Léger and the New Realists

The exhibition "Léger and the New Realists" at the Musée National Fernand Léger, Biot (June 2024-February 25) has taken a more casual and playful title at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. "Tous Léger", meaning "All light" a word game on the artist's name, features Fernand Léger's works as the backbone of the show underlying his influence on the Nouveau Réalisme movement which flourished in the sixties, almost a decade after his death. If Ferdinand is a name fit for kings, Fernand has a  proletarian overtone more suitable for Léger who never forgot his working-class roots and joined the communist party for a while. From Cubism, the prolific artist evolved to his own Tubism, and later to a highly personal figurative style characterized by heavily stylized thick black drawings covered by bands of bold colors floating on top, "la couleur en dehors". While living in Montparnasse, he became a fixture of the Parisian art scene and mingled with younger artists labelled Nouveaux Réalistes by the art critic Pierre Restany in 1960. The show which features about one hundred works including paintings, sculptures, short videos and photographs, emphasizes his legacy as he influenced artists beyond borders and time. 

The themed exhibition starts on a metaphysical subject about the four elements of life represented in art. Léger added a fifth element, color: "Man needs color to live; it's just as necessary an element as fire and water". Pairing works from Léger with his younger peers, The Birds 11 (1981), a wall relief from Arman, accumulation of metal clamps transformed in a flock of birds is found next to Composition aux deux oiseaus sur fond jaune (c. 1955) from Léger, Venus bleue (c.1962)  a monochrome sculpture from Yves Klein close to a painting from Léger La Danseuse bleue (1930), or La Baigneuse (1932) along La Source (1965/2044) from Alain Jacquet. Each element (plus one) is represented: water, earth, air, fire, and color. The straightforward connection between the works makes for a pleasant display.

The next room is plastered with quotes from artists and their portrait photographs on one side and a chronological history of the Realist Movement on the other. An abbreviated timeline sums up key art events with a verb, starting in 1956 "assembler" (to piece together) about Niki de Saint Phalle's "assemblages". 1960 is labelled "s'autodétruire" (to self-destruct) alluding to Tinguely's first self-destructing machine, 1961 "brûler" (to burn) and "tirer" (to shoot) referring to the Fire Paintings from Klein and the Shooting Paintings/Tirs from Nikki de Saint Phalle. It ends in 1965 with "nana-fier", a word made up with the famous Nanas from de Saint-Phalle. Brief comments (in color) provide more information, if they can be read. The confined space is crammed with visitors and it takes some patience to reach the first row. A video showing Yves Klein live in the process of burning a canvass with a firefighter in full gear holding a hose at his side brings a smile and some nostalgia. Across, reading the quotes from the artists on the busy wall is another daunting task. None of the texts are translated in English. 

Moving on, "La Vie des Objets" (The objects' life) assembles a collection of works underlining the new status of the object as a source of inspiration and becoming the main subject of the compositions. Gloves, scissors, tools or even debris are arranged in a new kind of still lifes by Léger and Nikki de Saint Phalle. Arman adds an emotional connection to the object in his Colères, here a furniture in the Henri II style, antique greatly prized by the bourgeoisie, destroyed in a presumed fit of rage. For Palette Katharina Duwen (1989) Daniel Spoerri "fixes" his companion's tools, found objects at the flea market. No need to visit The Louvre to find beauty, beauty is everywhere proclaims Léger. In La Joconde aux clés (1930) a beautified set of keys takes over the painting as a miniature Joconde watches in the background. Everyday objects are a visual treat. Seita (1970) from Raymond Hains, a giant used matchbox alludes to the cross-pollination with the Pop art movement born in America as Interior with Chair (1997) from Roy Lichtenstein is spotted close by. 

Beauty is also found in the streets. Artists soak in a new visual urban environment filled with posters, stamps, letters, numbers, lights. Raymond Hains and Jacques Villeglé  tear posters, Robert Indiana makes posters, Fernand Léger a still life with letters (Nature morte, A.B.C., 1927). A blown up photograph of César visiting a junkyard to collect material is the background for one of his sculpture made of compressed metal displayed like a precious art work on a pedestal. The machine is taking over and the anonymous portraits stay emotionless. Nikki de Saint Phalle collaborates with Larry Rivers for Tinguely's portrait, an assemblage of pieces of machinery. Léger discovers ceramic and Martial Raysse introduces neon. 

"L'art c'est la vie" (Art is life) introduces the next display, a room filled wall to wall with colorful works of modest size. The Nanas from de Saint Phalle appear in serigraphs: they play football, volleyball, ride bicycles and go to the circus. Their curves are not sensual but celebrate women's liberation from the constraints  of society. Early on in the fifties Léger paints the proletariat's new life enjoying leisure time like in Le Campeur (1952) or Circus (1950). In a giant photomontage Flower Worship (1982), Gilbert & George  profiles a relaxed half recumbent subject almost smothered by a pile of vibrant colored flowers generating an overwhelming state of happiness. "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful" would say  Mae West.

Art and architecture intertwine. Blown up photographs of monumental works wallpaper the last room: the façade of the church in Plateau d'Assi decorated with a mosaic from Léger or details of de Saint Phalle's giant sculptures found at the famous Tarot Garden. "Art est partout" (Art is everywhere) and sculptures are dreamed for public spaces like Wall Street (c.1975) from de Saint Phalle or La Branche Rockefeller (1952) for Léger. A massive glittering sculpture of Miles Davis and his trumpet (de Saint Phalle) fit for the entrance of an amusement park overshadows a discreet and nostalgic painting from Léger Les Musicians (1930) bringing back a pre-war time of music and dance in the streets of Paris. On the way out, Untitled (n° 2557) (1986), a large graffiti work from Keith Haring is a reminder of Léger's far reaching legacy. 

In the forties and the fifties, on the American side of the Atlantic, Abstract Expressionism was booming as Léger was refining his figurative style to address themes about a new social order born from a growing class of workers called proletariat. In the sixties, America's art scene was bustling in New York City and California with Pop art, Minimalism, Conceptual art as New Realism was thriving in France. The art critic Pierre Restany coined the name "Nouveau Réalisme" in 1960 and published a manifesto summed up by this statement: "New Realism-New ways of perceiving the real." Meanwhile, the crowd of philistines would ask, is this art? Compressing, tearing, burning, shooting, self-destructing,.... Back to Léger, the show emphasizes his new art addressed to folks favoring figurative to abstract and themes about everyday life, his way to democratize art. Léger shunned emotions and intellectual pursuits and emphasized the healing power of colors. Little metaphysical preoccupations transpire from the works exhaling a whiff of political awareness. The exhibition makes a point about Léger's far reaching influence, sometimes stretching its case. Following the visit Léger's legacy takes a new outlook: at the crossroad of art history, he started to bring the street to the museum and the museum to the street. 

Upon leaving I felt unburdened by heavy thoughts, just carefree, cheerful... light. Joy is contagious. 

 

photographs by the author:

-Fernand Léger "La Joconde aux Clés" (1930)

-Nikki de Saint Phalle and Larry Rivers "Jean III (Méta-Tinguely)" (1992)

-Nikki de Saint Phalle "Nana Santé" (1999)

-Arman "Colère (meuble de style Henri-II)  (1961)

Wind, Water vs. Pop

Wave, 1988, the sculpture which used to greet the visitors, reflecting in a pond filled with waterlilies in front of the New Orleans Museum of Art has found a new place in the sculpture garden. Lin Emery's kinetic sculptures need the elements to come alive and wind is the energizer for Wave. Solidly anchored at its new location, the sculpture plays with the water and sends fiery messages on sunny days becoming part of the cycle of nature through its interaction with the elements.
The artist from New York, enamored with New Orleans, chose to live in a city where female artists found nurturing and opportunities.



The new sculpture, Five Brushstrokes, from the internationally recognized pop artist Roy Lichtenstein,  represents a playful and lighter side of art and brings the outside world to New Orleans. NOMA is now at par with the High in Atlanta where House III gets the visit of young and not so young enthused crowds.

Lichtenstein's sculpture is flat and looks odd in front of the museum. I like sculptures with "bodies", shapes which entice the visitor to walk around and  discover different perspectives, in short, three dimensional. The work looks top heavy, unbalanced and competes with the Neo-classical facade of the museum with its insipid colors blending poorly with the background.

Anyway, it is still a work in progress and I am waiting to hear from everybody else.

photographs by the author:

New Orleans Museum of Art
"Wave", 1988, Lin Emery, at its new location in the sculpture garden
The installation of Roy Lichtenstein's sculpture almost completed in front of the New Orleans Museum of Art, "Five Brushstrokes", 1984.

The High...

... is the Museum of Art in Atlanta. Named after the High family who donated the land on Peachtree Street. The High is located in Midtown and is easy to spot: a congregation of white buildings added over the years.

Richard Meyer (1934), who favors the color white, designed a 135,000-square-foot building in 1983. Two new buildings were added in 2002 to expand the museum's size to 312,000 square feet. The architect for this project is Renzo Piano (1937).

The color white is the only common feature between the buildings. The curvy building from Meyer otherwise clashes with the angulous shapes from Renzo Piano. Piano's style, who built the Menil Collection in Houston, is recognizable, but due to its scale, the buildings looks like vast, windowless, graceless hangars. The one level museum in Houston, also white, has a mediterranean flavor and the system of panels to filter the sunlight brings an extra nautical or aerial touch. Adding to the coldness of the High is the grey cement courtyard as opposed to the fresh green lawn in Houston.


Walking through the entrance, the visitor is surprised by the brightness of the surroundings and the vast space of the atrium which spreads from the first floor to the skyway level, white with a touch of blue through the glass ceiling (the day of the visit).

At each level, balconies overlook the central area, and a gently inclined walkway brings the visitors to the different levels.

The three buildings (the Stent Wing, the Wieland Pavillion, the Anne Cox Chambers Wing) are connected by glass bridges.

To the left, "Mouth #15" Tom Wesselman, 1968

There is no shortage of space for the permanent exhibition. Large walls and wood floors, the setting is ideal. However, the visit was short due to the lack of interesting collections. European, American paintings, sculptures, crystal, furnitures...the collections are sparse and made of minor works .

The goal of my visit was to see the temporary exhibition "Dali: The Late Work". The works were crammed on the walls or in the corners. The rooms were packed, full of visitors brought by this unique exhibition showing some rarely seen works. They were unable to take the few steps back and forth necessary to appreciate the visual effects of some of the paintings (for example: "Fifty Abstract Paintings") and feel the full impact of the monumental compositions like "Santiago El Grande". The temporary exhibition was not given the space it deserves.

The High has a lot of space, what about the content?

"The Shade" a sculpture from Rodin is a gift from the french governement to the High. 106 Atlanta arts patrons who died in an airplane crash at Orly airport in Paris in 1962.

"House III" Roy Lichtenstein, 1997 decorates the side of Meier's building.



photographs by the author