness despite being surrounded by seven men. The painting is exhibited in close proximity to a wedding scene in the Madame B video installation showing newlywed Emma B – ruefully and in desperation – moving amongst the guests, who are busily occupied gossiping about her. The direct (audio-)visual interplay between Munch’s art and Flaubert’s texts provides us with the opportunity to make up our own stories. Consequently, we will see surprising connections and gain new perspectives of the respective works, and – if we let it – also on our own lives. To tie in with the exhibition, Mieke Bal has produced a comprehensive book that deals with the cinematic element of Munch’s art by combining contemporary art theory with her own unique approach to art – direct and intimate.