EMMA PORTNER: FILMPREMIERE «FEMME DEBOUT» UND TANZ PERFORMANCE
In Annäherung an das Werk von Bacon und Giacometti präsentierte die Fondation Beyeler den Film «Femme Debout», der von der aufstrebenden Kanadischen Choreographin und Tänzerin Emma Portner speziell für diese Ausstellung gemacht wurde.
Statement der Künstlerin Emma Portner
"Bacon and Giacometti's imagery served as a template for me to explore the impact of abuse and hyper-masculinity, how it thwarts moving freely in life, without casualty from its debilitating influence. Set within a rebellious framework, the movement fights the seemingly overwhelming strength and control of society’s intolerance for the individual. Invisible rooms allow for us to see, but not to reach. The choreography gives a glimpse of the possibilities of freedom, while the confines of the structure prevent us from fully understanding why certain things are beyond our grasp.
Bound by a hyper-masculine culture, women have been traditionally kept from taking up space. Historically, male artists have been mostly responsible for how women are seen - that is, as objects that have been shaped to personify a man's perspective. Consequently, female artists spend much of their already compromised room for work merely refuting false representations. My own experience as a Female Lesbian has been informed by a society contained byaggressive men, and trauma came easily as a by-product of just existing at all. Trying to reclaim freedom as as individual, and as an artist has proven to be a mind bender. Trying to take back a life never experienced ... necessitates invention, and risk, and has led me, and my life in art, to a road paved by my imagination.
In "Femme Debout", the Francis Bacon inspired "Bull" was my take on speciesism but the two Giacometti-esque characters incited a response. My aim was to send a message, through their movement, about the contradictory relationship between the inferior of a woman, and the outsiders who've memorialized them, specifically throughart. Giacometti created his sculpture ‘Femme Debout’ after World War II to portray the anxiety and trauma of those years. In this instance, risky-verticality and unsteady-balancing take a quieter form than that of such striking tallness.
This film in its entirety, is my response to 20th century and male-created visual art works, circa 2018."
"Femme Debout", a movement-based short film, commissioned by the Beyeler Foundation & presented by the Creator Class, is a physical response to the works of visual artists: Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti.