The painting “Hippopotamus” by the American artist, representative of pop art Mel Ramos, sparkles with bright colors and gives the impression of an advertising poster. Parodying advertisements using pin-up girls, that is, attractive, often half-naked girls in frivolous poses, was indeed one of the main themes in Mel Ramos’s work. The criticism of the replication of female sexuality, formulated in this way, in order to attract a buyer, to force him to purchase one or another product, encountered in turn criticism from the feminist movement back in the 1960s. The picture is more likely to repulse the modern viewer with its ambiguity, although it arouses curiosity. Maybe this is an allusion to the “abduction of Europa” plot, in which Zeus abducted Europa in the form of a bull? And if so, what did the artist want to say with her?
In art, as you know, there are no definite answers. The exhibition “Lovely Creatures. Tiere, Monster, Menschen in der Kunst”, which takes place at the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, is not looking for simple conclusions. Its purpose is to show the contradictory nature of the relationship between humans and animals. At the same time, the role of a “monster”, obviously, can be played by both the man himself (if we remember how he is sometimes cruel to animals), and our smaller brothers, who have turned into real monsters in our fantasy.
Animals in the service of man
“Hippopotamus” by Mel Ramos is one of 60 works on display. And the figures of two camels open it. These very peaceful looking animals are the work of American artist Nancy Graves. In 1966, she created her first life-size camel figure in the hyperrealist style. She was followed by a whole series of works depicting camels, among them – drawings, paintings, collages and films. The two camels at the exhibition in Aachen look so realistic that the astonished viewer begs the question: are they not stuffed real animals? “No,” the guide replies. “We are not in a natural history museum. And if they were stuffed animals, they would not be works of art.” To create such realistic-looking figures, the artist did not even use camel skins, but used rabbit skins and carpet scraps.
There are 40 portraits of cats on the wall not far from the camels. Cats look directly at the viewer, sometimes wary, sometimes playful, sometimes peaceful and affectionate. In the era of Instagram and TikTok, cat photos are no surprise. But what are they doing in the museum? It turns out that these are not just cats, but the so-called “Hermitage cats”, that is, cats serving in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Cats have been “officially” living in the Winter Palace for over two and a half centuries. Permission for this was given by the verdict of Empress Elizabeth back in 1745, and animals still protect the palace from rodents. The creator of the installation, Anna Ermolaeva, however, tells another story with her work, namely, the story of all those cats that were eaten in besieged Leningrad by its hungry inhabitants …
Ai Weiwei, “Skin 1”, 1991
Animals serve man and deserve a place in the museum for this. Including in the form in which they were presented to the viewer by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Two of his minimalist works are pieces of cowhide. One section is light brown, the other is half white, half dark brown. On the wall of the museum, framed by a beautiful wooden frame, they represent a special aesthetic value, which we do not even think about in our everyday life. Anyway, do we appreciate enough the subordinate beings who give us food and clothing?
Monsters and symbols
The complex relationship between man and animal is evidenced by the video work of 2003 by the Albanian artist Anri Sala, who lives and works in Germany. In the video, we see an animal standing on the side of the road. Its outlines are barely visible in the dark, they are illuminated by the headlights of passing cars. Obviously it’s a horse. But what does she do alone at night near the road? She has nowhere to graze, nowhere to drink water on this concrete-covered street. An eerie sensation. It seems that the animal is experiencing fear – and this fear is transmitted to the viewer. Who is responsible for this, as the name of the exhibition says, “a beautiful creature”?
Another video takes us to New York 1974. Then, the René Block gallery hosted one of the most famous performances by the German artist and art theorist Joseph Beuys “I love America and America loves me.” As part of this artistic endeavor, Boyce was taken to the gallery in an ambulance wrapped in felt because, as he himself explained, he did not want to see America and wanted to remain isolated from the outside world. In one of the gallery rooms, Joseph Beuys spent three days with a coyote. At first, a very timid beast, in the end, got used to the artist and even gave him a hug at last. Coyotes are considered sacred animals among the Indian tribes and play an important role in the mythology of the creation of the world. Therefore, Boyes chose a coyote for his action. The artist wanted in this way to draw attention to the fate of the indigenous population of North America.
The coyote in the video was not scary at all. In general, you can see not so many monsters at the exhibition. One of them is the work of the young artist Mary-Audrey Ramirez, who was born in Luxembourg and works in Germany. This is a huge black scorpion, or rather, as the museum guide explains, it is a scorpion made of black plastic. Its tail is ominously raised with a huge sting. She lies on a bed covered with a white blanket. Under it, another figure is slightly guessed, obviously human and probably male. The Scorpio looks both terrifyingly deadly and erotic, as befits the embodiment of human fears and secret desires …
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