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ro Binnale 13th 2019Bodies in Light
Victorine Müller’s performances and sculptures differ in a number of ways from traditional
examples of these genres: while it seems on the surface that «nothing is happening» in her
performances, because there is no obvious action, her sculptures are not so much static
figures as living, breathing creatures whose form is only maintained by a constant inflow
from an air pump. In a performance, when Müller emerges inside one of her air sculptures,
members of the public are so transfixed by the almost magical aura of her appearance and
its effect that, as a rule, they choose not to walk around the piece. They tend to stand in a
circle around the glowing figure, simply gazing at it – often for the entire length of the per-
formance which can last between thirty and ninety minutes.
Victorine Müller’s performances are unforgettable experiences, during which the members
of the public bond with each other in a strangely moving way – as though they had together
witnessed a mythical vision. Both in solo performances and in group events there seems to
be some kind of a transference of energy between performers and spectators. And that this
should occur despite clear lines of demarcation is remarkable:
The performers are in glass cubes and cylinders, on branches in trees, or inside PVC hous-
ings. Nowadays Victorine Müller appears inside transparent PVC sculptures. She always
was and still is visible from every angle and yet protected – for viewers to gaze on with
their eyes but not to touch with their hands. Nevertheless, by the strength of her personality
and the glowing colors of the iridescent «skins», she exerts an undeniable fascination on
the audience. Ultimately the distinguishing feature of Victorine Müller’s performances and
sculptures is their palpable «aura» – in the sense of those occult rays that emit from a human
being, revealing yet also defining and containing their personality. In connection with the
air sculptures the notion of «aura» is all the more appealing since the meaning of the Latin
word aura is in fact «gentle breeze, breath of air». When she is seen standing and breathing
inside one of her sculptures, alive and in action, it is as though she transcends the limits
of her own body and enters the realms of the metaphorical being of the «animal» she has
made, filling it with energy. As though by animist magic, Müller becomes a bird, a frog or
an elephant. And it is not only the incessant «respiration» of the air pump that breathes life
into the sculpture, it is also her own human breath. Even as Victorine Müller sweeps away
traditional notions of static sculpture, she does the same for dramatic or dance – based
performance in such a way that these different genres coalesce to become new, wholly au-
tonomous works of art.
Victorine Müller’s art is riddled with paradoxes. However three-dimensional the glowing
bodies of the performers in their sculptures appear to us, they are equally «painterly»: Müller
«paints» with colored lights, composing glowing «pictures» from the brightly colored cos-
tumes of her performers. And wholly in keeping with the nature of painting is the calm and
apparent stasis of her performances which are not about narration but about showing, about
just looking – and ultimately about sheer existence.
All her works are «light bodies» – just as we are all bodies under the same light, with
this one common connection. With her rare talent for giving, touching, communicating,
and connecting Victorine Müller reminds us of this in an unusually courageous, comforting
manner.
Christoph Vögele, Kunstmuseum Solothurn
Translated from the German by Fiona Elliott
269
Victorine Müller’s performances and sculptures differ in a number of ways from traditional
examples of these genres: while it seems on the surface that «nothing is happening» in her
performances, because there is no obvious action, her sculptures are not so much static
figures as living, breathing creatures whose form is only maintained by a constant inflow
from an air pump. In a performance, when Müller emerges inside one of her air sculptures,
members of the public are so transfixed by the almost magical aura of her appearance and
its effect that, as a rule, they choose not to walk around the piece. They tend to stand in a
circle around the glowing figure, simply gazing at it – often for the entire length of the per-
formance which can last between thirty and ninety minutes.
Victorine Müller’s performances are unforgettable experiences, during which the members
of the public bond with each other in a strangely moving way – as though they had together
witnessed a mythical vision. Both in solo performances and in group events there seems to
be some kind of a transference of energy between performers and spectators. And that this
should occur despite clear lines of demarcation is remarkable:
The performers are in glass cubes and cylinders, on branches in trees, or inside PVC hous-
ings. Nowadays Victorine Müller appears inside transparent PVC sculptures. She always
was and still is visible from every angle and yet protected – for viewers to gaze on with
their eyes but not to touch with their hands. Nevertheless, by the strength of her personality
and the glowing colors of the iridescent «skins», she exerts an undeniable fascination on
the audience. Ultimately the distinguishing feature of Victorine Müller’s performances and
sculptures is their palpable «aura» – in the sense of those occult rays that emit from a human
being, revealing yet also defining and containing their personality. In connection with the
air sculptures the notion of «aura» is all the more appealing since the meaning of the Latin
word aura is in fact «gentle breeze, breath of air». When she is seen standing and breathing
inside one of her sculptures, alive and in action, it is as though she transcends the limits
of her own body and enters the realms of the metaphorical being of the «animal» she has
made, filling it with energy. As though by animist magic, Müller becomes a bird, a frog or
an elephant. And it is not only the incessant «respiration» of the air pump that breathes life
into the sculpture, it is also her own human breath. Even as Victorine Müller sweeps away
traditional notions of static sculpture, she does the same for dramatic or dance – based
performance in such a way that these different genres coalesce to become new, wholly au-
tonomous works of art.
Victorine Müller’s art is riddled with paradoxes. However three-dimensional the glowing
bodies of the performers in their sculptures appear to us, they are equally «painterly»: Müller
«paints» with colored lights, composing glowing «pictures» from the brightly colored cos-
tumes of her performers. And wholly in keeping with the nature of painting is the calm and
apparent stasis of her performances which are not about narration but about showing, about
just looking – and ultimately about sheer existence.
All her works are «light bodies» – just as we are all bodies under the same light, with
this one common connection. With her rare talent for giving, touching, communicating,
and connecting Victorine Müller reminds us of this in an unusually courageous, comforting
manner.
Christoph Vögele, Kunstmuseum Solothurn
Translated from the German by Fiona Elliott
269
