.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The status of the artist and the work of art are the central themes of Marcel Broodthaers' artistic oeuvre. From the beginning of his career as an artist, he opted for the logically consistent use of his monogram as a brand or trademark. With the 'accumulation' of his signature on the four plinths of 'Signature de l'artiste', he goes much further than other artists who take everyday objects and elevate these to art by signing them. On the accompanying drawing/certificate, an integral 'supplement' to the installation, he asserts that this work of art "concerns the situation and the value (surplus value) of the 'Signature de l'artiste'." Upon the plinths rest no sculpture or readymade, but rather the artist's signature itself. The artist himself as sole subject and final product. But however far the artist seems to remove himself from classical methods of artistic operation, he still consciously chooses the most personal and inalienable means of expression: his own handwriting. For the viewer who is used to one signature per artwork as proof of authenticity, this massive accumulation exercises a bewildering effect. It inevitably confronts one with questions regarding the sense and meaning of art, and the sense of one's relationship with the creator of the artwork.
The signature of the artist is a constant theme in Broodthaers' work in other media as well: 'La Signature Srie 1' (1969), a silk-screened sheet filled with signatures; the shortest film in the world, 'Une seconde d'Eternit par Marcel Broodthaers d'aprs une ide de Charles Baudelaire' (1970), where his monogram appears in 24 frames; 'Gedicht Poem Pome - Change Exchange Wechsel' (1973), two serigraphed sheets with sums of signatures and their conversion into Deutschmark; the earliest version in 'Phantomas' (1966), where the titlepage is filled with monograms and a broken eggshell, with a poetic text alluding to the artistic calling: 'Does he want to be famous or just be right?'.
We know that Marcel Broodthaers was a poet prior to stepping onto the artistic stage. 'Signature de l'artiste' is characteristic of the way he demystifies a mainly retinal universe with language - here reduced to the significant initials of the artist. This installation is also in a certain sense the apogee of the conceptual current in contemporary art. This 'monumental' treatment of the theme is a direct reference to Broodthaers' fascination with and use of the museal character of modern culture. The four plinths are at once component and critique of the museum, reminding one of the loftiest ideals of the past while simultaneously standing as uncompromising blocks of ambiguity. Just as with his assemblages of everyday mussels and eggs, or the ceremonious palms in 'Entre de l'exposition', here too Broodthaers succeeds in his scheme of sowing doubt in the very heart of art.
The signature of the artist is a constant theme in Broodthaers' work in other media as well: 'La Signature Srie 1' (1969), a silk-screened sheet filled with signatures; the shortest film in the world, 'Une seconde d'Eternit par Marcel Broodthaers d'aprs une ide de Charles Baudelaire' (1970), where his monogram appears in 24 frames; 'Gedicht Poem Pome - Change Exchange Wechsel' (1973), two serigraphed sheets with sums of signatures and their conversion into Deutschmark; the earliest version in 'Phantomas' (1966), where the titlepage is filled with monograms and a broken eggshell, with a poetic text alluding to the artistic calling: 'Does he want to be famous or just be right?'.
We know that Marcel Broodthaers was a poet prior to stepping onto the artistic stage. 'Signature de l'artiste' is characteristic of the way he demystifies a mainly retinal universe with language - here reduced to the significant initials of the artist. This installation is also in a certain sense the apogee of the conceptual current in contemporary art. This 'monumental' treatment of the theme is a direct reference to Broodthaers' fascination with and use of the museal character of modern culture. The four plinths are at once component and critique of the museum, reminding one of the loftiest ideals of the past while simultaneously standing as uncompromising blocks of ambiguity. Just as with his assemblages of everyday mussels and eggs, or the ceremonious palms in 'Entre de l'exposition', here too Broodthaers succeeds in his scheme of sowing doubt in the very heart of art.