#FLVfromhome : Annette Messager

The collection comprises a constantly evolving body of work that naturally falls into four lines: Contemplative, Pop, Expressionist, Music & Sound. Each week, the Fondation puts the spotlight on artists from the Collection. This week, the Fondation invites you to discover…

Annette Messager belongs to a generation of artists who, since the 1970s, have been rewriting the language of art. Without stating a specific position, Messager asserts her dual identity as a woman and an artist.

She creates characters that cultivate ambiguity: the “Collectionneuse”, the “Truqueuse”, the “Amoureuse” and the “Femme pratique”, whose imaginary lives are opportunities to expose prejudice and express what is usually left unsaid. In the 1980s Messager began to incorporate fragments of the body through photography, fur and puppets, inserting them in mechanised worlds, focusing on the emotive and symbolic charge of works that reflect the theatre of life in derisory, grotesque or dramatic fashion. In 2005, Messager received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, where she represented France.

In this interview Annette Messager talks about her works “Mes Transports”, “La petite ballerine” as well as her relationship to objects.

Annette Messager, interview

(interview conducted on 8th December, 2014, 5 min., French with English subtitles © Fondation Louis Vuitton / Audiovisit - 2014)