Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art w orld meets the real world, bringing each week’s biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more, with input from our own writers and editors, as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.
When you hear the name Roy Lichtenstein, an artistic style immediately comes to mind. In the early 1960s, Lichtenstein’s use of comic books as an inspiration for his brightly-colored Pop Art painting was groundbreaking, and even shocking.
Today, he is one of the most instantly-recognizable and widely known of all painters, and yet a quarter of a century after his death, the subject of Roy Lichtenstein’s source material has unexpectedly become a hot topic once again.
In the 1960s, Lichtenstein’s paintings sold for thousands of dollars; in 1995, just a few years before he died, his painting Nurse sold at auction for $1.7 million, and then in 2015 the same painting hit the auction block once again, this time selling for a staggering $95 million, making it one of the most expensive paintings in the world.
While marketing that sale, Christie’s auction house said that the imagery in Nurse was drawn from what it called a “comic romance novel” of the early 1960s. What the auction house did not mention was the actual person who drew the original panel Lichtenstein used as source material for that painting was the golden age comic Arthur Petty, and in the world of comic art, this lack of respect for Lichtenstein’s sources is a big, big deal.
In museums, the artist’s status may be unquestionable, but crossover into the parallel universe of comic art and Lichtenstein’s status is viewed as a symbol of the disrespect to comics as an art form, and the man himself is seen as a thief who copied hard-working artists without even bothering to credit them by name.
Instead of healing over time, this particular rift seems to have only become more inflamed as Lichtenstein’s stock has soared. Some of the most famous voices in comics from Dave Gibbons, the artist behind the groundbreaking graphic novel Watchmen to Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Maus, to Neil Gaiman, writer of the legendary comic series The Sandman have all been outspoken, blasting museums for failing to credit the unique voices of the comic book artists who inspired Roy Lichtenstein.
The story of the many meanings of Roy Lichtenstein is a story of the shifting relations between museum art and comic culture, of money, morality, and the law; and of how meaning in art is always shifting. At least, that’s one takeaway from the new streaming documentary WHAAM! BLAM! Roy Lichtenstein and the Art of Appropriation. This week, national art critic Ben Davis spoke to the film’s director James L. Hussey to discuss the issues it raised.
Listen to more episodes:
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The Art Angle Podcast: The Triumphant, Tragic Life of Nazi-Era Artist Charlotte Salomon
The Art Angle Podcast: Hito Steyerl on Why the Metaverse Has Already Failed
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The Art Angle Podcast: What Is Afrofuturism, and Why Is It So Relevant Today?
The Art Angle Podcast: Marc Spiegler on the Evolution of the Art Business (and Life After Art Basel)
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Six decades of traveling the continents, covering crises, portraying cities… From his native Germany to his adoptive America, Magnum’s photoreporter has witnessed the societal changes of the last century that have turned our contemporary world upside down.
With the one and only instruction to “take a look”, Thomas Hoepker was commissioned in 1963 to produce a series of reports across the Atlantic for the magazine Kristall. The young photographer, accompanied by the German journalist Rolf Winter, traveled for three months, from New York to San Francisco, the country revealed itself under his lens as the road trip progressed. It took several weeks and a few thousand shots, contrasting with the idea of prosperity conveyed by American culture and which captivated so much in a Germany weakened by the war. The duo bore witness to another face of the United States in the sixties, the other side of the coin waltzing between dream and disappointment, wealth and poverty, piety and morality.
Far from the American Dream, Hoepker’s images highlighted significant disparities between social castes and between territories. This Korean War veteran, with both legs amputated, begging in the streets of Quincy in Illinois, or this man slumped at the foot of a garbage can on a sidewalk in New York in manifest indifference… The clichés of distress and injustice sit side by side with those of a religious and bourgeois class for whom reality hovers above that of the masses. A contrast that Hoepker’s photographs underline with a fine irony embodied by this sad clown who stood out among the uniformed customers in a fast food restaurant in Reno, Nevada, with, above his head, the simple words to the tunes of sentence: “Turkey Dinner”. Equally distant from urban appeal, Hoepker captured a hinterland where time seemed, on the contrary, to have stood still: the hermit in his cabin in the depths of Montana or the Fleetwood car in the almost desert countryside around the city of Waelder in Texas, that thwarted an American image on glossy paper.
If Hoepker’s photographs sound like a disillusion, this stay inaugurated his “je-ne-sais-quoi” for this equivocal country whose cultural and political life l became his future favorite subjects. He returned there with Winter in 1970, this time for the magazine Stern, and in 1976, Hoepker became a correspondent in New York where he still lives today, at the age of 86. Driven by this desire to understand the American people who fascinate him, he started a new tour of the country in 2020 from which are born color images presented in response to his black and white archives in his latest book with a social documentary content: The Way It Was – Road Trips USA.
“Travelling is seeing and discovering images”
Famine and leprosy in Ethiopia, repression in Santo Domingo, the smallpox epidemic in India… At the same time, Hoepker traveled the planet to talk about the striking crises with rigorous images, away from any sensationalism. Thoughtful compositions that appear as the testimony of the passage from one world to another, some of which, several decades later, still mark the consciences. Many of Hoepker’s images have become mythical, such as the Love-birds in Rome produced in 1956, resulting from his first monochrome works. Hoepker makes a point of photographing his subjects without compromising who they are: to get to know them. You have to understand a lot of things, and that’s when you see differently.”
In 1974, the photoreporter accompanied his wife, the journalist Eva Windmöller – also working for Stern, and then became one of the rare photographers in the West to obtain accreditation to go “to the other side”. Together, they documented daily life from their East Berlin neighborhood, located in the diplomatic square. Hoepker captured in color this “grey” Germany where only communist red came through: a crowd of soldiers in forest green uniforms contrasting with the red flags during a military rally in Treptower, the scarlet Skoda matching the socks under the leather sandals of this vacationer in Rügen, all resonating with the red facade, again, of the Plattenbauten building in Halle-Neustadt… Hoepker creates images whose suggestive value takes on symbolic power. A way of telling the great historical cases of another spectrum, with an ability to grasp their intimacy: these young people who take a break together during a military air show in Magdeburg fix History forever.
Noémie de Bellaigue
“Thomas Hoepker: Intimate History”, until May 7, 2023.
f³ – freiraum für fotografie
Waldemarstraße 17,
10179 Berlin
https://fhochdrei.org/
From April 15th to June 3rd, 2023, Galerie XII Paris presents the first personal exhibition in a while in Paris of the Milanese artist Paolo Ventura. Inspired by the story Le Passe-Muraille (The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls) by Marcel Aymé, this new exhibition combining painting, models and photography, immerses us in the Paris of the 1940s.
Paolo Ventura is a multidisciplinary artist who has used different techniques (photography, collages, painting, sculpture, drawing, scenography) to create two- and three-dimensional works for more than twenty years. Built around images of “invented worlds” or “unrealities” in which the story unfolds like a dream, between imagination and memory, his deeply original work is shot through with a disturbing feeling of timelessness.
If War Souvenir (USA, 2005) evoked the atmosphere of the Second World War in the form of clay puppets and painted cardboard decorations, here he embodies himself, with a few members of his family in costumes and made up, the characters from his Short Stories, posing in front of decorations painted by his hands. All his work remains inhabited by the notions of double, mise-en-scène and illusion.
For his first exhibition at the Gallery, Paolo Ventura has imagined an original project combining various mediums and freely inspired by Marcel Aymé’s short story, The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls, which is the story of a completely ordinary man, but endowed with the extraordinary gift of being able to pass through walls, takes place in Montmartre in the Paris of the 1940s. This “Passe-Muraille” then embarks on many adventures until the day he loses his gift, thus finding himself forever prisoner of a wall . Paolo Ventura uses this tale as a pretext to reconstruct scenes of Parisian life, a romantic and violent story that spans the ages, in the form of transversal works including drawings, photographs, paintings, models and paper sculptures.
About Paolo Ventura
Son of an illustrator, the childhood of Paolo Ventura (born in 1968 in Milan) was rocked by the sketches and stories of his father. The wonder and the childlike passion still permeate his work of narrative staging where we regularly find images of street artists, theaters and cinemas, which are not without evoking certain compositions of paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec. Paolo Ventura’s scenes are tinged with nostalgia, but have an element from the realm of the strange or the fantastic that echoes his childhood: an overflowing imagination for those who think that the real world always seems a little too grey.
After studying painting in Milan, Ventura devoted himself to photography and settled in New York where he collaborates with fashion magazines, bringing from this time a very personal look to this formatted medium. At the same time, he began to work on personal projects which led to a first commission from the War Museum in Washington. War Souvenir marks the launch of Paolo Ventura’s artistic career with exhibitions in the main capitals, from Moscow to Milan, from Paris to New York. Since then, he has benefited from about thirty personal exhibitions in institutions and galleries, and participated in as many collective exhibitions.
In 2020, on the occasion of a major retrospective at the Centro Italiano per la Fotografia in Turin, the Silvana editions published a catalog raisonné of his work.
About Gallery XII Paris
Galerie XII Paris, formerly Galerie Photo12 founded in 2007 by Valérie-Anne Giscard d’Estaing specializes in contemporary figurative photography.
Member of the Professional Committee of Art Galleries, the Gallery strives to promote artists with a strong pictorialist sensibility, working on new forms of media with a multidisciplinary approach, particularly at the borders with painting, sculpture and collages.
Galerie XII Paris organizes exhibitions within its walls, contributes to the distribution of works through the organization of exhibitions with partner institutions and galleries through its “Hors Les Murs” program and participates in international fairs such as Paris Photo, Photo London, Photo Basel, Art Paris Art Fair, Photo Shanghai, Photo L.A and Modern Art Fair. The Gallery has also expanded internationally with the opening of a new space in the United States in 2018.
Paolo Ventura : Le Passe-Muraille
Exhibition from April 15 to June 3, 2023
Opening on Saturday April 15, in the presence of the artist from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Galerie XII Paris
14 rue des Jardins Saint-Paul 75004 Paris
Hours of operation :
Tuesday-Friday: 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday: 12 p.m.-7 p.m & by appointment outside these hours
www.galeriexii.com
In a long-term series that combines different photographic formats, Benjamin Rullier delicately highlights an all-women’s football club in a rural town of 800 inhabitants.
The starting point is simple: Benjamin Rullier wants to understand what is going on here, in Les Verchers-sur-Layon, in this rural, agricultural area, where a women’s football club has been established twenty years ago. So, what makes players from the other end of the department come to play here, drive two hours to train here twice a week? What does it mean to be a country club? What does the word commitment mean in a club where players, managers and volunteers are involved in keeping an atypical model alive and well?
“At the time we played in D2, we were considered to be the country girls and that was the truth. The image counts a lot. We all had to come in jogging suits, dressed in the same way, we had to conform to codes that didn’t suit us. But it was complicated, there were girls opposite who were semi-professionals, who trained all day. We tried to do three training sessions a week, as we were working or studying on the side. Today, it has become even more important. Amandine, AS Verchers football defender
The photographer chose to take a long time to get to know the club, the staff, the players, and to try to understand, without words, what makes the DNA of AS Verchers Foot. To carry out this project, he wanted to show fragments of what constitutes these Sunday afternoons of football, real moments of sport but also of encounters, of reunions for those who are attached to this club.
At one point, the season was very difficult and it was complicated for me. There were games where I wanted to leave the pitch, it was unbearable, I was ashamed of what we could produce, fed up with the number of goals we were getting. And yet I was running for every ball. I was torn between the realism of our level and my fighting spirit, which always took over. I thought: maybe we could do something. And anyway, even if we lose, I’ll just give it all until the 90th minute.
Sport and football photography is not the main subject. Benjamin Rullier is more interested in the scenes, the objects, the faces, the emotions, what is transmitted before, during and after the match. We observe in turn legs feverishly waiting to enter the field, arms waving on the bench, a forgotten ball across the wasteland, bodies going into contact, into battle, faces marked after the match, and we understand the commitment of the players and supporters gathered along the barriers or on the small earthen mound.
The question of the gaze is essential. By working with different cameras, different formats, he offers different points of view, different axes on this project: portraits with a Pentax 6×7 (medium format film) taken at the end of the match, scenes around the field, among the spectators, captured with a Canon QL17 GIII (compact rangefinder), and what happens on the field, with a Fujifilm XH-1 (digital hybrid).
Finding the right distance, isolating the bodies, freezing the scenes delicately, this is the recipe that Benjamin Rullier tries to put in place to bring the spectators to look at this club, hidden in the back of a forest, at the exit of a village through which few people pass.
I often leave at 6.30 pm and come back at 10.30 pm. Because Les Verchers is the club of my heart, the family club. There is a competition, of course, but it has always had a good atmosphere. I don’t know if I could find that anywhere else but here
Benjamin Rullier’s digital photographs were all taken with a Fujifilm XH-1 and the Viltrox 90mm f/2, Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 and XF 200mm f/2 lenses, whose luminosity and depth of field allow the subject to be isolated, to freeze the movement. They were purchased on MPB.com, a company that buys and resells second-hand photographic equipment that has been tested and verified by specialists.
Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park is hosting an exhibit titles ‘Savages and Princess: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes’ beginning Saturday, April 15. It will be open during normal business hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Missouri’s American Indian Cultural Center at Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park is excited to host this exhibit, which brings together 12 contemporary Native American visual artists who reclaim their right to represent their identities as Native Americans. Whether using humor, subtlety or irony, the telling is always fiercely honest and dead-on accurate. Images and styles are created from traditional, contemporary and mass culture forms.
Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park is located 12 miles north of Marshall on Highway 122. For more information about the event, call the park office at 660-886-7537.
The winners of the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards have been announced, with Edgar Martins named as Photographer of the Year for his series, Our War.
Edgar MartinsThe project is an homage to Martins’ friend, photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was shot and killed during the Libyan Civil War in 2011.
Martins chose to reflect on the question: how does one tell a story when there is no witness, no testimony, no evidence, no subject?
“It is a huge honour to be recognised – and although I am philosophical about awards and the subjective nature of someone’s choice, knowing that there were over 180,000 entries to this year’s Professional competition is very humbling,” says Martins.
“In this case, it is also quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage and bring attention to the family’s plight to find his remains.”
Martins’ work triumphed in the Portraiture category of the Professional competition.
Here are the other category winners, alongside comments from the photographers.
Cement Factory by Fan Li
“Tieshan cement factory is located in Guilin City in Guangxi, south China.
“The factory was built in 1996 and played an important role in Guilin’s economic development and urban construction.
“However, because it was originally located in the Li River scenic area, the cement factory has now been relocated, leaving behind the old buildings, water towers, pools and railway tracks.”
The Right to Play by Lee-Ann Olwage
“The Right to Play creates a playful world where girls are shown in an empowered and affirming way.
“For this project, I worked with girls from Kakenya’s Dream in Enoosaen, Kenya, who have avoided FGM [Female genital mutilation] and child marriage – showing what the world can look like when girls are given the opportunity to continue learning in an environment that supports them and their dreams.”
The Women’s Peace Movement in Congo by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
“Nearly 20 years on from a conflict that killed five million people and upended tenfold more lives, the Democratic Republic of Congo is once again sliding into chaos.
“Pairing rare visuals of the front lines with portraits and in-depth stories from women, this long-term project follows activists as they mobilise.
“While media crews come in briefly to shoot scenes of war and displacement, I have spent many months in hard-to-access areas, covering conflict and documenting the slow work of peace from a unique perspective.”
Miruku by Marisol Mendez & Federico Kaplan
“Miruku focuses on the Wayuus, an indigenous community from La Guajira, Colombia’s coastal desert.
“Commissioned by 1854/British Journal of Photography and WaterAid, the project examines how a combination of climate change issues and human negligence have led its various members to experience a stifling water shortage.
“We framed the story from a female perspective to get a better understanding of how gender inequality and climate vulnerability interrelate.”
Event Horizon by Kacper Kowalski
“At the start of winter, I set out on a journey in search of harmony.
“When I could, I flew over frozen bodies of water, fascinated by their icy forms.
“Between January and March I made 76 solo flights in a gyrocopter or a motorised paraglider, covering approximately 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles), spending 200 hours in the air.
“My photographs were taken above bodies of water near Tricity in northern Poland.”
James Deavin
“This portfolio was shot in the first half of 2022 in Saudi Arabia, where I was based at the time.
“Given more time, I think these pictures would have fallen into more defined projects or narratives, perhaps relating to the large migrant worker and expat population (of which I was part), or Saudi car culture.
“As it is, I believe this collection shows my style and technique as a photographer – there is no deliberate connection between the images, other than I was searching for special photographs that could eventually develop into projects.”
The Sky Garden by Kechun Zhang
“Three years ago I settled down in Wenjiang and there is a tree nursery within walking distance of my home.
“Exotic trees and rocks from all over the world can be seen there, including Japanese black pines and maple trees.
“There are workers lifting these trees and rocks with mobile cranes every day, transporting them and planting them in newly-built parks, neighbourhoods or streets in the city.
“I walk through the woods and take photographs when the trees and rocks are being lifted into the air. Together, these images create the Sky Garden series.”
Female Pro Baseball Player Succeeds in All Male Pro League by Al Bello
“Kelsie Whitmore is the first female professional baseball player to play in an all-male pro league.
“She plays outfield and pitches for the Staten Island Ferryhawks in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
“Her debut in the Atlantic League was as a pinch runner and she became the first woman to start an Atlantic League game, when she played as a left fielder.
“Later, she was the first woman to pitch in an Atlantic League game – and on 3 September 2022, Kelsie became the first woman to record a hit in association with major league baseball.”
Cities Gone Wild by Corey Arnold
“Cities Gone Wild is an exploration of three savvy animals – black bears, coyotes and raccoons – that survive, and even thrive, in the human-built landscape while other animals are disappearing.
“I tracked these animals in cities across America to reveal a more intimate view of how wildlife is adapting to increased urbanisation.”
The Open competition celebrates the power of single images.
Dinorah Graue Obscura has been named Open Photographer of the Year 2023 for her photograph titled Mighty Pair, entered in the Natural World & Wildlife category.
The image shows two crested caracara birds, on a tree branch in southern Texas, USA.
Long Jing, of Yunnan Arts University, has been awarded Student Photographer of the Year 2023 for his series titled Keep the Yunnan Opera.
Jing went behind the scenes to show the dwindling groups of performers and spectators at performances in southwest China.
Hai Wang, also from China, won Youth Photographer of the Year 2023 for an image on the theme, Your Everyday.
The photograph depicts rows of brightly-coloured, empty chairs set up for a school ceremony which was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic.
Alessandro Cinque is announced as the first-time winner of the Sustainability Prize.
This brand new prize, developed in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and Sony Pictures’ Picture This initiative, recognises the stories, people and organisations whose actions highlight one of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals.
Cinque won for his series Atrapanieblas (Fog Nets), which documents an innovative solution helping to tackle chronic water shortages in Lima, Peru.
All photographs courtesy of 2023 Sony World Photography Awards.
An exhibition of the winners and shortlisted images takes place at Somerset House, London from 14 April to 1 May 2023.
