english translation below
Ausstellung:
Metamorphosen in Miniatur: Fine Queer Art in Gold und Silber
Ausstellungsdauer: 30.04. - 22.10.2022, Residenzmuseum im Celler Schloss, 29221 Celle, Schlossplatz 1
Ausstellungsseite des Residenzmuseums:
hier
english translation p. 22:
girl goes swimming
900 gold (recycled), reclaimed Elbe glass | 31 x 22 x 21 mm | 2009, unique piece
frogman/diver
In Böcklin’s ‘Meeresstille’ (Calm Sea) from 1887, a mermaid lounges on a boulder. Does her lower body have two tails? Another creature appears beneath the water’s surface. It possesses the second fish tail. The head, with its wide-open eyes, resembles a frog’s face. A painted sculpture by Böcklin, which bears a striking resemblance to the underwater fish-man, was titled ‘The Frog King’.
Arnold Böcklin, ‘Calm Sea’, 1886/87
The frog-faced figure can be interpreted as the mirror-image counterpart to the mermaid and becomes a representation of the subconscious.
Arnold Böcklin: “Frog King”, 1886, (lost)
At the same time, in the 19th century, technically equipped divers* ventured into the depths of the sea; the sea appeared to be conquerable. These equipped “frogmen” and “frog kings” form the counterpart to the female-imagined mermaids.
“British Navy Frogman”
notes on the miniature
“Girl Goes Swimming” defies the technical and fairy-tale myths. The figure, enjoying her swim, stands confidently facing the “frogman”, who is retreating.
Who is brave and who is retreating?
