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Feathers

Manon - Feathers
Feathers presents a collection of notes written by the Swiss artist during the conception of an aborted documentary in 2005. Taking the shape of a diary, it offers a unique gateway into Manon's daily life, interweaving memories and reflections on her artistic practice.
“A documentary film that was supposed to be made for the cinema is mentioned in my notes, as is a biography that a journalist was planning to write,” writes Manon. “I ended up calling off both, along with plenty of other stuff.”
But the Swiss artist's “notes” for the planned documentary in 2005, diary-like entries “about the passage of time, and about the passage of my times,” as she puts it, remained, and are published here for the first time. In light of the multitude of details they provide, it seems a bit of an understatement to call them “notes”. Feathers actually takes the shape of a diary, and turns out to be a multi-layered narrative providing a succinct and yet feather-light look back on Manon's life, art, men and day-to-day concerns.
In a mix of timidly restrained, resolute and at times drily humorous prose, the artist cautiously but confidently attempts to put into words the balancing act between her everyday life and her artistic career of highly stylized self-portrayals. Feathers interweaves memories and the present with comments on apparently minor matters. In contrast to her elaborate mises-en-scène, what interests the author of these notes is not pageantry and sensationalism, but minute mood swings, poetic observations of her urban and natural surroundings, the trials and tribulations of the heart, and reflections on aging and transience.
Manon (born 1946 in Bern, lives and works in Zurich) is a Swiss feminist performance artist. She studied art and acting in Zurich. In 1974, she created Salmon-Colored Boudoir, the first of many environments and mises-en scène of extras or of the artist herself. In late 1970s Paris, she turned to staged photography, which led to various black-and-white series including La dame au crâne rasé (“The Woman with the Shaved Head”). Shown in galleries in Germany and abroad and featured in various museum collections, to this day her works revolve around the themes of identity, gender, eroticism and transience.
Manon was awarded the Prix Meret Oppenheim in 2008.
Graphic design: Marietta Eugster.
 
published in February 2021
English edition
12 x 19,5 cm (softcover)
248 pages (1 color ill.)
 
38.00
 
ISBN : 978-3-907236-10-9
EAN : 9783907236109
 
in stock


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