Andres Serrano - The Morgue [exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum 1997]

Description: Not for the squeamish! Very Rare! Serrano, Andres and Rona Sela (1996). Andres Serrano - the Morgue : [Exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, [Dec. 1996 - Feb. 1997]. Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Museum of Art אנדה סרנו חדר מתים קטלוג This is a catalog of an exhibition of a series of photographs by the ever-controversial Andres Serrano at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 1996-7. This series depicts bodies and body parts of people who died a violent death. Few of those images have been published in a book titled Body and Soul, but others are hard to find. There is a similar French language catalog but both are exceedingly rare. I cannot find any other copy of this version on eBay, Amazon, or from any specialized dealers. The spiral bound catalog, 66-page, bilingual (Hebrew\English) is nicely produced in an elongated format (so my scanner could not get the entire page). It includes a forward by the Tel Aviv Museum director Mordechai Omer, an introduction by the curator Rona Sela, and a substantial interview with Serrano conducted by her. Short articles by Stephen Bann and Daniel Arasse discuss aspects of the depiction of death in art and in the context of Serrano's work. A short biographical outline and a bibliography come next. This is followed by twelve photographs from the series. The title of each work is the cause of death of their subject. All the works in the exhibition are Cibachrome prints and were done in 1992. The following is a blurb by the curator about the exhibit from the catalogues’ Introduction: I first saw The Morgue (1992) by Andres Serrano in 1993, at Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris, and was immediately captivated by the stunning beauty of these still lifes surrounded by an aura of serenity, so completely detached from the actual circumstances of their creation (Broken Bottle Murder, II, Burn Victim, Pneumonia Due to Drowning, II, Knifed in Death, etc). After a brief moment, a conscious (moralistic) apprehension of the titles and the true essence of these photographed “surfaces,” seemed at odds with the aura of religiosity emanating from these works. Dilemmas of voyeurism, the object of which was totally unable to react, as well as other ethical concerns intensified these conflicting feelings. Since then Serrano has made several new series, nevertheless the vivid memory of that enchanting and horrific moment at Galerie Yvon Lambert and the time-transcending presence of the works still linger in my mind. The Morgue’s images of bodies and limbs immersed in quasi-religious splendor and serenity were to re-visit me upon reading Stephen Bann’s insightful words: “The painting is representing both death and resurrection - cold and pale flesh, and a crown of spring flowers.” In spring 1993, as the The Morgue exhibition was travelling in France, an interdisciplinary conference devoted to this series was held at the Art Centre of Seyne-sur-Mer. The Sleeping Surface conference was chaired by Jean Louis Schefer, who invited the art philosophers and historians Daniel Arasse, Stephen Bann, Philippe Blon and Jean-Michel Rey to present and illuminate this topic from various perspectives – historical, mythological and literary. The Papers of Bann and Arasse, reprinted in the catalogue by courtesy of Galerie Yvon Lambert (Paris), reveal Serrano's partiality for classical imagery, and suggest possible links between his work and concepts derived from the past four decades of art history. Check out my other items for additional rare items in art, art history, anthropology, and more.

Price: 356 USD

Location: Boone, North Carolina

End Time: 2025-01-09T17:51:03.000Z

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