Anna Tellgren

On Being an Angel takes its title from a caption the artist inscribed on two of her photographs--self-portraits with her head thrust back and her chest thrust forward. Typical of Woodman's work in the way they cast the female body as simultaneously physical and immaterial, these photographs and the evocative title they share are apt choices to encapsulate the work of an artist whose legacy has been unavoidably colored by her tragic personal biography and her death, at age 22, by suicide. In less than a decade, Woodman produced a fascinating body of work--in black and white and in color--exploring gender, representation, sexuality and the body through the photographing of her own body and those of her friends. Since her death, Woodman's influence continues to grow: her work has been the subject of numerous in-depth studies and exhibitions in recent years, and her photographs have inspired artists all over the world. Published to accompany a travelling exhibition of Woodman's work, Francesca Woodman: On Being an Angel offers a comprehensive overview of Woodman's oeuvre, organized chronologically, with texts by Anna Tellgren, Anna-Karin Palm and the artist's father, George Woodman. Francesca Woodman (1958-81) was born in Denver, Colorado, to an artistic family and began experimenting with photography as a teenager. In 1975 she attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and in 1979 she moved to New York to attempt to build a career in photography. Woodman's working career was intense but brief, cut short by her death in 1981.

On Being an Angel

Francesca Woodman

Anna-Karin Palm

George Woodman

Cet ouvrage propose une plongée dans l'ensemble de l'oeuvre de cette photographe précoce et intense dont les photographies sont des énigmes visuelles poétiques et étranges qui, malgré la brièveté de sa production, n'a cessé d'influencer la création contemporaine. "Elle a 22 ans, elle a pleinement conscience du désordre qui l'anime ; elle cherche sa place, presque goulûment, en utilisant quasi exclusivement son corps dans ses images, ainsi je suis toujours à portée de main, explique-t-elle, quand l'urgence de la représentation se manifeste. La décrépitude des intérieurs, les miroirs qui permettent de voir la face cachée des choses, les coins et recoins constituent le cadre de ces performances où un corps évolue, fantomatique et drôle, pour celle qui affirme ainsi des liens plus qu'intimes avec l'appareil photo. Serait-elle un ange ? La question la taraude. Elle y revient régulièrement : une créature invisible, en apesanteur, sans problèmes ni avec l'espace, ni avec le langage, c'est peut-être une solution. Ce jeune prodige encore adolescent, libre, pure incarnation du génie de l'ange un peu démoniaque, met en oeuvre d'éphémères actions photographiques, à la limite du visible parfois". Extrait de l'introduction d'Agnès Sire.

Anna Tellgren

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