28
pages
English
Documents
Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres
28
pages
English
Ebook
Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres
ALBRECHT.GRETCHEN Hru&**
9)
a
E
F.t
'..t,
-'*rtrB oi
I
1\)
\A)
o
S)
a
.d
ffi
gffixrc#ffiwMre&#
*v{evuxms wsxeeK €m
e,{Xffi3J.XXS&K3KkXffiryW THE ONETWO
THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS
by Linda Gill
years For 22 I have had on my wall pencil a drawing by Gretchen
Albrecht. It is of a winged woman plant. plant and a The is almost
in the centre, the woman is fitted into the left hand side. She
stares downwards, out of the frame to the left, away from the
you plant, seeing nothing but her own thoughts. feel she ought to
plant be looking at the that picture shares the with her, instead of
turning away from it. Her right arm lies loosely across her naked
body, hinting at the antique pose pudenda. of the Venus But she
does not conform to that convention either and the arm falls to
conceal the black scribble of pubic hair.
The artist's hand holding a thick pencil black is almost tangibly
present in the drawing: clean strong lines form limbs and torso,
black smudges the breasts, the pencil swoops and curls to
describe wings, leaves and stem, or shoots outwards with the hair
streaming away from the head. The left eye is sharply focused,
almond-eastern, the right is vacant, round like a fish's: two
distinct signs for eyes adding up to a complex meaning.
Ilook at the drawing often. The vigour pencil of the marks hasUntitled drawing 1964
not been diluted by familiarity, and the meaning of the figure
remains part part enigmatic, angel, insect, poised between
strength partaking and fragility, of both. As an image of a woman
it hangs between a familiar convention and a new one still in the
making.
t-16 Gretchen Albrecht exhibited fifty drawings similar to this in
24,26t7-25, 1964, a year after leaving art school and there is also a series of
paintings. related Her work at this time was all figurative, the
protagonist always a woman and the woman was often nude.
Although there are echoes of Picasso and Matisse in the
treatment of form, Albrecht's nudes are different in emotional
'other',content. For her, passive the nude is not a object, an
recipient of emotions ranging from delight to hatred; the nude is
sublect, actively point engaged, is up to a herself, or- - ,JIA'lsaJalul uEtxoli\e se pe^t^lns sPt{ oq^\ ]O aq laluled tsnru Jo
a[]e]sqo,'ruaql ueuofi\ sr apnreJoJeq a^eq sJeluled e eJll eql ,aJPJ Jo
'euo^Ja^a'alouJaLIUnC uaeq seq q)nu os uaqfl\ aq] ualllll( lnoqe
']eql 'rffio1oqt[u sluroJ o]ula)tlt a^Eq ot ot Sutqteuos "laqloleuorl(
^es ,taqt rnoq't1a1 ,tldaap uloJsueJl aql u,t11err;rrads saruartadxa ,aleuaJ,
'epnusuollE)o^a,,put{ e o] pue'(1) alet-,(tleJ puetsJapun Jo Jo ,,p1totrt
',slua^a, eql {\ou{ 'aiaslleal o1 ,(1uo a{} aJe sllot\ er{} ueq] aJou }eq} JI
'ratel 8u1qt,iue ueql Selrsl plp aqs ot lerrqdelBolqotne]uet:odurl u JO
'taqtaSolles,lq)elqtV lalel\oH ur srr{:ale slloin ,i1:ea aJou
^lllaJIp os sl tuolJaq ,teur xalduor ll p:e8arsrp ol asl/n ll ]eql ,(qde:Eorq
aqJpa,rt1 Sutaq aJIl aql ueefiueq aqt ulaql pue sa8:aua ue Iu![ teqt
'raluted puee ueuo,ll
'1sed aql uI seeplJaq 3ur4eu sl uaa1{ilie se qled ut\o lL{)alqlv ueuot\
'uaql qll^\ pue pauotlsanbsa8eu1 eql arnBr;passardxa aneq asoqt ]eq1
'sn 'asle SulqlaurosslooJ 3ur1eu seq sIspapt pegdacry are Jo
sJI ',Jo, pue Butddlls Eut8ueql pue ,teme llqeq olur Jo ,Jaqlle,
:Saql 'Jlastl [1t1ea: arn]'eu ]noqe OfiU qloq eq o1 ,icuapua] sll ISeJo
'uaql 'pesn)uae^uaq suol]elal[aql puv o1 aqt puolaq aqotd leuos:ad
>1seaql suotlsanb rreq arpue uaul elnleu aql pue uauot\ ]noqe Jo
'^lllueptq]ta slIsBurlaal ot [aq1 xas a]rsoddo aqt ]uale^lque ]noqe
'osro]eJe slJor\\ asaqJueuo/Y\ 8uno,t e qlt^\ o1 Sututeal lnoqe Ieap
:slooJ'[lSurpuaqardurocun ]aqioue elaql\asla [1qt3uruo s{oo[ [ooJ
eetql e)e uery est/vl 9eo] dn pessalp uauo/r\ ro s:alsa[ eIIt lool
:lseag s,r(1neag a111 slle:s{seu ,teur :o ,(eu aldoad ol ar{l Sutreern aq tou
'{lnI :s]ueld slseeq olul aqs 'Sutceuau saullauos ]nalqerlrd saul]euos
:pJIq olul paulo;suer1 Sutaq paleuooJ uauot\ aql aq ol ulees Sururn]
pue'1ue1d aq ol suaes pea:o e olul Sutu:nl sr aqt sdeq:ad 1ue1d Jo
'(;suroq lo)pltq e sl ol sno:a8uep aq [eru ]l tqalsrenoq to saqctad leq]
oqmuPuI asla\ e aq a{l u,e aIlI qulo) e seq tq8tu peaq srLl uo s,[a]al)ol
'atuool'slueld lo tuoJJ ul eVS st;1E Surra;;o ]t{3U ueu papleoq e 1o UaI
'Sutlatnbstp,ieru oqin sra8uerlS 'qtoq 'ao; lo puelll aq lsourllsdeqrad
eqlseunsse UPtuoA\ ueqlleplJofi\ P ul selol sfem1e st lualaJllp ]eql
'(ueofieyU ',tratsr(u aW ozz1yl) Llrar{ arerne ,{11n;aa1B pue tamod Jo
'(s{sPlv pay) qrlrm e sl aqs sdeqta6 atIllW uewoy prezr^\ e ro
'[rey1 'ualepSeyrl ',ueuolt\e ]o e - ,(1lu1es e lo reqlou aqloq
'lralo:d ptlql e seq aqs saullauospue JoJ aJe) ol e aqs sl la[]els
ueuol\ eql 'par st sluled ur passelp ]q)alqlV
'Sulluted ',repla, auopa8pa ar{} lsoule 1no Jo
'sa[a 'dn 3ut[rd'peqrosqe-J1as paq)unq stls pue lnq ,t1uo sr aleq] SI
auos ut padeldslp touaql to; asod uorlellelap leuol]ue^uol Jo
antssed qeuuesns ul apnu 6lJaplE aql pue sr ueuoff\ aql ,pellasqo,
'ueutomfraraueqh\ ua^E 3u!]ulpd sl Iltuaredde aql 1q)aJqlv
OA1I 3HJ 3NO 3HJCNVSNOHJ N3I 3HJ S)NIHJ THE ONE THE TWO THE TEN THOUSAND THINCS
Briefly then, at the end of year her first at art school, aged 17,
Albrecht became pregnant and during l96l was ill with toxaemia,
eventually confined to bed. Unable to attend life classes, she
painted the only model available, pregnant. herself, The paintings
were unacceptable to most of her teachers and she failed that
section of the course. In 1962, married, with a child, she
"in described herself as being a daze... the only decision Iam
aware of making for myself was that I had to keep on at art
(2). school" The marriage ended years, after five leaving her with
the task of supporting herself and her son.
It is perhaps surprising that the work emerging from these
experiences is not bleaker, more bitter. Uneasy it certainly is, but
narrow negative emotions are submerged beneath the poetic
power of the mythology Albrecht invents, its theatricality and
touches of playfulness, as if life were grasped in all its tragicomic
fullness. The painting that moves furthest out into a statement
about the human rather than specifically female condition,
Shelter me, brother fool, suggests rueful recognition of the fact
that life can be full of despair, that we are alone. . . and slightly
ludicrous. The image has such a mature breadth of vision that it
comes as a shock to remember that Albrecht was only 20 when
painted she it.
Although these paintings are sombre, almost claustrophobic in
atmosphere they are also sumptuous, full of enioyment of the
qualities of thickly paint. applied oil The darkness is shot through
with intense contrasts, a red dress, a red beast, bird or flower
flares out of the gloom, or dark figures enact their drama before a
red backdrop. Albrecht alters traditional content but her handling
paint of remains within the expressionist tradition. It can stand
comparison with the tough neo-expressionist surfaces of the
1980s and looked particularly raw and robust in the early 1960s.
"My work different from the other students', in subject M
liMmatter and style. My pregnancy, the marriage, the baby, all those
events had a very positive effect on me. I grew up so fast, and the
work drew strength from that. When Ifailed painting the section
in year my second I had to take extra drawing as a requirement
getting for that part passed the following year. Allen wasIim
running drawing classes from i-7 at night. They were wonderful
classes. We cut off large paper sheets of and worked on table tops
paint in black with big brushes. We drew the life model. He
encouraged large bold confident drawings and it totally liberated
(3)my work."
6it,
'se^ue)aJe sa:nlsa8 eqi Sutqrlef, slralqo aq] ul leql auo luelaqut
palerac'JIe sadeqsaIII aLIl ul SutBueq :o reded uo s{ieu 1etlualod
0H 'a^ou ,(lluelsuor ele spueq JaH lel3ur,real aql uo lueua^lo^ulrealr
sdol a1rulaler{1 spuallJ Suoue eues aql sl Itel Iense] 1ecrs,{qd
seq (q) ur ltrqeJ Sutq],itane ll lnJrapu;o ,,'lt
sell\ uee punolatqel Sutssalp pue ]uqeJ a{rl Surqir(ue ll l,useop 1a[ Iool
lueuaretllll aqlalorls 3ut133ttm paraqleB Sutqrtrsap lured ;o leualeuJ
uorllas[at8'a1qel Sutssatp'lrlseluel sJeaus A\oH )tultll Ipue'1ured Jo - aql puE'eIolls L{snlq sseusnolnuallslleu slnuJnu e s,aleLIJ Jo Jo Ileus &alleg uV asoql llaql ul Sutnoutpue au loJ Ilaql qlll\ op ol s,lt lualuo) Ieuolloula ,fir3 puellcny eqt Jo lto)'sut13Pog
'l16t :ltEllrod sa)ueu 0J!1 lralqns:pleuuog Sutleeds :9,,'se^uef, JIasstg,, lllls ,tldaap a:e sButluted ;o
's0961
,'sleaus pue sa8no8 aqlq:ns 3utleu aql uo slleu snoa8ernol
eqt :uo)eB slluell Jo's8ur3un1 pue a,retq snouJoue asoqJ,, sButBunld
' puels L',par{sets, ',pata11e1ds,sIIel aqS sBurluted aqt Jo ,pa,(e:ds, ;o
3u rlpue',paqseA\, ',pallolq, 'JJo ',paurels, ',ue{orq, ro',paBpnus, ',paqqotq,
e aroJe(:Ilo1t\ ud\o laq ul sl leql lueua^lo^