The Withness of the Body

An exhibition by Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson painting The Birth (2016) by Guido HarariFondazione Made in Cloister

The artist

For the last forty years, Laurie Anderson has been a pioneer at the forefront of technology in the arts through her use of audio video electronics and projection. Trained as a painter and sculptor, she became an early leader in the use of electronics and processing. Anderson as been the artist to consult regarding unique ways of bringing sounds and visuals to audiences.

In the exhibition she has created people in two dimensional, three dimensional and holographic realities ranging from four inches to ten feet high.

Laurie Anderson (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

"In the Buddhism, there's no judgment, everything you do is wonderful. If being an artist is your way of discovering things, then that's ok, that's your way,there is no definitively right way. Actually, the right way would be to apppreciate life and realise that nothing is permanent; everything changes"
Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson and Mimmo Iodice (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

"No solid self.
The longing after your own happiness"
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

Lolabelle in the Bardo (2016) by Riccardo PiccirilloFondazione Made in Cloister

Large canvas

Since 2011, following the death of her small dog Lolabelle, Laurie Anderson has made a series of works, both on large canvases and on paper, that portray memories of her pet’s existence, together with fantasies and dreams linked to episodes in its life.

The physical commitment required to make such large paintings enabled the artist to react to the loss of Lolabelle. The experience of Action painting has shown how a large format forces the painter to involve both the mind and the body in the creation of the work.

Anderson lived through this experience of painting with great intensity but also with a sense of discovery as the paintings were done after decades of engaging in conceptual artistic practice. In this sense she found that painting possessed the dynamics of musical improvisation.

Live music at the Cloister (2016) by Valeria LaureanoFondazione Made in Cloister

"Do not be afraid.
Like all mornings.
Recognize this"
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

Cloister porticato (2016) by Valeria LaureanoFondazione Made in Cloister

"Once you wore that. Once you did that.
Everything you knew about time slipping, repeating"
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

The Cloister (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

The language

As a multimedia artist, Anderson has developed her own poetics and language by using advanced technology. In the painting dedicated to Lolabelle and the Bardo, the contents determinates the narrature of the language whereas in multimedia works language prevails over content. These paintings recount a love story, they speak of faithfulness, they are sentimental works, revealing intimate experiences about life. Obviously the content heavily influences the linguistic frameworks of Anderson’s previous artistic works. The gigantic dimensions of the paintings, for example, bear similarities with theatre set designs, the arrangement of the figures on the canvas recalls notes jotted down in a diary to be transferred to a storyboard.

Opening Laurie Anderson "The Withness of the body" (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

"Recognize this as the play of your own mind."
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

Opening Laurie Anderson "The Withness of the body" (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

"Recognize this.
You can move through walls"
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

Opening Laurie Anderson "The Withness of the body" (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

"Leave attachment to the things you left"
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

Dream drawings 2016 (2016) by Riccardo PiccirilloFondazione Made in Cloister

The color

Except for Red Painting and Dream Drawings, Anderson’s paintings dedeicated to Lolabelle are all done in black and white. In her black and white works, the artist combines the colours of mourning: white for Buddhists and black for westerns.

In the series of fifteen paintins on medium-seized pieces entitled Dream Drawings, Anderson portrays Lolabelle’s experience of the Bardo, through seemingly surreal images, situations and words retrieved from dreams and intended to be pages from a diary.  Here Anderson explicity introduced a dreamlike element.  The decision not to use black and white for these works but to employ purple, the colour of the lotus flower, is yet another reference to Buddhist culture. With its incredibly beautiful flower, the lotus roots sink deep in the mud. Mud is a metaphor for something indistinct and blurry, while the lotus is the metaphor of form.

Opening Laurie Anderson "The Withness of the body" (2016) by Francesco BegonjaFondazione Made in Cloister

"Time stood still"
Laurie Anderson from the exhibition "The Withness of the Body"

Credits: Story

Photo credit Valeria Laureano
Sonia Ritondale
Francesco Begonja
Riccardo Piccirillo
Guido Harari
Text credit Lou Reed
Demetrio Paparoni

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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