Annette Messager

Annette Messager was born in 1943, in France. There she attended Ecole des Arts Decorotifs, but she did not complete her time as she was asked to leave because she spent more time in museums than in the class room.

Still fixated on becoming an artist Messager set out to make her dream a reality. As she was only in her 20’s she found the experience quite a lonely one, as at that time women in any work place were not taken seriously and her work would often be described ‘as looking like a man had done it’. 

 Through out Messagers career she has created work that deals with issue of self identity, sexuality and body, sexual and physical abuse, sin, children, symbols, effigies, disguise, distortion, fairy tales, repletion, social issues of morality and the role of women.  

For this she is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most important artist.

“Ralph Rugoff said Annette Messager is one of Europe’s most inventive and

            compelling artist, and for four decades has been making art that crosses

            humour and tragedy, toughness and sentiment, magic and everydayness all in

            the cause of celebrating the full multiplicity of human nature.”(Hayward,2009)

 Mes Trophees, 1986–88,( fig 1), Messager uses both photography and mixed media. The photograph shows souls of feet as a fragment of the body. It appears the feet are that of a women. Messager has then used mixed media to draw images on the soul of the feet. The images appear to be that of animals and a sea and two boats surrounding it, also birds. Messager allows the mixed media to run down the images, as if it appears to be wet. Trophees or Trophy meaning an award for success in war or hunting which it would seem Messager is using the images to portray a sign of victory.

                               Annette Messager, Mes Trophees, 1986–88, mixed media with photgraph, two panels, 205×170cm(fig1)

‘My Vows’ Messager uses again fragments of the body to portray physical/sexual identities and the understanding of humanity. Also shows Messagers surrealist photography and the importance it has on her work.

 I feels that compared to Mes Trophees in which Messager works on a much smaller scale ‘My Vows’(fig 2.) may be Messagers way of expressing the identity of people male, female, young and old, it might be that gender could be chosen and not given.

It appears as Messagers passion for working through using fragments of the body and photography on this piece in a much larger and more interesting scale that she is not finished with using this way of expressing her work and ideas.  

                                      Annette Messager,  Close up of My Vows 1988-91. (fig.2)

                                                     Annette Messager,   Articulated-disarticulated, (2001,2002)(fig.3)

                                                             

The above photographys of Annette Messagers work were displayed inThe Haywards gallery entitled 'The Messagners'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWKGTPIobo0

I thinks Messager’s work can be sad and funny and sometimes both. I like how Messager can take a moment in time and create a piece that is about a situation that is sad, and create it in such a way that it makes the viewer smile or laugh. I think Messager does this best in her work on Articulated-disarticulated  (2001-2)(fig3), were Messager hangs stuffed animals she created using techniques such as knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery on bungee cord that pulls the figures up and down. Also Message uses a motor device to pull some of the figures around which I think this is what makes Messager’s work fun and exciting to the viewer.  As an up and coming artist myself I have learnt that it is not just the piece of work that is important but also the theme and the meaning behind it and how one displays their work to show its true form. 

As a textile artist myself I also work using techniques such as knitting, embroidery, sewing, photography and drawing. Below is a piece I have created entitled ‘Homage to Pink Floyd’ in which I have used these techniques hand/machine embroidery and sewing. I like to use bright colours as I feel they make the piece more eye catching.I like the way in which Messager uses colour in her work it hightlights the detail in her stuffed animals and photography. 

                                               Danielle Jordan, 'Homage to Pink Floyd' 2011

Annette Messager now 68 is continuing to successfully create work which is important, fun, interesting and inspiring to all people and up and coming artist.