Monday, May 04, 2009

Tracey Emin at Kunstmuseum Bern

Emin at work. The cover image for the retrospective.

The Kunstmuseum Bern is currently spotlighting the art of Tracey Emin in an exhibit titled Tracey Emin: 20 years. The exhibit includes over 70 works of art. The exhibit was made possible by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art-- which compiled the first retrospective of the artist which is currently one display at the Museum of Fine Arts Bern. The exhibit marks Emin's first solo exhibition in Switzerland.

Emin is often accused of creating shocking art simply to attract publicity. However, the artist recently stated that her intention is not to be a troublemaker, stating, "I won't put up with any shit and I won't tolerate injustice, but I never make work to shock. That would be so easy. Anyone could go and shit outside parliament and put a little sign in it saying 'this is art' and it would hit all the newspapers. But that wouldn't be art. Not even if I did it!"

Tracey Emin: 20 Years will come to a close on June 21st, 2009. For more information visit, www.kunstmuseumbern.ch

4 comments:

Donald Frazell said...

Yikes! girl needs to work out, skinny is not sexy, gotta put some meat on them bones, and see some curves, nor skin draped over drooping fat clinging to a skeleton.

tae Bo, girl, or even bike riding will firm them glutes.

S said...

The text included was so loaded with things to comment on.....I mean come on, 20 years of Emin's sarcastic antics!! and then declaring that something wouldn't be art 'even if I did it', in the context of Hirst, Koons, Fairey, Delvoye.........but the first thing we think when we see this image is, Hey, she's pretty thin and not wearing pants. It says a lot about us.

bronwen hyde said...

@donald: i don't think the image is supposed to be about tracey being sexy, and it's disappointing that you immediately comment on her physical appearance as if she has to please you or anyone else with the way she looks.

what immediately struck me from the image is the fact that the art practice is often so immediate that you don't think about getting dressed before you do it, you just get a bee in your bonnet and have to paint / take photos / write, etc. and in the privacy of your own studio / study most artists aren't thinking about their appearance or clothing (unless they're painting or photographing themselves).

i think it's also supposed to portray the honesty and bare bones approach in much of her work.

Balhatain said...

Hey, Picasso went to the studio in his underwear. :)