Christian Boltanski’s Existential Relationship with Abstract Expressionism

Death has always been influential to cultures since the beginning of time, it has always been this shadow that transcends every belief or culture. it is a factor of humanity and it is one of the constants that defines the entirety of human existence. Christian Boltanski’s large installation Personnes ​created in 2010, is a piece that evokes this feeling of death and highlights the fragility of humanity through its melancholy atmosphere. His piece shares many similarities to other artistic movements such as Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism, but this particular piece by Boltanski is an important work in the world of art history due to its relationship with Abstract Expressionism and how both of these movements explore the idea of human existence in completely different stylistic ways.    

Boltanski’s large installation ​Personnes​ held in Paris at the Grand Palais, consists of sixty-nine camp like sections laid out in a grid pattern along the floor of the Palais, each camp is composed of an assortment of clothes and a fluorescent light above the camp that illuminates the uninhabited garments below. At the other end of the building is a massive pile of clothes where a large industrial claw hovers above. The cold grip of the industrial claw drops down to pick up these garments making it seem as though they are about to go on a long journey only to be dropped and returned from whence they came. This action of engagement and disengagement by the claw is certainly a commentary on the human life cycle, the engagement being the birth of human existence and the disengagement being our inevitable deaths.    

When looking at ​Personnes​, with Boltanski’s other work in mind, one can see that Personnes​ is clearly about the life cycle of humanity. These themes of life and death that appear in this specific work bring forth thoughts of contemporary political and social problems such as the European immigration issues that were taking place in the early 2010s, “the Arab Spring movement, sparked by Tunisian protests in 2010, had enormous implications for Europe, prompting record numbers of refugees to leave their homes in the Middle East” (Glazer). This violence and political tension in the Middle East that was happening around the time of Boltanski’s installation is a factor that should be considered when discussing the themes of life and death in his work, due to the fact that it reinforces this idea of death as an omnipresent force. Boltanski’s work also speaks about historical atrocities such as World War II and the Holocaust, his exploration of the genocide that took place in World War II is something that quite common amongst his work; “He often creates works of prisons, hospitals, and schools, that are much concerned with the consequences and the lessons of the past. In a series of elegies that evoke the Holocust, Boltanski hung up slightly blurred photographs of children and surrounded them with groups of small electric builds that cast a glow like candlelight in a place of worship” (Arnason, Mansfield 703). However, the meaning of his work is about more than just one historical event, “My work is not about the camps, it is after the camps. The reality of the Occident was changed by the Holocaust. We can no longer see anything without seeing that. But my work is really not about the Holocaust, it’s about death in general, about all our deaths” (Solomon-Godeau, Boltanski). Boltanski himself reinforces this idea of ​Perssones​ being a commentary of human existence. Another thing that should be considered is the title of the art work. “The title of the installation, ​Personnes​, summons contradictory ideas in French: personne means both somebody and nobody”. This title again adds to this theme of existence by demonstrating that, similar to the word Personne, humans are something important, and yet in the end we are nothing. By looking at Boltanski’s other work as well we see that it does seem to be influenced by the Holocaust and World War II, but more importantly it brings our very existence into question and makes the viewer contemplate the ephemerality of the human life.    

Abstract Expressionism though drastically different in style still to Boltanski's work still shares the same inspiration. Abstract Expressionism arose in the middle of the 20th century and was characterized by a chaotic style with an almost violent use of paint splashed on canvases. Artists were inspired by this new philosophy called existentialism, the academic discussion of the subconscious mind, and many artists were revolting against the normal figurative forms of painting that were popular before the war. In an article by art historian, Stephen Polcarim, he discusses how this movement and its artists were related to, and in a way, a reaction to the war; “The Abstract Expressionists engaged the historical psychological, and emotional crises of the dark days of the early 1940s not by recording them with illustrations and images of the war as most other artists were doing, but by disguising them through symbol, metaphor, and allegory” (Polcari). Artist tended to use this form of chaotic painting, often called action painting, to explore that subconscious part of the human mind, by letting the artist’s mind flow freely onto the canvas, leading to this chaotic style. Artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Adolph Gottlieb are just a few of the most notable artists of this movement that embraced this style in their paintings. Early Abstract Expressionists also tended to be interested in the philosophy of existentialism, and when we delve deeper into the ideas of existentialism we start to see how the artists from the Abstract Expressionist movement relate to this philosophy and incorporated these themes of existence in their work. The philosophy itself highlights, apart from other things, the freedom that humans have in the world as individuals. Jean-Paul Sartre, who was an existentialist that popularized the philosophy among many during the 20th century talks a substantial amount about the idea of human freedom and existence, “The main features of this ontology are the groundlessness and radical freedom which characterize the human condition.” (Onof) This personal freedom that existentialism encouraged and explored, can easily be seen in the works by many Abstract Expressionists.    

In Jackson Pollock’s painting ​Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), ​we can see these aspects of existential philosophy and how they are present in his work. Pollock’s large painting ​Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), ​embodies the idea of freedom with its dramatic splatters of paint that douse the canvas and ends up forming this chaotic and yet expressive work of art. Much like existentialism Pollock is able to embrace and harness the control that he has in his life, and he uses this control to create these chaotic paintings that represent the freedom that we all have. Gottlieb too seems to have explored these themes of existence in some of his paintings. In Gottlieb's painting, ​Blast I​ we see a circular orb that seems as though it is being birthed from the black abyss below. This red orb that is bursting out of the black nothingness makes one think of the embryonic stage of a fetus, almost as if it is the genesis of human existence. These themes of existence and freedom being discussed are quite common in the movement being examined, “​In its infancy, the Abstract Expressionist movement before becoming the canon was about mark-making, presence and existence proof of being in the world and coming to terms with that existence” (Welch)​. These artists were exploring their own minds and allowing themselves the freedom to paint however they felt without the restrictions of figurative painting. Through this they are able to explore the various aspects of human existence such as freedom and the miracle of being brought into human consciousness.    

Through the chaotic action painting associated with Abstract Expressionism, we see how the styles differ from that of Boltanski. ​Perssones​, is an installation and when we think about installations we understand that they are temporary. After the exhibit is closed the artwork is taken down and most likely destroyed, whereas the paintings by the Abstract Expressionists remain and will last for many years into the future. Boltanski understands this and once again it illustrates this ephemeral idea of human existence. The contemporary aspect of this work is also prevalent, the clothes in the work are assembled almost as if from the garbage reminiscent of something similar to California Assemblage, the installation aspect of it brings forth thoughts of Minimalism, in that the work is meant to engage the viewer by. All of these different movements tend to amalgamate into what is now contemporary art. And yet even with these differences we see that the origin and inspiration for the piece itself stems from the same place. This relationship between Contemporary and Expressionist movements not only shows the war’s impact on the stylistic aspects of art, but it shows that each work embraces this existential philosophy and demonstrates the mortality of humanity in different ways.   

World War II was a big inspirational moment in the world of art. Through artistic movements such as Abstract Expressionism, and now the works of Boltanski, we can see how much of an impact World War II had on the art world not only a few years after the war, but almost 70 years into the future. The style of ​Personess, ​compared to that of the works from Abstract Expressionism as we have seen are completely different,​ ​however the inspiration of the works all tend to share this same sort of common denominator of being inspired not only by the devastation that World War II caused, but more importantly they are inspired by this aspect of mortality and freedom that comes with the philosophy of existentialism. These early Abstract Expressionists we have examined all explore aspects of human existence, Gottlieb’s paintings that resemble birth, and Pollock’s artwork that explores humanity’s free will, and then there is Boltanski, who finishes this cycle with his melancholic installation that brings us closer to the reality of death. His artwork is important to discuss when talking about Abstract Expressionism mainly to their similar philosophical inspirations, but also in order to emphasise how the philosophy of existentialism not only influenced art in the early 20th century but how it continues to influence art in the contemporary age. 

Works Cited

• Arnason, H. Harvard, and Elizabeth Mansfield. ​History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography: Volume II​. Pearson, 2013.
• Glazer, Sarah. 'European Migration Crisis.' ​CQ Researcher​, 31 July 2015, pp. 649-72, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2015073103.
• Onof, Christian J. “Jean Paul Sartre: Existentialism.” ​Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy​, https://www.iep.utm.edu/sartre-ex/.
• Polcari, Stephen. “Adolph Gottlieb’s Allegorical Epic of World War II.” ​Art Journal​, vol. 47, no. 3, Sept. 1988, p. 202. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1080/00043249.1988.10792413.
• Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. “Mourning or Melancholia: Christian Boltanski's ‘Missing House.’” Oxford Art Journal​, vol. 21, no. 2, 1998, pp. 3–20. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/1360612​.
• Welch, Adam. “Interlocutory Existentialism How We Articulate Our Being-in-the-World.” Ceramics: Art & Perception​, no. 61, Sept. 2005, pp. 49–52. ​EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18598591&site=ehost-live.
• http://www.jstor.org/stable/1360612