Artist and her model by Fabrice Wagner

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elina brotherus

artist and her model

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< Through the looking-glass, 2011

Model Study 5, 2004

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Model Study 2, 2003

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Model Study 7, 2004

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Model Study 1, 2002

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Der Wanderer 2, 2004

ÂŠ elina brotherus

artist and her model

texts by susan bright and timo kelaranta

le caillou bleu

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Der Wanderer 5, 2004

now and then

Elina Brotherus’s work has been important to me throughout my professional career and personal life. Although we’ve only met once ‘in person’ her photographs have been a significant part of many of my projects, my investigations into image-making and my understanding of portraiture. In short, as long as I have been thinking critically about photography, she has been there at my side.

I first encountered her work in 1997 when a Finnish academic and friend of mine

showed me some of her first portraits. I used this work in a proposal for a curatorial job in 2000. I didn’t get the job but the gallery did give Elina a solo show shortly after. In 2003 I started my book Art Photography Now, in which Elina’s The New Painting se-

ries played a crucial part. In 2005 we finally met when I chaired a series of events at Tate Modern. Since then I have written a book on self-portraits called Auto Focus – The Self Portrait in Contemporary Photography, in which Elina also featured. When she asked me to write for this book it seemed like the perfect time to look back at the work and consider it as a whole. I was excited to reflect upon it, just as one may indulge in watching all the films by one director or by reading all the novels by one author. An opportunity like this allows for new interpretations and fresh insights. Elina and I were born within a few years of one another (I am the older one) and

as I have watched her grow older, consider art historical questions, ponder existential conundrums and struggle with the very stuff of life in front of the camera, it has been almost impossible not to compare her life with my own. Her work is autobiographical but it’s also about women in general. Elina’s feminism, however, is implicit rather than explicit, and what makes her work so successful, in my opinion, is her ability to create an equilibrium between the more objective conceptual thinking of art-making and its histories, and combine it with the emotional and personal. By being able carefully to tread the line between the two, she avoids appearing narcissistic or self-indulgent; neither does the work seem purely concerned with composition and aesthetics. The adroit blending of her interests creates an equanimity that magically results in a startlingly continuous trajectory from series to series.

Her emphasis has shifted over the years from a diaristic documentary strategy to

larger philosophical questions of life and art. Her deep understanding of art history has a paradoxical effect in that you consider her as a person but also a model. In her photographs there is a closeness you feel to her but also a cool conceptual distance. This complicates viewing the work in terms of self-portraiture, landscape or a diary,

and so photographs that can often appear quiet and straightforward on first encounter become denser and laden with histories as you spend time with them. The

‘backstories’ which lie behind the beautiful, lush compositions are exacerbated as

she reaches that somewhat terrifying ‘mid career’ point and looks back on her life as an artist.

The work gathered here for this book is not presented as a traditional monograph or a catalogue raisonné. Instead it is an insight into how she now views her work

and can look back on it objectively. It’s a story told in fragments – like haikus. With

the benefit of hindsight, emotional distance and time, links can be made which may not have been realised before and repeated themes and interests made more apparent. Elina is now forty. This is not insignificant, and an age all the more abstruse for

women as decisions made now affect women’s lives in a very real and profound way. So, with this in mind, the book becomes an intuitive probing back and a brave

step forward. It’s a journey, and should be understood as one. As Elina has said, ‘It’s a strange feeling to look back at the work done and to look at that young person I used to be. I am living now what was an unknown future for her. What has hap-

pened, what has changed? The apartments, the boyfriends, the face has grown older. The aesthetics of my photography have, nevertheless, remained more or less the same. It surprises me to realise that all of a sudden I’m no longer the youngest one in group shows. At my age my parents were already dead. Lately I have had health problems myself, as have many friends of my age, some have passed away. I guess

it’s all these morbid thoughts about life that led into the idea of this book. I wish to show the time warp from 1996 to 2011, to show the line that continues through

the work, and to look at the young Elina with a certain amusement, yet tenderly.’ The work gathered here, however, is far from sentimental. Honest, yes, but well aware of the profundity of aging and legacy.

When Elina asked me to write this essay I received a parcel with all the work to date as small prints (such a wonderful luxury in this age of web viewing). I looked

through each packet as if opening a present and pulled out the pictures that immediately hit me. Elina has said that she trusts, ‘intuition and rapid reaction’; so, re-

specting that, I am going to concentrate on eight pictures that affected me in a sin-

cere and intense way, even though the selection could be interpreted as a painful or

sad one. Of the eight pictures chosen, four were taken in the 1990s – at the very beginning of Elina’s career – and the other four done in the last three years. They

bracket her life and are intense pictures full of disappointment, anger, sadness, but

also hope. They speak of her relationships to men and to her body. I see them as es-

sential counterpoints to one another and of course they mirror my own experiences. 16

It would be dishonest not to admit that, and also important to mention again that

it’s the personal connection (as well as the larger questions) that makes much of her work reverberate and connect with audiences.

The eight pictures are: This is the first day of the rest of your life II (1998); False

memories II (1999); I hate sex. (1998) and Love bites III (1999) all from the series Das Mädchen sprach von Liebe (1997-1999). The other four are Annonciation 8 (2011); Annonciation 5 (2010); Annonciation 2 (2009) and Another home (2011) from the series Artist and her model (2005 onwards).

At their core, most of these works are about love. Not the saccharin Hallmark ver-

sion of it but a darker, madder one. One that is uncontrollable, consuming and con-

False memories II (p. 89)

fusing. It can be insidious and painful. It can drive you to internalise more than is healthy, and inspires self-loathing – the complete antithesis of the root of the emotion. These works come from a time in one’s life when emotions and relationships are at their most intense. Elina was in her twenties when the early work was done – a time of optimism and scrambling to find the right partner for your life. At once believing (or hoping) that you have found them but often knowing deep down that you are cutting yourself short. A time of abundant sex but not really understanding your body well enough to know what is right for you, and a time of experiencing love and heartbreak for the fist time. Love in your twenties can be tumultuous, often painful and phoney. Getting to know somebody else is hard when you hardly know yourself. These early pictures directly point to all of that and the exasperating inarticulation of not being able to properly communicate your basic desires and frustrations.

On the flip side the later work, and especially the Annonciation pictures, show a

woman all too versed in being able to communicate and articulate herself but still having battles with sex, the pain of love and wanting her life to shift. Love now has a different type of intensity, and they show a woman steadfastly courageous and valiant. The photographs deftly illustrate how enervating the process of trying to conceive can be, and the irony of the comparison with the early work is bittersweet. But the group of pictures are not simply opposites – yes they return to a more personal expression, but the later work still connects to painting both in terms of composition and also on a more philosophical level (something which had not been developed in the early work).

The Annonciation series can also been seen in a crisis of faith. This is not a reli-

gious faith as articulated through organised religion but instead something more personal, fragile and precious. Annunciation paintings illustrate the moment when the Archangel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her that she will give birth to the son of God; this is a key motif in Christian painting of the Renaissance. The subject mat-

Annonciation 2, 5 and 8 (p. 130, 138, 146)

ter shows a ‘decisive moment’, and depictions vary from solemn occasions laden with symbolic imagery to joyous celebrations of colour and light. Two in particular

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Artist and Model Reflected in a Mirror 1, 2007

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Self-portraits with self-portraits 1, 1998

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Painter with his student II, 1997

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Painter with his student III, 1997

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Self portraits with a dancer V, 1998

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Artist avec danseur en Apollon, 2007

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Figure derriĂ¨re un rideau, la main, 2007

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Artiste et Faune, le regard, 2007

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Artiste et ses modĂ¨les, 2007

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Model Study 18, 2005

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Model Study 15, 2004

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Model Study 22, 2007

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Baigneuse de Saturnia, 2003

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Model Study 21, 2007

Black Bay, 2010

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< Nu descendant un escalier, 2010

Nu endormi, 2003

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Model Study 17, 2005

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Model Study 11, 2004

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Model Study 12, 2004

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I hate sex, 1998

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< Wedding portraits, 1997

Divorce portrait, 1998

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This is the first day of the rest of your life II, 1998

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Hotel 2, 2010

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Les Baigneurs, 2000

L’Artiste et son modèle, 2002

100

Scène domestique, 2001

101

Femme à la fresque, 2001

103

Points of View on Landscape III, 2006

106

Points of View on Landscape III, 2006

108

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Deux personnages au bord de la mer, 2005

112

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Green lake, 2007

116

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Emre’s umbrella, 2008

122

123

124

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Couple in the mountains, 2007

125

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Two figures, one seated, 2006

127

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Annonciation 2, 2009

132

133

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Annonciation 2, 2009

134

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Annonciation 5, 2010

140

142

143

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Annonciation 9, 2011

149

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Annonciation 10, 2011

151

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Model Study 8, 2004

154

155

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Another home, 2011

158

159

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Nudo fiorentino, 2010

160

166

Fuji-mi 4, 2008

167

168

Fuji-mi 2, 2008

Spectator 2, 2011

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169

172

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Spectator 1, 2011

173

174

Finis terrae, 2011

Winter landscape with Laura’s dress, 2010

175

178

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Artists at Work 1, 2009

179

180

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Artists at Work 2, 2009

181

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Artists at Work 5, 2009

186

187

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Artists at Work 6, 2009

188

189

190

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Artists at Work 7, 2009

191

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Artists at Work 8, 2009

192

193

194

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Artists at Work 9, 2009

195

The Pool, 2008

200

201

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Solitary figure in the evening, 2009

202

203

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Landscapes and escapes 1, 1997

204

206

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Teacher and student, self-portrait with Susanna Majuri, 2011

207

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Teacher and student, self-portrait with DorothĂŠe Smith, 2011

210

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Portrait of a couple, 2007

212

213

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Artist and Model Reflected in a Mirror 3, 2007

214

215

list of works by series

das mädchen sprach von liebe

Model Study 21, 2007, p.54

Wedding portraits, 1997, p.82

Model Study 22, 2007, p.50

Landscapes and escapes 1, 1997, p.204

Model Study 23, 2008, p.58

I hate sex., 1998, p.80

Divorce portrait, 1998, p.85

This is the first day of the rest of your life II, 1998, p.86

Untitled V, 1999, p.196

Love bites III, 1999, p.74

False memories II, 1999, p.89 Epilogue, 1999, p.91 self - portraits

Painter with his student I, 1997, p.26

Painter with his student II, 1997, p.24

Painter with his student III, 1997, p.25

Self-portraits with self-portraits 1, 1998, p.22 Self portraits with a dancer II, 1998, p.30

Self portraits with a dancer V, 1998, p.28 the new painting

Les Baigneurs, 2000, p.96

Scène domestique, 2001, p.100

Femme à la fresque, 2001, p.102

L’Artiste et son modèle, 2002, p.99 Nu au bulle pack, 2002, p.221 La Folle, 2002, p.199

Nu endormi, 2003, p.67

Baigneuse de Saturnia, 2003, p.52

Baigneuse, orange montant, 2003, p.62 Der Wanderer 2, 2004, p.10 Der Wanderer 5, 2004, p.14

études d ’ après modèle , danseurs

Artist avec danseur en Apollon, 2007, p.32

Figure derrière un rideau, la main, 2007, p.35

Artiste et Faune, vu de profil vers la droite, 2007, p.37 Artiste et Faune, le regard, 2007, p.39 Artiste et ses modèles, 2007, p.40 artists at work

Artists at Work 1, 2009, p.178 Artists at Work 2, 2009, p.180 Artists at Work 3, 2009, p.182 Artists at Work 4, 2009, p.184 Artists at Work 5, 2009, p.186 Artists at Work 6, 2009, p.188 Artists at Work 7, 2009, p.190 Artists at Work 8, 2009, p.193 Artists at Work 9, 2009, p.194

annonciation

Annonciation, 2009, p.130

Annonciation 2, 2009, p.132 Annonciation 3, 2010, p.136 Annonciation 4, 2010, p.138 Annonciation 5, 2010, p.141 Annonciation 6, 2011, p.142 Annonciation 7, 2011, p.144 Annonciation 8, 2011, p.146 Annonciation 9, 2011, p.148

Annonciation 10, 2011, p.150

model studies

artist and her model

Model Study 1, 2002, p.9

Deux personnages au bord de la mer, 2005, p.112

Model Study 2, 2003, p.4

Points of View on Landscape I, 2006, p.110

Model Study 5, 2004, p.3

Points of View on Landscape III, 2006, p.106

Model Study 7, 2004, p.6

Two figures, one seated, 2006, p.126

Model Study 8, 2004, p.155

Man with umbrella, 2006, p.120

Model Study 9, 2004, p.56

Artist and Model Reflected in a Mirror 1, 2007, p.21

Model Study 10, 2004, p.217

Artist and Model Reflected in a Mirror 3, 2007, p.215

Model Study 11, 2004, p.72

Miroir, 2007, p.157

Model Study 12, 2004, p.73

The Lake, 2007, p.104

Model Study 14, 2004, p.47

Man on a mountain path, 2007, p.118

Model Study 15, 2004, p.49

Waterfront, 2007, p.114

Model Study 17, 2005, p.70

Green lake, 2007, p.116

Model Study 18, 2005, p.43

Couple in the mountains, 2007, p.124

Here today, gone tomorrow, 2007, p.128 In the mirror 2, 2007, p.152 Portrait of a couple, 2007, p.212 Fuji-mi 1, 2008, p.164 Fuji-mi 2, 2008, p.168 Fuji-mi 4, 2008, p.166 The Pool, 2008, p.200 Emre’s umbrella, 2008, p.122 Solitary figure in the evening, 2009, p.202 Nudo fiorentino, 2010, p.161 Self-portrait with Arno Rafael Minkkinen, or student and teacher under a plum tree, 2010, p.208 Black Bay, 2010, p.60 Nu descendant un escalier, 2010, p.64 Nu bruxellois, 2010, p.69

Model Study 10, 2004

Reflection, 2010, p.94 Hotel 2, 2010, p.92 The persimmon tree, 2010, p.163 Winter landscape with Laura’s dress, 2010, p.176 Finis terrae, 2011, p.174 Spectator 1, 2011, p.172 Spectator 2, 2011, p.170 Undefined nude, 2011, p.44 Reflecting with camera, 2011, p.223 Through the looking-glass, 2011, p.1 Another home, 2011, p.158 Teacher and student, self-portrait with Susanna Majuri, 2011, p.206 Teacher and student, self-portrait with Dorothée Smith, 2011, p.211

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Nu au bulle pack, 2002

220

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Reflecting with camera, 2011

222

I’m 40 years old now. Since my early photographs, more than 15 years ago, I have used myself as a model. It’s a strange feeling to look back at the work done and to look at that young person I used to be. I am living now what was an unknown future for her. What has happened, what has changed? The apartments, the boyfriends; the face has grown older. The aesthetics of my photography have, nevertheless, remained the same. It’s surprinsing to realise though, that all of a sudden I’m no longer the youngest one in group shows. At my age my parents were already dead. My health degrades, like for many friends of my age. Some have passed away. I guess it’s all these morbid thoughts that led into the idea of this book. I didn’t want it to be “just the fourth monograph”. It’s important to juxtapose images of different times for comparison – investigating age, questioning what we are at a certain moment, where do I see myself now. I wish to show the time warp from 1996 to 2011, to show the line that continues through the work, and to look at the young Elina with a certain amusement, yet tenderly.