ARTISTS
Peter Hebeisen: Metamorphosis and Myth
08 Sep, 2011 - 05 Nov, 2011
In the aftermath of the conflicts in Ex-Yugoslavia, after having been confronted on a daily basis with harrowing images of heinous acts, genocide and indescribable grief conveyed to him via mass media, Peter Hebeisen took it upon himself to visit the European battlefields of the twentieth century in an act of remembrance and compassion, covering 24,855 miles by car. The artist approached these landscapes, prompted by artistic and historical associations, to focus his lens on the epicenter of drama. He found nature in many cases had vanquished tragedy with beauty and a sense of peace. The former battlefields carried an aura of stillness after the storm, where everything seems as before, but nothing can ever be the same again.
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In the aftermath of the conflicts in Ex-Yugoslavia, after having been confronted on a daily basis with harrowing images of heinous acts, genocide and indescribable grief conveyed to him via mass media, Peter Hebeisen took it upon himself to visit the European battlefields of the twentieth century in an act of remembrance and compassion, covering 24,855 miles by car. The artist approached these landscapes, prompted by artistic and historical associations, to focus his lens on the epicenter of drama. He found nature in many cases had vanquished tragedy with beauty and a sense of peace. The former battlefields carried an aura of stillness after the storm, where everything seems as before, but nothing can ever be the same again.
Artists on show
Contact details
Tuesday - Saturday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
WALK-THROUGH WITH ARTIST PETER HEBEISEN: FOR ONE AND A HALF CENTURIES, WAR PHOTOGRAPHERS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING THE PAIN AND DESTRUCTION OF WAR, MOSTLY FOCUSING ON THE HUMAN CARNAGE AT CLOSE RANGE. HEBEISEN, HOWEVER, OFFERS A NEW VIEW. BETWEEN 2001 AND 2009 HE CAPTURED THE FIFTY MOST IMPORTANT EUROPEAN BATTLEFIELDS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE PROJECT TITLE METAMORPHOSIS AND MYTH DELINEATES THE ARTISTS INTEREST IN THE CONVERSION OF THESE PLACES FROM OFTEN NAMELESS LANDSCAPES TO HISTORICAL KEY PLACES SURROUNDED BY MYTH AND TRAGEDY. HEBEISEN IMMORTALIZED THE BATTLEFIELDS ON WHICH SO MANY HAD LOST THEIR LIVES , DELIBERATELY REPRESENTING THEM AS PEACEFUL, PAINTERLY AND HARMONIOUS. AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE CONCEPTUAL APPROACH WAS TO CAPTURE THE TRANSFORMATION THIS NATURE HAD UNDERGONE AND HINT AT THE HISTORICAL LAYERS BENEATH THE SURFACE.
September 10, 2011
1:00
291 Geary Street
Floor 5 Union Square - San Francisco, CA, USA 94102
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