Annette Messager

May 27, 2005 3:20 AM

At first glance Annette Messager's work (mentioned en passant here can seem cute. But the MOMA web-pages dedicated to her work reveal there's more to it. From stuffed starlings through babies with their eyes scratched out on to the floppy phalluses of 'Piques', she glides from light to shade and from cradle to grave - or, as she adds in this interview, from bedroom to dining room. Or is it the other way round? I took in her installation at Les Cordeliers recently - un grand voile noir mû par le vent - I wish you could have seen it.
posted by TimothyMason (5 comments total)

Absolutely fantastic post TimothyMason. Thanks.

Many feminist artists have used needlework and knitting in unexpected contexts; another one you might enjoy is Ghada Amer, an Egyptian artist who creates massive, abstract expressionist canvasses onto which she embroiders repeated figures taken from pornographic magazines. [last two links possibly NSFW]
posted by felix betachat at 4:52 AM on May 27, 2005

Sparrows. Not starlings. Sparrows.

Thanks felix batachat. I'll certainly be looking for more of that.
posted by TimothyMason at 5:09 AM on May 27, 2005

It's always great to see her work again--fab--thanks Timothy.

Christian Boltanski, her husband, is also wonderful.
posted by amberglow at 6:40 AM on May 27, 2005

Thanks for the links. I think I saw her show at MoMA on my first visit to New York, a long long time ago.
posted by Mme. Robot at 9:14 AM on May 27, 2005

Thanks for this. I especially like The Lines of the Hand. Amazing work.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:07 PM on May 27, 2005