PHOTO:Andres Serrano-Revealing Reality,Part II
Andres Serrano feels akin to the baroque painters, such as Caravaggio, who is known to have been willing to employ a prostitute to model for a Madonna, something that caused quite a controversy at the time. Serrano feels this kindred spirit with the Old Masters because he shares their themes, which they gave form within a Christian tradition. Serrano passes no judgement on the people he portrays (Part I).
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Huis Marseille Archive
“Revealing Reality” at Huis Marseille – Museum for Photography in Amsterdam, is the first large Dutch exhibition of Andres Serrano’s work in 20 years. The exhibition includes a collection of works from Serrano’s newest series “Torture”, “Denizens of Brussels” and “Residents of New York”, together with photographs drawn from the earlier series: “Bodily Fluids”, “Cuba”, “The Church”, “Nomads” and “Holy Works”, among others. Andres Serrano has created several projects on homelessness: “Nomads” (1990), “Residents of New York” (2014) and most recently “Denizens of Brussels” (2015). He photographed the “Nomads” at night in the NYC subway in a makeshift studio, lighting, a tripod, and background. In 2014 Serrano photographed the homeless on the streets of New York City and called them “Residents of New York” rather them use the “homeless”cliché. In 2015 he followed this series up with portraits of homeless people in Brussels, who he called its ‘”Denizens”. According to Dictionary denizens are defined as “Creatures (whether people, plants, animals, or bacteria) that take possession of a given location or region”, in the series they look more like actors who have made the street their stage. The Huis Marseille exhibition includes photographs taken from all these series. Whereas paintings emerge in large part from the painter’s imagination, Serrano’s work confronts us powerfully and directly with contemporary reality. Serrano’s portraits reveal the hand of a master, whose relationship with his subjects begins the moment they are in front of the camera. He immediately works to discover the feelings, thoughts and motives of his models so as to capture their essence. For instance, through the NGO Waging Peace, which campaigns against genocide and the systematic abuse of human rights in Africa, Serrano first met Fatima, whose portrait is part of the series “Torture” (2015). Fatima had been tortured in the Sudan, on suspicion of having assisted the rebels. She uses her veil to smother her cry and to hide the trauma in her eyes. In 2012 Serrano paid his first visit to Cuba, where his mother, who was born in the U.S.A. spent much of her childhood. In his series “Cuba” (2012) he penetrates to the heart of Cuban society, portraying Cubans from all walks of life. While he ultimately failed to get Fidel Castro in front of the camera, he created a number of memorable portraits of other well-known Cubans. Christian symbolism plays an important role in Andres Serrano’s work. He grew up in a Catholic neighbourhood where religious traditions were woven into daily life, and the symbols of the Roman Catholic Church recur in his projects in many different ways, like in his early series “Bodily Fluids” (1986-87), in which he used photography to transform blood, milk, urine and semen into abstract artworks. Set alongside his series “The Church” (1991), “Budapest” (1994), “Holy Works” (2011) and “Jerusalem” (2014), these works give a deeper meaning to his oeuvre. Love, death, sex, pain, grief and torture are revealed as the core of human existence. Serrano’s extensive oeuvre, which shows us the reality of human existence at every level, reminds us that while the material and the immaterial may appear to be separate entities, they are, in fact, intimately connected. Also on presentation are homeless sigs from Andres Serrano’s Collection.
Info: Huis Marseille-Museum for Photography, Keizersgracht 401, Amsterdam, Duration: 10/6-3/9/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 11;00-18:00, www.huismarseille.nl
