Nan Goldin (1953-), Bea as Rita Hayworth, 1973, 2/18, 40,6 x 50,8 cm. Collection of Musée des Arts Contemporains au Grand-Hornu, property of Communauté française. Copyright of Philippe De Gobert and Nan Goldin
In September 1871, the French Symbolist poet Paul-Marie Verlaine invited the rebellious young colleague Arthur Rimbaud into his Paris family home. This would be the start of a tumultuous and passionate relationship between the two writers, which lead to Verlaine leaving his wife and son to embark on a wild journey with his new lover. Years later in Brussels, under the influence of absinthe, Verlaine fired two shots at Rimbaud who survived and refused to press charges. Despite this, Verlaine ended up being sentenced to two years in prison in the Belgian town of Mons, for attempted murder as well as for his “immoral” behaviour. Known for being libertines, not only did they challenge social conventions but inverted the traditions of poetry. They went on to influence generations of writers and artists including the Beat Generation authors and Patty Smith. “Parade Sauvage” is an exhibition in Mons that pays tribute to Rimbaud while focusing on 1960s counterculture. It features artists from both sides of the Atlantic who, just as the poet, defied their era’s middle-class conformism. Taking place at Beaux-Art Mons, which also houses a show on Verlaine, “Parade Sauvage” is not anchored in one major work or artist and instead offers a comprehensive overview of the period.
Enrico Baj, Parade militaire au bois de Boulogne, 1963, 200 x 250 cm. Collection MAMCO, Genève. Copyright Ilmari Kalkkinen, Mamco and SABAM Belgium 2015
Spanning the period between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, curator Denis Gielen presents the exhibition through the perspectives that shaped this era – transvestism, ritualism, environmentalism and anarchism. Given the topic, well-known American names are present. However, Gielen has selected a large number of lesser-known European luminaries to highlight the far-reaching nature of the counterculture phenomenon. “The purpose is to show how that this cultural revolution also happened in Europe,” says Caroline Dumoulin, the museum’s coordinator of exhibitions.
Asger Jorn, L’infinie suffisance ou Le victime joyeux, 1965, huile sur toile, 116 x 89 cm. Collection Fondation Roi Baudouin, Fonds Thomas Neirynck, en dépôt au BAM, Mons / © SABAM Belgium 2015
“Parade Sauvage” starts with a selection of works by European artists heavily influenced by the post-war painters who collectively attempted to break free from the constraints and rules of academic art. The work that lends its title to the show appears in the form of a Fernand Léger painting – “J’ai seul la clef de cette parade sauvage” – a clear reference to one of Rimbaud’s poems, albeit the only one offering a direct connection to the author. Alongside, Italian artist Enrico Baj provides a fitting example of that time’s disregard for traditional painting. In “Parade Militaire au Bois de Boulogne” Baj gave the canvas a battle-field treatment by patching it up with fabrics and other objects while mocking the military in all its preposterousness and inanity by depicting soldiers as marching creatures. Other artists presented in this room include painter Asger Jorn, who was part of the COBRA movement and remained an influential figure from the 50s onwards.
Jack Smith, Untitled, c. 1958-1962/2011, analog C-print hand printed from original color negative on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, 35,6 x 27,9 cm. Courtesy Jack Smith Archive & Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels. © Courtesy Jack Smith Archive & Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels
The themes of transvestism and ritualism are presented side by side, and despite the works not being the most graphic they are nonetheless strong when put into context. The photography works of Americans artists Jack Smith, Andy Warhol and Nan Goldin feature here, mostly portraying the LGTB community in the late 60s, before homosexuality was decriminalised in the US. The section reserved to ritualism, features photographs of the Viennese Actionists’ bloody Aktionen. Taking place in 1960s Vienna, these violent and at times illegal art performances aimed at galvanising the repressive Austrian society into facing their Nazi traumas. But the squeamish should not fear, as the images on show have a more poetic feel.
Giuseppe Penone, Patate, 1977, bronze, potatoes, various dimensions. Collection of musée départemental d’art contemporain de Rochechouart. Copyright of Archivio Penone and SABAM Belgium 2015
Land Art and Arte Povera are the main focus within the environment section. These two movements played an important role in nonconformism for their links to nature at a time of increasing consumerism in the late 60s and 70s. For instance in Giuseppe Penone’s sculpture “Patate”, the Italian artist worked with a food as modest as potatoes, together with other materials in the shape of ears or noses. By mixing the shapes of our senses with perishable goods the artist not only connected physically with the organic but also raised the middle finger to tired notions of “fine art”.
ERRO, Military Life, Vietnam, 1974, Collage of offset printed images formerly cutted, 37 x 26,7 cm. Collection MAC/VAL, musée d’art contemporain du Val-deMarne, inv. 1997-710. Copyright of Claude Gaspari and SABAM, Belgium, 2015
With a yet sharper political attitude, the artists, that illustrate the anarchism aspect, often used collage and slogans to subvert the iconography of capitalism. In the wake of the brutality of the Vietnam War, not even European artists could be indifferent to it. And Parisian artist Erró epitomised that with the collage “Military Life, Vietnam” where he portrayed troops as drunken apes. However, the question of whether such art is less ballsy when done on European soil remains unanswered. What would have Verlaine’s reaction been to these artists? After all, the poet paid the price for his “rebellion” with incarceration, during which he wrote some of his best work. The thought lingers in the air.
Text by Will Furtado
“Parade Sauvage” and “Verlaine, Cell 252” are at BAM in Mons, Belgium, until 24 January 2016
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