Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Reading : A - Art
Jean Genet… The Courtesy of Objects, Act 1, Act 2 & Act 3
The solo exhibition ‘Jean Genet… The Courtesy of Objects, Act 1, Act 2 & Act 3’ is a large-scale, multi-venue project, staged at Norwich Gallery, Nottingham Contemporary and Focal Point Gallery in Southend. The project was funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Institut Francais, The Henry Moore Foundation, Norfolk and Norwich Festival 11, Norwich University College of the Arts and Plus Tate.The exhibition develops from Chaimowicz’s analysis of Genet’s first play ‘The Maids’ (1948), about two servants who revolt against their mistress, and featured a new film inspired by it. The installation is organised in the form of a strange and exquisite domestic interior that offers a mental image of a space Genet might wish to inhabit. As such, it explored themes derived from Genet’s life – and in particular his erotic inversion of traditional morality and aesthetics - from his empathy with Palestinian refugees and the Black Panther movement in the USA to high profile endorsements such as those of Jean-Paul Sartre (in a book entitled Saint Genet) and David Bowie (who wrote Jean Genie in tribute to Genet).Supplementing the new works he produced for the exhibition in film, slide projection and sculpture, and transforming in the course of the tour Chaimowicz included curated contributions by contemporary artists such as Mona Hatoum, Wolfgang Tilmans, Glenn Ligon and The Otolith Group, as well as historical artworks by Alberto Giacometti and two large murals by Emory Douglas (and a selection of his posters); and artefacts including publications (for instance, an extensive collection of Panther Party newspapers) and furniture. Chaimowicz sourced these objects from archives in UK and US.
