Helene Black: 1996 :: Homage to Vincent van Gogh

Nicosia Municipal Centre of the Arts, Cyprus
Group show
Curated by Yiannis Toumazis

Article by Dr Nadia Anaxagorou
Published in the Cypriot daily Philelephtheros on 16/12/96
Translated from Greek by Yiannis Colakides

… in the [foundation van Gogh, Arles France] collection, which is, as you know of an international level, I never thought before that a Cyprus artist will be included but now I am glad to announce that…

Yoland Clergue (president of Foundation van Gogh) in a Cyprus Broadcasting Cooperation TV interview given on 3/11/96, the eve of the announcement of Helene Black’s artwork ‘Defragmenting van Gogh’ inclusion to the permanent collection of the Foundation.

The choice of an artwork to be presented next to the creations of some of the greatest contemporary artists who are exhibited in the Foundation Vincent van Gogh in Arles France is not a subject that can be dismissed by recording as an easily overlooked single sentence. In Cyprus there is an artistic standard which is equal of that in the international arena, there is experimentation and research, and having witnessed this evidence, it was judged that Helene Black’s Defragmenting van Gogh-the Energy from the Subject has its place in the Foundation. Cyprus is hence as from now represented in the collection of the Foundation but concurrently, another worth noting fact is making history in Arles as the said artwork is created by the first woman to be included in the collection. Beyond these determining ingredients, another two parameters must, without doubt, have acted as catalysts for the decision: the reinterpretation of the van Gogh phenomenon and the intense reference of his time in Arles both of which are determining the idea and the aesthetics of the construction. Helene Black has virtually defragmented van Gogh’s work to understand the man and the latent meanings and essence that are hidden behind the body of work of the famous artist. Having studied van Gogh in depth particularly through his letters, she has detected a dominant point in his work that critics have up to now overlooked: Van Gogh has attacked dynamically the society that has traumatized him. The romantic, dominant story about the fringe, sometimes socially naive artist is totally rejected as his paintings, his preferred weapon, aggressively attack his society, giving him an appropriate escape from his frustrations. This interpretation is contrasting that of the simple, sometimes simplistic, common conception of his inclusion in the impressionist group and the reduction of his work as an inventive exploration of color. The way that the fragmentation and reinterpretation is presented in Helene Black’s work is within the process of experimentation that leads us to very interesting readings. Her work stands within two levels that of aesthetics and that of symbols(universal and personal). On the surface, the square shape of the artwork is enclosing the seeming stability, the order that is prevalent in social norms. Underneath though the truth is transparently appearing: Irises erect leaves, in the form of silver shapes mirror their environment and they almost cut away themselves from the rest of the work, assuming their own independent existence, transforming themselves into knives, fragmenting the image of the viewer and leading him to the other face of van Gogh. Before our eyes a new van Gogh is surfacing whose scenario is wanted by a weakened victim of the society, fighting back, patching back, like a true selfish existence. Concurrently Helene Black’s approach to van Gogh is beyond the scope of a problematic existence who happened to leave some of the greatest specimens of impressionist art but as a well read, thinking, up to date, man who studied seriously the work of Delacroix, who passionately loved perspective in art… The multi layered construction of Helene’s artwork refer to his love of perspective, functioning as a dedication to his spiritual, intellectual research and his knowledge of history, his art and his inventive painting techniques. The blue starry night in Helene’s work refers to van Gogh’s love for the particular color, very predominant during his stay in Arles, when blue and ochra became the main colors of his pallet. The silver lines are referring to his ‘Cafe Terrace at Night’ painted in Arles in September of 1888. Van Gogh’s portrait, coming out of the starry sky, is taken from his last self portrait just before he committed suicide in1889. In Helene’s construction, a series of materials dialectically and creatively meet: Rusted Steel, Stainless Steel, Glass, Silver, Mirrors, Perspex, Paint, Neon and Phosphorescent Plastics. In the last layer Helene is leading us in a magical play on stainless steel, etching, painting and collaging it with various tools and materials and eventually placing on it a constellation of phosphorescent stars. This refers both to the dynamic nature of night sky movement but also to van Gogh’s own ‘Starry Night’. When the neon light switches off (this happens every 2’ intervals) the stars latent illumination help us travel in moonless nights. Following the ever present march toward light that van Gogh seeked we are beside him in his endless journey in his universe of which we strive to communicate. For the universe belongs to all, and all, have a piece of van Gogh inside us.