Lucia DELLEFANT

 

esprit for all! – personal strategy and spatial imaginings from lucia dellefant

 

lucia dellefant means well by her public and is always a presence in her works when she is needed. she is a follower of culture, a trend scout and an agony aunt at the same time. when she is feeling particularly magnanimous, she presents trophies.
on the young art scene, lucia dellefant has become a major fixture. public works pertaining to particular locales and numerous exhibitions in museums and galleries have brought her works to the notice of a broad public. in her work-related travels to many parts of the globe, she has broadened her horizons and subjected people and their cultures, expectations and realities to an intense analysis.
lucia dellefant’s art is democratic, she invites her public to com-prehend and often to participate. one important activity of the observer is actively desired: independent thinking.
the whole oeuvre of this award-winning artist is occupied with one thing – the human species. humans are the sole focus of her intel-lectually stimulating paintings and objects. each work throws light on personality concepts and the spatial imaginings of the ‘i’. dellefant is interested in the basic features and the constitution of the ‘i’. in a witty and ironic way she questions our stage-managingand the image we design for ourselves and how we work on these usingour background, education or partnerships. it is within these para-meters that the ideal space is situated that we designate as our sphere of activity. this fluctuating relationship between indivi-duals and their space is the core of her (often serially structured) work.

society signs 

lucia dellefant became known through her modern emblem pictures. the emblem, a combination of a picture with inscription and motto, was an established element in art in the period around ad1500. today, this descriptive combination is mainly found in advertising or warning signs. both mediums are dependent on the rapid reception of the information. ideally they should be discerned and assimilated in passing (or even more quickly when driving past). in lucia dellefant’s society signs, a particular everyday concept or human idiosyncrasy is subjected to an in-depth scrutiny. borrowing from the aesthetics of advertising, the society signs satirize and exemplify individual words. in ‘feige’ (cowardly), the word hides behind the slats of a venetian blind. in line with ‘unterdrückt’(downtrodden), the word element ‘unter’ (down) has almost given way tothe ‘pressure’. this treatment illustrates the structure of a composite or derived word. the appearance of the word images is rather more graphic than pictorial and sometimes humorously linked to the typography of a common trade name. the artist combines words with a corresponding signdeveloped by herself and in this way creates a logo for a character-istic. with a trendy logo, the negative characteristics of a person at firstseem confusingly positive and the viewer is puzzled. but the society signs always exude esprit, thus reflecting the spirit of their creator.

life design

a large installation by dellefant, exhibited in several cities, was composed of a three-piece landscape made up of the letters ich, signi-fying ‘i’ in german. it was the point of departure for the artist to engage in a participatory action. lucia dellefant used the answers to a questionnaire on the current mental states and present and future life situations ofher exhibition viewers as inspiration for her series life design.
the answers on the questionnaire that pertained to how the visitor to the exhibition wanted to shape his or her life and what visionsthey held for the future were particularly interesting.the answersoffer a representative cross-section of desires. hand-in-hand withpragmatic thoughts such as ‘i would like to have more power for my visions’ were wishes such as ‘i would like to lead an interesting life and to have a prestigious husband’. one american visitor was quite specific: she wanted ‘a house in thecountryside, a four-wheel drive and a golden retriever’. characteristic of the series is astrong tendency towards formal pictorial possibilities. as opposed to the society signs, a concept is not illustrated, but rather combines a thought-provoking text with pictorial components. those already cognizant with lucia dellefant’s work search immediately for the ‘right reference’. for instance the composition in ‘country house’ offers a masterly executed trompe-l’oeil painting of brown wood grain accompanied by green. however, those searching for paw prints or tyre tracks will be disappointed. dellefant creates her pictures merely as surfaces for the viewer’s projections and provides an impulse for individual reflections, for the interaction or even identification with the desires of others. the works themselves are completely abstract, their combination with mottos allows one to sense things, architectural shapes and spaces. here in a formal layout, the artist plays with legible visions and desires and challenges our capacity for association.
work in the fine arts using spoken and written language has become an important topic in recent art history. particularly in the second half of the twentieth century, the use of signs and words in art has blossomed in a heretofore unknown way. since the 1950s, the french artist ben vautier, an artist of fluxus and the ‘nouveau réalisme’, has been working on script pictures. short, witty sentences and slogan-like expressions are written in his distinctive handwriting. one of the important pop artists, roy lichtenstein, uses truncated scraps of speech from the comics culture in his pictures.
the japanese artist on kawara has consistently been painting reduced pictures with numbers and word abbreviations since the 1970s, the so-called date paintings. writing appears to be given a prominent place in the art of the 1970s, starting with joseph beuys who was inspired by the panel drawings
of rudolf steiner then continuing with dieter krieg and jörg immendorf. the american artist jenny holzer worked solely with the theme of writing, specializing in statements on morals and world views in her electronic running scripts.
there are other artists, such as bruce nauman, who are occupied with personality concepts and views of the world and who regularly give writing a prominent position in their paintings. the artist barbara krüger combines photographs from advertising with short sentences, such as a sequence of children with beaming faces from the 1950s with the words ‘we need another hero’. a particularly succinct example is her script on a paper bag for the cologne art association: ‘i shop, therefore i am’.
almost all of the aforementioned artists have created word pictures. a few well-known artists have created three-dimensional objects from words, for instance, the american pop artist robert indiana. his most renowned sculptures deal with the word love. in many adaptations, indiana has piled the first two letters on top of the letters ‘v’ and ‘e’.
from paintings to three-dimensional word images is a small step for lucia dellefant. in her first paintings she already gives her words dimension and perspective depth. many of the artist’s works are definitely voluminous, such as the ich (i) sofa already mentioned or the lounge sculpture with the concept my-one, which is introduced in detail below. verbal objects or word sculptures arise from the words of her paintings. in all her works, the artist reflects on the content and appearance of the script systems. complementing the society signs paintings, the word objects develop an unusual kind of presence. looking like trendy design furniture, they tempt one to sit down and contemplate. some of lucia dellefant’s three-dimensional objects such as the ‘deutsch-hecke’ (german hedge) are impossible to ignore, others, such as the ‘neid-teppich’ (envy carpet) are more inconspicuous. who wouldn’t like to saunter along a red carpet towards a special event? the red carpet, which protocol rolls out even in the military part of the airport when expecting state visitors, is also a stage for the stars of show business. those in the public eye stroll down the red, well glued down carpet. the red carpet (especially that of the film industry) draws photographers and a frenzy of flashing cameras, but also the envy of other, less fortunate competitors. at some large events, lucia dellefant rolls out her own red carpet. the surface has the word neid (envy) cut out of it in large letters. only after the guests have progressed several yards do they perceive the letters and finally grasp the divisive significance of the word.

my-one

the appropriation of the world is the subject of the installations and interactions of my-one. those who realize that the nice logo really means ‘my’ and is not just an unknown, stylish trademark have found the key. with her logo my-one, dellefant has democrati-cally created a kind of fashionable monogram which can be adapted to each individual. each new ‘i’ sees something of its own: my-one. under the motto ‘occupy logos and enjoy your own stuff’, the artist calls for a renunciation of the trademark mania in our society. in the same way as the documenta 11 is decentralized into several action platforms, dellefant carries out my-one happenings in several places in the german-speaking region. from the recent world culture capital graz to essen, at exhibitions in berlin or at the art in frankfurt – there were my-one lounges everywhere offering stickers which one could stick over the symbols and logos of other products. using iron-on labels, clothing can be personalized in a diy action with no trouble at all, as demonstrated in an exhibition video. dellefant exhibitions become meeting places for individuals who arrive as my-one wearers inconspicuously uniformed and branded. as a logo, my-one takes its place between picture and object due to its requirement for conceptual space. only spatially does it inhabit the lounge. due to the numerous participants in the happe-ning who watch, stick and iron on labels, the work also demands a type of human space throughout germany and austria.

perfect plan

of the many installations documented in this catalogue, such as start/zufrieden (satisfied), deutsch (german), neid (envy), my-one, die tafel (the table) or ja (yes), it is perfect plan which is parti-cularly significant for aspects of dellefant’s work such as personality concepts and spatial imaginings. this large and amorphous wooden construction serves as a platform for life designs: various seating arrangements offer individual places for relaxation according to preference or a cosy corner for group discussions. a steep slope leads the empiricist to a platform above eye-level - symbol of the challenge being sought for and a new horizon in life, a place with an overview.

the table 

among the numerous works of the artist in the public sector, die tafel (the table) in the grounds of the country horticultural show in burg-hausen must be given special mention. it is ten metres long and offers large groups a charming place to sit. constructions of brushed steel support the seating and the tabletop made of 16 mm-strong white glass. one’s gaze is led through the glass to a metal plate which has been imprinted with three-dimensional writing. along with the names of the twinned cities of burghausen: ptuj, hohenstein and fumel, are, in smaller typography, texts dealing with the history, stories from inhabitants of the cities. for instance,
one inscription reports on benka pulko from ptuj, who was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe on a motorbike. the table becomes an historical document when it tells the story of the transition in hohenstein-ernstthal in the new german lands. the history of the saxon ring or wedding customs in the south of france are also among the themes. although very local and authentic, the table is at the same time typical of the œuvre of lucia dellefant – the table is a symbol of togetherness, of communication on a large as well as on a small scale. with the table, burghausen has given its inhabitants and visitors a place for being together and for celebrations.

start

dellefant realized another new art for architecture project in one of the five inner courtyards of a student hostel in munich. within the building, on the first floor, a racetrack for two people was built following the contours of the courtyard. like a red thread, the track runs through the building and combines the two living areas. start signifies the beginning of a new phase of life: university as well as the competition between the students themselves. in this context, dellefant’s work is particularly educational when, high up under the architectural glass roof, she installs the word ‘satisfied’ in golden letters. when the light shines through, satisfaction glows as a sublime goal.

deutsch 

under the title deutsch, lucia dellefant has produced a work of land art, shown for the first time in the ‘haus der kunst’ in munich on the occasion of ‘die grosse kunstausstellung’. an imposing evergreen hedge is a source of great pride to german garden owners. a hedge exemplifies the dream of a house of one’s own; it draws a neat divide between one’s own goods and chattels and those of another. it is the screen behind which the rest of the world and the unloved neighbours disappear – but only when it flourishes.

audio cds

lucia dellefant is an all-round artist and has produced cds with the titles ‘mächtig’ (powerful), ‘insider’ and ‘berühmt’ (famous). pleasant voices reiterate that one will make it, become a star, get to the top. but the agreeable message quickly becomes monotonous, the sentences appear to be merely recited and become penetratingly aggressive. will one still find this future worth striving for after listening for a longer period? hardly.
in this case, the ‘15 minutes of fame’ which andy warhol suggested for everyone seem to be the better option.
 

the award of change

due to constant award ceremonies, famous people, vips, wannabes and starlets often profit from this regular publicity. the environment of an award ceremony often presents the opportunity for the envy carpet, it is not willingly unrolled for just anyone. lucia dellefant has added her own trophy to the collection - including the oscar or the golden bear - awarded at the begin-ning of the year in a very media-effective manner. the award of change is an award for the changing of existing rituals within society. the award of change stands for the courage to reconsider well-worn mechanisms and rules and to reshape life. the aims of the prize are set morally high:
a life in peace, freedom and social justice. these goals are recognized and honourable, but as much at risk today as in the past. in order to achieve them, changes must be made in politics, economy, society and in individual life choices. lucia dellefant wants to reward these efforts. dellefant does not work in an elitist way, nor does she in her newest project. instead of awarding a prize to a single individual or institution, she holds her silver award at the ready, to be purchased by anyone. it can represent an award for existing innovations or an inducement for future achievements. everyone has deserved it!
you can’t award a prize without stage-managing the presentation. lucia dellefant has planned an installative platform: three circular rostrums with a height of 20, 40 and 100 cm respectively and of various diameters offer space for the presentation of the award and the actual ceremony of the auto-presentation of the changes.
the award of change is, like the my-one logo, actually a two-dimensional work which also requires conceptual space. as well as the presentation platform as a place of action, lucia dellefant conceives, with her award of change, of anideal space for all those participants in the action.
the works of lucia dellefant reconcile my personal expectations of a work of art. with their realistic relevance, the works of the artist are available and com-prehensible to a large public. the aesthetics of her work is remarkably attractive and the works stay in one’s memory with a stimulating and positive effect. in addition to this, the artistic techniques share a constant and high level of execution. by committing herself to the reflection of personality concepts and spatial perception, the artist has independently developed modern forms of allegory, particularly in content. she combines aesthetics and technical skill in authentic works that are conspicuous by their innovation. this has resulted in her collectable status in the contemporary art scene.
however striking her own conduct, the artist lucia dellefant tempts those who also challenge themselves with the deluxe edition of her own art prize: it is thegolden award of change, that the artist personally presents once a year to
a person or institution – work hard, dear reader, you can do it!

colmar schulte-goltz