8 23 November 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
EXHIBITION
A
new exhibition at the Tate Modern
is the largest retrospective of Dora
Maar ever held in the UK and
celebrates the work of this notorious
surrealist photographer.
During the 1930s, her work – mainly consisting
of photomontages – became icons of surrealism,
while her eye for the unusual translated to her
commercial photography, which included fashion
and advertising. As an active member of left-wing
revolutionary groups, she also undertook social
documentary projects at a time when Europe was
experiencing a particularly fraught political climate.
An eight-year relationship with Pablo Picasso,
whom she met around 1935 or 1936, would
also have a profound effect on both their careers.
She documented his most political work
(Guernica, 1937), while he immortalised her
in his own painting (Weeping Woman, 1937).
Together they made a series of portraits that
combined experimental photographic and
printmaking techniques. Shedding new light on
the dynamic between the two artists, you’ll be
able to see never-before-exhibited negatives
from the Dora Maar collection at the Musée
National d’art Moderne.This new exhibition explores the breadth of
Maar’s long career in the context of work by
her contemporaries. The show contains more
than 200 works from more than six decades,
including many which have, until now, remained
little known.
After the Second World War, Maar divided her
time between Paris and the South of France.
Here she would explore diverse subject matter
before eventually turning her attention more
towards abstract painting than to photography.
After being exhibited to great acclaim in the
1950s, she withdrew from artistic circles and
thus her life became shrouded in mystery and
speculation. From this period, over 20 works
will be displayed.
Finally, there’s a substantial set of camera-less
photographs, made in the 1980s, when four
decades after all but abandoning the medium,
Maar returned to her darkroom.
This is unlikely to be a show that will tick the
boxes of every one of our readers, but it’s clear
that this is an artist who lived a fascinating life
during a difficult period in history. It’s well worth
a visit if you want to see something a little bit
different, unusual and thought-provoking.Runs until 15
March 2020,
£13 / £
concessions,
free for
members.
Tate Modern,
Bankside,
London, SE1 9TG
Dora Maar
This radical surrealist broke many boundaries through
her work, as Amy Davies discovers in a new retrospective
ALL PICTURES: DORA MA AR (1907-1997) © ADAGP, PARIS AND DACS, LONDON 2019Right:
Untitled,
c.
Far right:
The years lie
in wait for
you, c.
Liberty, 1936