Hot Head (self-portrait as DalÃ)
CYRIL HELNWEIN
Beautiful Disasters
"Beautiful Disasters" is a potent mixture of satire, naked women and irreverent humour; Helnwein's photographs have the instant appeal of Gary Larson's 'The Far Side' comic strips and the type of special effects one might expect at a Rammstein concert.
Helnwein is not an artist overly concerned with seriousness; if anything he thrives in an environment in which society's concept of 'seriousness' and all its boundaries are disregarded. There's a profound rebelliousness to his work, a willingness to challenge society's notions of what is proper for adults, for public discourse and for fine art. For Helnwein, puns and bizarrely literal and crass interpretations of language fulfill for him "that most important part of life: having fun."
Vienna's "vulgar, yet very refined" sense of humor plays a big role in his idea of fun. Though he moved from Vienna at age eight, his father – Viennese painter Gottfried Helnwein – ensured that exposure to the city's slang and edgy humour survived the family's frequent moves to locations around the world. "My father would still make those Viennese jokes, which are indescribable to someone not familiar with it." Young Cyril would often see faxes that his father exchanged with the Viennese cartoonist Manfred Deix – in which the two artists would compete to draw each other as ugly as possible, each caricature more obscene than the last.
The photographs in this exhibition are infused with this love for humour. At first glance one might mistake them for conventional glamor shots of beautiful, shapely women, naked or barely dressed, in a variety of compromising poses. But on closer inspection, Helnwein's tongue-in-cheek approach and wicked humor are evident. In 'Holy Shit!' a latex-costumed nun, with black crucifixes taped over her nipples, bows reverently to a pile of feces – over which floats a halo. The 'Asstronomer' features a magnificently caped mystic balancing a telescope on the buttocks of black model while she perches on an elaborate Persian coffee table.
Helnwein sees himself as the opposite to kitschy glamor photographers who "don't have a clue about the basics of lighting" and rely on photo-shopping to create their art. All of Helnwein's photographs are the real deal, even if it means setting a model's head on fire. The rest is beautifully imaginative illusionism, created not by high tech wizardry but by old-fashioned artful deception. A healthy disregard for rules plays its part too: one complex shoot, for example, involved Helnwein directing three semi-nude models in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard on a Sunday afternoon – without a permit. His ambitions for the project are much simpler: "I hope my audience will enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoyed making them."
Helnwein is not an artist overly concerned with seriousness; if anything he thrives in an environment in which society's concept of 'seriousness' and all its boundaries are disregarded. There's a profound rebelliousness to his work, a willingness to challenge society's notions of what is proper for adults, for public discourse and for fine art. For Helnwein, puns and bizarrely literal and crass interpretations of language fulfill for him "that most important part of life: having fun."
Vienna's "vulgar, yet very refined" sense of humor plays a big role in his idea of fun. Though he moved from Vienna at age eight, his father – Viennese painter Gottfried Helnwein – ensured that exposure to the city's slang and edgy humour survived the family's frequent moves to locations around the world. "My father would still make those Viennese jokes, which are indescribable to someone not familiar with it." Young Cyril would often see faxes that his father exchanged with the Viennese cartoonist Manfred Deix – in which the two artists would compete to draw each other as ugly as possible, each caricature more obscene than the last.
The photographs in this exhibition are infused with this love for humour. At first glance one might mistake them for conventional glamor shots of beautiful, shapely women, naked or barely dressed, in a variety of compromising poses. But on closer inspection, Helnwein's tongue-in-cheek approach and wicked humor are evident. In 'Holy Shit!' a latex-costumed nun, with black crucifixes taped over her nipples, bows reverently to a pile of feces – over which floats a halo. The 'Asstronomer' features a magnificently caped mystic balancing a telescope on the buttocks of black model while she perches on an elaborate Persian coffee table.
Helnwein sees himself as the opposite to kitschy glamor photographers who "don't have a clue about the basics of lighting" and rely on photo-shopping to create their art. All of Helnwein's photographs are the real deal, even if it means setting a model's head on fire. The rest is beautifully imaginative illusionism, created not by high tech wizardry but by old-fashioned artful deception. A healthy disregard for rules plays its part too: one complex shoot, for example, involved Helnwein directing three semi-nude models in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard on a Sunday afternoon – without a permit. His ambitions for the project are much simpler: "I hope my audience will enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoyed making them."
Vienna Insight
by Karin Sawetz,
publisher Fashionoffice
(20 November 2013)
An art exhibition opening which cannot be surpassed easily
...at least this week during Vienna Art Week and when it comes to attract people who are addicted to fashion, beauty and fetish.
On 19 November 2013, the second day of Vienna Art Week, I attended the opening of the exhibition 'Beautiful Disasters' by Cyril Helnwein. It was probably one of the most fashionable exhibition openings during this week; and for sure one that cannot be surpassed easily.
READ MORE
by Karin Sawetz,
publisher Fashionoffice
(20 November 2013)
An art exhibition opening which cannot be surpassed easily
...at least this week during Vienna Art Week and when it comes to attract people who are addicted to fashion, beauty and fetish.
On 19 November 2013, the second day of Vienna Art Week, I attended the opening of the exhibition 'Beautiful Disasters' by Cyril Helnwein. It was probably one of the most fashionable exhibition openings during this week; and for sure one that cannot be surpassed easily.
READ MORE
Deviant Art
PREVIOUS WORKS BY CYRIL HELNWEIN
"Downtown" photo series (2009)
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A detailed view of the photo series "Downtown", which was shot on medium format 120 film using only ambient light. Song "On a Roll" by Noctaluca used with permission.
This video slide-show was created to show the details of the photographs, for those who do not have the chance to see the photos in person at exhibitions. To see the complete series and more, please visit http://www.cyrilhelnwein.com
http://www.noctaluca.com http://www.myspace.com/noctaluca http://www.youtube.com/user/noctalucaband A big thanks to all the brave models! |
"Myths & Fairytales" photo series (2008)
A series of manipulation-free photographs by Cyril Helnwein based on mythology and fairytales.
"The Ethereal" photo series (2005)
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"The Ethereal" - A series of photoshop / manipulation-free black & white photographs, hand-toned in the darkroom.
Special thanks to: - Kojii - Danielle - Verena |
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We are currently rebuilding our website with a new theme - so temporarily this site is functional, but a construction zone.
Headers, background and certain special new functions will be built in, respectively changed. Additionally, most Slide Shows used to be embedded from our Private Social Network on Ning. Since Ning discontinued Flash some time ago, the space where the embedded slide shows supposed to be is blank!
We are working to fix this as well, but with over 500 pages for artists alone, this will take time.
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