Untitled - Jana Sterbak

IAIIA SIERBAK
3. juni - 1 1. juli 1993
LOUISIANA SARKATALOG 3

TORORD
Mennesket har altid varet et centralt emne i kunsten. Selv om toEkellig€ abslrakte relninger idet
20.:rhundrede har givet indtryk af, at det var fordrevet fra kunsten, er alsogningen af, hvad der
konstituerer det - dets krop, kon 09 identit€t - et v€sentligl anliggende for mange nutidige kunstn€r€.
Mennesket figurerer stadig i kunsten, fortolket, omform€t og genskabl pe nye premisser.
Jana Sterbak er en af de kunstn€re, der har mennetket som udgangspunkt. Nogle gange inddrag€r
hun det direkte som aktsr i en isceneseftek€ af verkern€. Men for det meste er det indirekte,
gennem henvjsninger til kroppen, d€ns b€standdele og {unktion€r, at hun gor 5i9 ov€rvejeker over
tilverelsen. Med enkl€ midler og materialer skaber hun skulpturer, objekter og inslallationer, der
kr€dser om temaer som underkast€15€ o9 magt, frihed og tvang, forfangeliqhed og forgang€lighed.
Der er en stor glade tor Louisiana at kunne prasentere et representativt uclvalg af.lana Sterbaks
arbejder fra de senere 3r. Udstillingen er blevet forberedt iet nert samarbejde m€d.,ana Sterbak,
Galerie Ren6 Blouin, Montr€al, o9 Galerie Crout€l-RobelinEama, Paris. Vi takker b:de lor l6n aI
verker til udstillingen og {or al den inspiration og hjalp, vi har modtaget under hele forlsbet. vi
takker ligeledes Mus€€ du Qu6be(, Qu6be(, o9 Ydessa Hendel€s Art Foundation, Toronto, som
v€lvilligt har rtillet v.erker fra der€s samling€r til redighed for udstillingen.
Steingrim Laurcen Anneli Fuchs

]OREWORD
Man has always been one of the (entral themes in art. Even though various 20th century abstract
movements have l€ft the impression that the human component had been eliminated from artinic
representation, the search lor what constitut€s the human, including the body, gender attribut€s and
identity, is a major concern lor many contemporary artists. Man still featurcs in arL reinterpreted and
re(eated for a new age,
Jana Sterbak is one of those artists whose point of departure is the human being. Sometimes she
involves people dkectly, as partidpants in performance5. But in her re{lections on exittence, lhe
human being is usually merely evoked, thrcugh reteren(es to the body, its parts and functions. she
uses simple means and materials to create her sculptures, objects and innallations which deal with
is5ue5 such as subi€ction and power, freedom and coercion, vanity and mortality,
we are very pleased to be able to show a repr€tentative selection of Jana Sterbak's work at Louisiana.
The exhibition has been organized in close cooperation with Jana Sterbak, Galerie Ren6 Blouin in
Montr6al and Gaierie Crousel-RobelirvBama in Parh. We are gratetul both Ior th€ loan of the works
to the exhibition and for the inspiration and atsistance we have received from the very start. We
would also like to thank the Mus€e du Qu6bec in Qu6bec and Ydessa Hendeles An Foundation in
Toronto for generously making available importantworks {rom their collectiont.
Steingrim Lau6en Anneli Fuchs

Vrn t:s F e5h Dres -or ..
Alb no Arore.t. 198,r
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Go ern: Objects as Sensations, installation. 1979'82
Gotem: Objekter son tornennetser
ogsb surrea isterne, b .a. malerne lindilch Styrrki og Toyen og digterne Vitazslav Nezval og Konrtan
tin Biebl levedeidenbysomAndreBretonkaldte"d€tqamleEuropasmagskehovedstad.Enkul,
tur oq en hletorie som Nordamerika ikke har noget kendrkab ti . Humof (ofte sort), foni . somme
tider biandet m€d €n sk€rp s€rkasme over lor det nordamerikanske system-er gennemg:ende trak
et vErk, der i Canada mSske ikke virker tilstrakke ig ".anadisk" (hvad det sl end vil 5i9e) og i Euro

pa risikerer at blive fortolket netop som verende canadisk. Det er, som kunstnerens egen hEtor e,
fuld af modsetninqer, beriget af erfaringer...
Jana Sterbak studerede op igennem 70'erne p; en rakke forskelllge canadiske kunnakadenrier
Perioden var praget af minimalistisk kunst. som hun b6de bygger videre pa og feagerer imod. vi
genf nder minimalismen i hendes mAde at benytte materialer p6. Eortset fra enkelte. specie t t dl ge
arb€jder, hvor materialet kan have en psykologisk betydnlng, benytter hun det hovedsageligt for
dets fysiske egenskaber, og alt er synligt som f. eks. de e ektronlske elementet i Remote controt.

I slutningen af 7o'erne og begyndelsen af 8o,erne arbejdede Jana Sterbak med mennerkelige organer,
ofte udfort i planilin. Det blev til en hel rakke mindre arbejder, hvoraf en del udviklede 5ig til
instalfationen colem: Objeca ar Sersations (colem: Objektet som fornemmets.,r), hendes forste
hovedvark. 6olem blev udviklet over en tregrig periode, fra 1979 til 1982, og er typirk for hendes
arbejdimetode. Jana Sterbak arbejder langsomt og producerer kun fA verket
Gorem rynes at vare groet frem i tl€re grupper. Gruppen af syv blyhjerter eksisterede seledes a erede
i 1979 sorn et selvstendigt arbejde (2), inden den btev integreret i den storre inrtallation. Arven
fra minimalismen er tiletede i gentag€ls€n af den skulpturelle form, selvom hjertet i den swenoe
udgave knap nok er genkendeligt. Men ramtidig har materiatet en m€taforisk betydning. der st6r i
skarp kontrast til den minimalistiske tradition: Hjerterne er af bly og i ustrerer en psykotogiik tilnand,
at vere sorgmodig, at vare tung om hjertet 09 de sidne i rekken virker narmest knuR
Ni andre menneskelige organer udgor en anden gruppe: tgen et blyhj€rtg en blyhalt en bly.have og en
gummimave, en blyh6nd, en bronzetunge, en blypenis, en rodmalet bronzemilt alle placeret ien rakke
p5 gulvet, medens et bronzesre med horckanalen vendt udad henger pA veggen. Disse orgener vijer
figeledes hen tif psykologiske tilstande (deraf v€erkets undertitel Objeklf.r so|t. fornemmehei. Oet
Lead Hearts, detail
trom col€m: Objects as
sen5ations.1979-82
Blyhjefte,i deblje af
Golen: Objekter so,,l'

Malevolent Heart (Gift), detailfrom Golem:
Object5 as Sensations. 1979-82
Ondtindet hjefte (GaveL detalie af Golen:
O bjekter som fornemme I ser
mandlige lem illustrerer lyst eller begar (desuden er det af bly...) og den iltert rodmalede milt (p:
engehk lpleen) er ifolge traditionen det organ, der er ansvarlig for melankoli.
Endelig indeholder 6olem en seri€ pe tre {otografier a{ nogl€ a{ de samme organ€r, hj€rte, p€nis,
mave, med tifhorende tekst. Hjertet, Malevolent Heatt (cift) (ondsindet hierte fcave,), oprindelig
skabt som et proj€kt tillidsrkriftet Paradute (3), er seledes af rad ioaklivt ferm ium, et grundstof, hvit
halveringrtid er pA blot 100 dage - som et portrat af en pe6on, der brender sit lys i begge end€r.
Er alle disse menneskelige organer tiloversblevne rester efter et kannibalorgie, ellerer de elementer
fra €n menneskefabrik? Merke finder man her en Jorste henvisning til Medea-myten, som kunstneren
ogsA har beskeftiget rig m€d i et s€nere arbejde. Under flugten fra cholkis sammen med Argonauterne
skerer Medea sin lillebror i smastykker. rom hun kaster i Sortehavet for at forsinke forfolgerne.
Men skabelsesmyten er naturligvis det dominerende element, allerede titlen peger i den retning.
Golem er et menn€skeligt vasen, skabt ved brug af magi og hellige navne. I en Talmud-legende bliver
Adam kaldt Golem i betydningen krop uden sjel. Golem-traditionen har forbindelse m€d tidlige ska-
behei 09 oprtandelsesmyter, men den er ogsS knyttel til middelalderlige alkymistiske traditioner
sAsom Paracelsus'Homun(ulus. Eedst kendt er uden tvivl den senere m€llemeuropEiske tradition,

hvor Golem. frembragt for at tjene sin skaber, bliver mere og mere magtfuld og til sidn ma tilintetgsrer.
Det er denne sidste betydning, som vi kender fra historien om rabbineren Ldw fra Prag, foreviget
lorst i Gustav Meyrinkr roman Der Golem fra t9l5 o9 senere i den ekspressionistirke tilm al samme
navn af Wegener 09 Eoes€ fra 1920. Med 6orem viser.lana sterbak tilbage til hele det gaml€ Centraleuropas
kulturelle og intellektuelle tradition, til den verden, til den by, hun kendte som barn.
Det kompleke arbejde. isig selv en hel verkgruppe, er en form for manifest, der indeholder de {lene
al de temaer, kunstneren senere har behandl€t i sin m€ta{oriske undersogelse af krop og sjel: Vort
forhold tilvor egen krop, karlighed, sekrualit€t...
Faktisk kunne det senere arbejde Spare Spine (Ekstft Rygsojle),19a3, godthote tilhei og bronzetungen
fra Golem dukker op igen med en lnere entydig b€tydninq i et arbejde fra 1990, produceret til en
udstilling omkring begiv€nhed€rne pA Tiananmen-pladsen i Peking. Her bliver tungen sat i forbindel
se med en tekst {.a L Wat5ons Walreffteir, der omhandler en grusom episode lra Prags historie
under Trediveerskrigen, der ogse Jandt rted den 21. juni. | 162r blev 27 fremstAende borgere i Prag
offentligt henrettet. Bodlerne rev tungen ud pa universitetets rektor, inden de hahhuggede ham.
Golem er o9s6 en slags forfadertilvon 6rhundredes robot, en betegnelse, der ertet knyttettil Prag.
Karel eapek introducerede ordet i sit absurde skuespil R.U.R. i !920. (4) Robot-temaet og henvisningen
til Capek er figefedes til stede i verket Gereric Man (Generisk mennetke), 1987€9, et arbejde, der
eksisterer iflere udgaver. Det vigtigste, et stort rort-hvidt fotografi itung guldramme. d€r vir€r €n
mand ret fra ryggen med en priskode tatov€ret i nakken, har ogsA relation til Prag. Jana Sterbak
husker lra sin barndom prasidentportratt€. ioffentlige bygninger, der alle var indrammet o9
ophenst pe samm€ m6d€...(s)
Oe to udgaver af Remote Control, begge lG 1989. udgsr bindeleddet mellem robot-temaet og den
varkgruppe, man kan betegn€ som Jana Sterbaks togt ind i modeverdenen. som allercde navnt er
Remote Conrol en slags klini5k ungkarlemaskine - for kvinder.(6) En metalkrinolin€ pe hjul, der enten
kan styres af kvinden selv eller af en udenlo6t6ende person, som regel en mand. Det er s6vel et bekladnjngsstykke
som en maskine, en automat der kan give brugeren storre frihed (n6r kvinden selv
styrer maskinen), eller lade hende v€ere underlagt en anden peBons magt og kontrol. Arbejdet kan

naturligvir fonolkes 5om en metafor for kvindens afhengighed, og det er det ogse blevet, rpecielt i
Nordamerika, hvor visse kritikere hartendens til at indesperre Jana Sterbaks arbejde ien feministisk
b6s. (7) Men samtidig kan Renrote cort o/ ses som en fornsjelsesmaskine, der vhertilbage tildet nittende
:rhundred€s nore baller, hvor kvinden synes at sveve problemlsst rundt pA dansegulvet i stor
kjole. der aldrig lad€r foden komme til ryne. Tldens billedkunn har foreviget dette kvindebilledq
srvel Monet i sit maleri Femme5 au tardin fft 1867 som winterhalter i sine hotoortratter fra
1850'erne, bl.a. a{ kejs€rinde Eug6nie.
Remote Contro/ indeholder uden tvivl minder om Ostrig-Ungarns norhednid, hvor Wienervalsen -
ogsa i Prag - lod kvinden svaeve over de bonede parketgulve, styret af en mand ganske vist men a{ en
mand, dersamtidig var en partner.
Ungkarlemaskinen ek5isterer o9i6 i en ma5kulin udgave i form af tre Sisyforarbejder. Sisj/phus, 1990,
Siwhus , 1991 o9 Siswhui r4 1993. Myten om Siqyfos er en af de rigeste i den greske mytologi, Han
optrader bl.a. som hyrde, som konge af Korinth (ifolge visre kilder skulle Medea have foreret ham
h€rredommet over den graske landtange) 09 som overordentlig snu 09 snedig - derfor bliver han af
og til udlagt 5om odyrseus'far. Han snyder og narrer guderne adrkilljge gange, deriblandt zeur. o9
ender med at blive domt til for evigt at rulle en stor stenblok op ad et bjerg. N6r nenblokken endelig
har neettoppen, rullerden automatisk ned igen, og Siryfos begyndertorfra.
Denne myte har ogra inspireret Albert camus. Han gjorde den til udgangspunkt - ikke blot for bogen
af samme navn - men tor nore dele af sit litterare vad! der groft skits€ret ger ud p6, at livet er
absurd, m€n at man dog rkal leve med det. Det absurde element viser ligeledes hen til Kafka, hvis
vark lana sterbak naturligvis er fonrolig med. og netop abrurditeten fremstar ganrke klart i hendet
s/'sj,phus. Her er krinolineformen vendt om, den bliver til et bur, men ogse til en slags rustning, en
fonn for b€skyttehe, hvis runde bund dog 9or formen ustabil.
Sriyphus r,, n5r 5om en skulpturelform midt i rummet, medens en grovkornet l5 mm film viser maskinen
ifunktion, En muskeltrenet mand (en rursisk cirkusartist, 5om hverken talte fransk eller engelsk
og mette dirigerg ved hjelp af tegnsprog) bevager markinen
- og rig selv - i en endelos rokken f.em
og tilbage. Det fremger dog af filmen, at han al egen lri vilje kunne iabilirere maskinen, men han
l1

9or det ikke. Denne m€tator for menneskets mulighed for at gore opr.r mod Sisyfos-myten, mod
livets absurditet, €r yderligere undeBtreget af €t kort oj€blik itilmen, hvor Jana Sterbak5
'Sisyfor'
smiler som en illustration afCamul ber6mtesetning: 'Man mA for€nille sig Sisyfos lykkelig'.
Den graske mytofogi optrader ligeledes i et af Jana Sterbaks tidligere verker, I Want You to Feel the
way I Do... (The Drets) (Jeg onsker at du skal have det lig.eton jeg (Kjolen , 19'1445. lgen benyfter kunst-
neren et bekladningsstykke, denne gang tilat anskueliggore Medea-myten, som Euripides lorteller den.
Kiolen i metalnet ner med udbredte arme som til en velkomsthilsen, parat til at omfavne den
besogende. Men dragten er elektrisk. Glodet.ade er festnet rundt om hele overdelen, og den, der
narmer sig, vil blive brandt ligesom Medeas rivalinde i den {orgiftede kjol€, som troldkvinden fra
cholkir (der ogsA varen slags kunstner) havde foreret hende i bryllup6gave. P: vaggen bagved res en
rekst 'Jeg ansker at du skal have det ligesom jeg (...) )eg onsker at trange ind under din hud: leg vil
lytte efter den lyd, du horc', ovetEge dine tanke, barc dit toi. Nu har ieg din holdning og du er ikke
langere veltilpas. ldet du gjode den til dine, befriede du mig fot mine neninget; vane, lys€r Jeg
burde verc taknemhelig men i ttedet... Du begynder at iniEre mig: teg vil ikke leve ned nit ieg
inden i din krcp, og jeg vil hellere ove mig pe at vare ny hos en anden.'(8|
som en knaler eller en edderkop stAr kjolen og venter pA sit b)Ate, der efter parringen itolge naturens
gang ma ds, med mindredet er o{rel lor karlighedent eller s€ksualitetens krav derstArtilbagq brendt.
De tillokkende og farlige, de risikotldte og derfor ekstra ophidsende forhold bliver ogse behandlet
iet beslegtet arbejde, Seduction Couch (Foftorelsesdivan) lra 1986-87. En divan ip€rforeret metal.
et perfekt stykke mobeltil en hyrdetime, inviterer betragteren til at lagge sig ned, til at hvile ud,
ene eller iselskab...V€d {odenden har kunstneren placeret en metalkugle, som ligner et high-tech
atk€bager, men i virkeligheden er en Van de Graafi generator, en elektrottatisk maskine, der med
javne mell€mrum vil give den, der vover at benytte den sa indbydende divan, et elektrisk stod.
vi genfinder her den vanlige sterbakske dualitet. Begge arbejder er pe €n gang forforende og frarto-
dende. De handler om lyst og stra{, om de fornsjelser og knubs, som karligheden medforer. men er
pA ingen mede moralkerende. Moraliserende €lementer finder vi heller ikke i det senere arbejde
Attitudes (Holdninger), 1987, hvor Jana Sterbak tager os med ind isovev:erelset. Her er en nyredt
12

seng dakket med puder i broderede pudevir Den flittige hend, der har syet de mange tting, kender
ikke til onsket om at sove trygt men derimod til 'sexual fantasies' ('s€ksuelle fantasier'),
'reputation'
('rygte'), ' greed' ('beger') eller 'disease' ('sygdom'), begreber, der alle har en seksuel forbin_
delse.
'Dis€ase' handler ikke. som ho5 cad von Linn6 om 'en nat med Venus, et helt liv med Mer_
kur'. men derimod om det sene twende erhundredet svobe, AIDS. selv et s6 alvorligt emne lykkej
det Jana Sterbak at behandle med fineste o,9 humor, idet hun benytter broderiet en traditionelt
teminin udtrykdorm, tilatlortelle om Eros'mode med Thanatos.
Jana Sterbaks metaforiske undersogelser af krop og sjal igennem bekladningsstykker er ikke kun
b€granret til fornrjefrgmaskinen Remote contro, og den ambivalente kjole I want You to Feel the
way t Do... flhe Dresir. Denne varkgrupp€ omfatter ligeledes €t af hendes hovedvarker fra
sfutningen af 8o'erne. yanitas: Flesh Dress fot an Albino Anoredic Manites: Kodkiole til en elbino
anorektker), forste 9an9 udstillet i 1987, er en kjole af sammensyede okseboffer, der langsomt
torrer ind og forvandler rig til leder Kjolen bliver udstillet ophengt pa en gine. PE vaggen hanger
et lille fotog.afiafen ung kvinde ikladt kodkjolen.
vanitas-begrebet havde sin storhednid inden for billedkunsten idet 17.6rhundr€de, specielt idet
protertami*e Nordeuropa. I Danmark {orenklede Kingo det latintke b€greb til det effuktive
'forfen_
gelighed - torgangeligh€d'. De nederlandske kunstnere udtrykte derimod mere subtilt den jordiske
rigdom 09 skonhedr timelighed i malerier af opulente frugt- og blomsterarangementer omgivet a{
pragtfulde bagre af guld og solv kostbare drikkekaral glas oq kunngennande, som det nederlandske
kunnksbende borge6kab kunne genkende fra deres egne hjem. Et guldur gav ofte €n diskret
pamindels€ om, at 'tiden gtr - evigheden forest8r', og at ingen efter d6den langere vil have brug
for jordisk gods. En optordring til at t€enke pe sjelens trelse fremfor at samle jordisk torgang€lig
n9dom.
I Jana sterbaks !6nitas er kroppens indre vendt udad i form af kodkjolen, der hastrgt eldes og bliver kon-
fronteret med den unge kvindes smukke krop, der ligetom klededragten €n dag vil aldet og t6rre
ind. Der er uden tvivl et moralsk aspekt i dette arbejde - men m65ke ikke kun pA det plan, hvor man
umiddelbart ville placere det. Samtidig er der en god portion humor, ganske vist temmelig sort. Kjolen
blev skabt i en tid. hvor kunsten var ydertt 'renpudset'. Det var 'neo-9eo'-male et5 store tid.
13

onen var endnu ikke krakket, og kunstverdenen l€vede hojt. Samtidig var New York, hvor Jana Sterbak
pl dettidspunkt boede tilflugtrsted for utallige hjemlose. (9)
Modsetningerne inden for et samfund, der kan lremvise en re eknrem rigdom, at den kun har rin
mage i en lige sA eknrem fanigdom, kunne ikke andet end at appellere til kunstnerens skarpe sans
for paradokrer Da varket blev udstillet pA National Gall€ry of Canada i Ottawa i 1991 blev det ersag
til en skandal€ rhidt i d€n lokale agurketid. Kunstneren - o9 mureet - blev anklaget for at misbruge
ofientlige midler og madvarer, der kunne have varet benyttet til at berpire de fattige. Kunstn€rens ene-
ste kommentar tif affaren var lakonisk: 'Det de. mangler (i Canada) et ikke fodevarct men et politisk og
so.iah onske om at fotdele de nodvendige okonomiske midle, Aledes at alle kan kobe dem' . 110,
Det er m6ske netop i valget af materialer, at der kan etabler€r en forbindelse mellem Jana Sterbak
og Joseph Beuys, hvis arbejder hun inleressercde sig for allerede i 7o'erne, bl.a. fordi hans kunst i
den grad adskilte sig fra alt, hvad Nordamerika kunne byde pa. (11) Jana Sterbak benytter hverken fedt,
filt eller kobb€l men den frihed og naturlighed, hvormed hun bearbejder
'kunstfremm€d€'
materialer,
fnder meske sin oprindels€ her.
Et af hend€s renene arbejder er ligesom yanitaii Flesh Dress tor an Albino Anorectk udfort i et spise,
ligt materiale. Cat,co/'bes (KaEkomberJ, 1992, er et mennesk€ligt skelet i ekstra bitter chokolade.
Hvor de menneskelige organer i Golem var lorm€de af kunrtner€n, drejer d€t sig her om afstobninger
af virkelige knogler. Jana Sterbak behandler ogs5 i dette arbejde Memento mori-iematikken. M€n som
et udmattet rkelet efter en hel nats danG macabre bliver den uspjselige del at kroppen, som enhver
kannibal med respekt for sig relv ville kaste borl her pras€nteret rom en delikatesse. lkke kun chokoladen
er sort - kunstnerens humor er det sandelio oore,
lana Sterbak har i lsbet a{ de sidste 6r blotlagt en stor del al kroppens og rjelens funktion€r, set i
forhold til sAvel individet som samflndet. Sort humor og rans for det absurd€ har altid varet skarpe
veben, ligesom metaforen allid har varet en effektiv oversettelse af det uudsigelige. .Jana Sterbak
viser med al onskelig tydelighed, at disse veb€n er effektive - ogs6 i kunsteni verden.
14

1) 'Gmw.s up in C2e.hotloEki. ou *h@l turncuhnn iftlu.led
Maditn .nd Leninin. wheh | ..me to llw ln the r,Est it Mt
.nvti^g to w.t

I Want You to Feel the
Way I Do... Ohe Dress).
1984-85
Jeg vil have at du skal
mig...(Kiolen)
Tilhorer National
Gallery of Canada,
Oftawa

Per Jonos Storsve
JA]IA SIERBIK
I long lot the lond thot is nol-
A strange right contronted the visitor to the 1990 Venice Bjennale. A young woman was d.iving up
and down the.entral aisle of the old ropeworks in a peculiar machine: a metal crinoline on wheels.
A man was walking behind her with a remote control unit, which not only controlled the machine
but also lent its name to the title oJ lhe work: Remote Contro/. This was Europet fkst encount€r
with the work ofthe Canadian artist.,ana Sterbak.
Jana Sterbak, originally Starb6kov6, was born in Prague in 1955. In 1958, at th€ age oI thirteen, she
emigrated to Canada with her family. she left Central Europe and a thousand-year-old culture to settle
in a'young" .ountry whose history seen {rom a European peEpective, seems incredibly shon. Her
nativ€ Catholic tradition was replaced by Proteitantism, and she not only en@untered a new language
and a new culture, but also a new poljtical system. Having grown up in a Marxist-Leninin society she
was confronted with a political ideology which was diametrically opposed to the values with which she
had been tostered within the czech school system. In h€r own words: "Growing up in Czechoslovakia
our school curiculum included Ma ism and Leninism. when I came to live in the West it was anusing
to watch the.omplete reve6al of the values which were the foundationt of ny childhood." 11)
These basic biographical details and (onfrontations, political, cultural, religious, linguistic and tocial,
are extremely important, because they contribute to the illumination of an oeuvre which consists of
many layers, and which in reality is far l€ss unambiguousthan is immediately apparent.
Th€ whole ofJana Sterbak's oelvre it anchored in the memory of Prague. lt is a tribute to a culture and
history which includes medieval mlthr, tolk taler, the horroB of the Thirty Years' war as well as the
writeB Franz Ka{ka, Karel Cap€k and.,aroslav Ha;€k. Not only did The Good Soldier Schweyk and
Joteph K hail from Prague; this city, called the "magical capital o{ Old Europe" by And16 Breton was
rEdirh 5oderqran, rhe r..d lhat^Nor,1922
17

aho the home of the Surrealistr, induding painters Jindiich StyBky and Toyen and poets VitEzstav
Nezval and Konstantin 8i€bl. A culture and history which ir little known in North America. Humour
(mostly black) and kony - sornetimes mixed with harsh sarcasm towards the North American system -
are recurdng teaturer in an oeuvre which in Canada perhaps does not have a suffi(iently 'Canadian,
feel (whatever that meant, and which in Europ€ is conversely at risk o{ being interpreted as Canadian.
lt is, just as the artjst's own life, full of contradictiont enriched by experience-...
Jana Sterbak nudied at a number ol Canadian art schools during the t970s. This was the period of
Minimalist art. which she both develops lurther and reacts against. We recognise the Minimalin
in{luence in her use of materials. Apart from a few mainly early, workt where the matedals may
have psychological connotations, she normally chooses her materiak lor their physi(al properti€s and
leaves everything visible, as {or instance the electronic devices in Remote Cortlol
In the late 1970s and in the early 1980s the artist worked on human organs, ofien executed jn plasti,
cine. A whole serier of small pieces was produced, some o{ which were then incorporaled into the
installation entitled Golem: Oblerti ar SersatrorE her first major work. Golem was dev€toped over a
three-year p€riod, from 1979-1982, and is typical of the artist's method of working. lana Sterbak
works slowly and produces relatively f€w works.
Golem appears to have evolved in several groups. The group oI seven lead hearts already connituted
an independent work in 1979 (2), befor€ it wa5 integrated into th€ larger installation- The Minimalist
legary i5 evident in the repetition of the sculplural form, €ven though the seventh verrion of rhe
hearts is hardly recognisable as slch. But at the rame time the material har a m€taphoricat significan(e
whid standr in sharp contrast to the Minimalist tradition: The hearts are made of lead and itlurtrate
a psychological condition, the stat€ ot melancholt ot heavy-h€artedness; and the final ones ol the
series appear almost crushed,.
Nin€ other human organs form another subgroup: there is another lead heart, a l€ad throat, a lead
stomach and a rubber stomach, a lead hand. a bronze tongu€, a lead penis and a bronze spleen
painted red, all of them lined up on the floor, whiltt a bronze ear with its channel hanging out is
mounted on the wall. These organs all pojnt to prychological states (hence the subtitle of the work:
18

Obiectr as Seriatiors). The male organ illustrater sexual derire or lust (berides which it i5 made of
lead...) and the {iery red spleen is th€ organ traditionally said to be reiponrible lor melancholia.
Finally, Golem includes a series of three photographs of some of the same organs - heart, penis,
stomach - with an accompanying text. The h€arl Maleyoknt Heatt (Gift), originally created as a project
tor the art magazine Parachute (3), is made of radioactive {ermium. an element which has a half
life o{ one hundred days - like a portrait of a person who burns his or her(andle at both ends.
Are all these human organr the abandoned leftoveE o{ a

exhibition on the Tiananmen Square massa(re. Here the tongue i5 linked to a.t€xt from L WatsonS
wa enstein, which describes a horrific episode from the history o{ Prague during the Thirty Y€art
War, which also took place on 21st lune. In 1621,27 prominent citizens ol Prague were publicly
executed. The exe(utionerr ripped outthe tongue ofthe University Rector before they beheaded him.
Golem is ako a sort of ancestor to our modern-day robot, a term which has close associations with
Prague. Karel aapek introduc€d the word in his absurd play R.U.R. in 1920. (4)
The robot them€ and the reference to aapek are also present in the work Generia Man, 19a7-a9, a
work which exist5 in severalversions. The most important, a large black and white photograph in a
h€avy gold lrame showing a rear view of a man with a bar code tattooed on his ne(k, is also inspired
by the Prague of he. €hildhood. Here .,ana Sterbak re(alls the presidential portraits she saw hanging
in public buildings, all fram€d and hung in the sam€ way....(5)
The two verrionr o{ Remote Contlol, both from 1989, Jorm the link between the robot theme and
the group of works which can be id€ntified as Jarla St€rbak3 expedition into the world oJ fashion.
As aheady mentioned, nemote Control is a kind of clinical bachelor machine Jor women. (6) A metal
Magic Shoes. 1992
Magitke Sko
20

crinoline on wh€els can either be controlled by the woman hertelJ or by som€one slanding outsrde,
usually a man. lt j5 both an jtem of clothing and a machine; an automaton, which gives th€ us€r
greater lreedom (when controlled bythe woman) or gubjectJ her to the power and (ontrolof another
person. This work may of cours€ b€ interpreled a5 a metaphor for Jemale dependency, whi'h it har
certainly be€n, especially in North America, where some (ritics tend to attach a leminist labelto Jana
Sterbak's work. (7) But Semote Control can also be regarded as a pleasure ma(hine, harking back to
the gr€at balls of the ninete€nth (entury where the women appeared to {loat effortlessly around the
dance lloor5 in enormout gowns, which never permitted a glimpse of their {eet The art ot the period
captured thir image, as demonnrated in Monel's 1867 pajnting Femmes al'/ ./ard,n and in Winther
halter's court portraits ofthe l85Os and 1860s, whi(h includ€ the portrait ofthe Empress Eug€nie
Remote control contains definite referencesto the golden age ofthe Austro-Hungarian empire, when the
viennese waltz enabled women, also in Pragug to float across highly Polished parquet Jloors, admittedly
l€d by a man, but by a man who wae also a partner.
Jana Sterbak ha5 ako prcduced a male version of the bachelor machine, the thr€e Sisyphus works:
Sisyphus, lgg1, Sisyphus tt, 1991 and Sisyphus !,1993. The Sisyphus myth isone ofthe richest in Gre€k
mythology. He appears as shepherd, as the king ot Corinth (according to some sour'es he was granted
command ot the Greek inhmus by Medea) and as a parti(ularlv cunning and craftv man - possiblv the
reason why he is sometimes reputed to be th€ {.ther of Odysseus He cheats and fools the gocls'
includjng zeus, on numerous oc(asions, but finally he i5 (ondemned to spend eternitv rolling a large
rock uo the mountain. When th€ rock eventually r€ach€t the top it automati(ally rollt down again
and Sisyphus has to ttart over
Alb€rt Camus wat also inspired by thit myth. He used it as the point of departure, not only Jor lhe
book of the same name, but for large portions o{ his literary oeuvre, which roughly summarised
deals with the fact that lile is absurd, but it has to be lived. The element o, the absurd it aho strong
in Kafka, with whote works lana sterbak is oJ course familiat And it is this very element oJ the
absurd which is so strongly €vident in her Sisyphus This i5 an inverted (rinolin€, which har be(ome a
cage, but also a kind of armour, a form of prot€ction, which, however, i5 rendered unstable by the
21

Sisyphui /// stands as a sculptural form in the c€ntre of the room, with a grainy 16 mm tilm running in
the background, rhowing the machine in ope.ation. A mus(ular man (a Russian circur performer who
spoke neither French nor English and had to be dir€cted by sign language) i9 rhown moving the
machin€'and himsel{ - endlessly rocking back and forth. The film demonstrates that he woutd be
abl€ to stabilke the machine himself - but he does not. This netaphor for the human ability to rebel
againrt the Sisyphus myth, against the absurdity of life, is lurthe. emphasised by a short moment
during the Ijlm, when Jana Sterbak's 'Siryphus"
smiles - as an illustration of Camus' tamous sentence:
"One
has to imagine Sisyphus as a happy man".
Greek mythology is also an element in one oJ Jana st€rbakt earlier work5, / t/yant You to Feet the Way t
Do... (fhe Drcs), 198+85. Here again the artin has used a garment, this tim€ to illurtrate the story o{
Medea, as recounted by Euripjdes.
The wire mesh dress nands with arms extended in a welcome greeting, ready to embrace th€ visitor But
the dre5r is electrified. Filaments encircle th€ whole of the bodice and anyone getting too close will be
burnt, jutt at Med€a's rival in the poisoned dress gjven to her as a wedding preient bythewitch ofColchis
(who war also a kind ofartin). Thelollowing text is projected on the wallbehjnd the dress:
"lwantyouto
feeltheway Ido (...) I want to slip under your skin: twill |isten for the sound you heaa feed on youl
thought, weat your clothes. Now I have your aftitude and you're not comfortable anymote. Making
them you6 you relieved ne of ny opiniont habits, inpulses. lshould be grcteful, but instead...
You're beginning to iritate me: I am not going to live with my self inside your body. and I would
rather p'a(Jice being new on someone else." Ihe dress standt ther€ like some praying mantis or spider,
waiting lor the prey whjch would normally die after matjng, unless it is the victim ot the demands of love
orsexuality and thustrapped and burnt.
The €nticing and dang€roq the risky and th€refore even mor€ exciting relationships are also the subject
o{ a related work, Seduction Cou.h, 1986€7. This is an electri( chais€-longue made oJ p€rforated iron, a
perfect piece olJurnjture lor rosy intimacy; it is an invitation to lie down, to res! alone or jn (ompany... At
the Joot-end there is a metal ballwhid re5embles a high-tech ashrray, butwhich in fact is a Van de Graaff
generatoi an electrostatic madine, derigned to emit el€€rric shod5 at regular int€rvah to anyone who
dar€s to use this inviting pie.e offurnitur€.

This is another example ofthe customary Sterbakian duality. Both thete pieces ar€ seductive and repukive
at one and the same tim€. They are bolh about desire and punishment about the pleasures and blows
which a.company love, but in no way do they moralke. Neither is there evidence o{ any moraljsing in the
morc recent worlc Attludet 1982 whereJana Sterbak leads us into the bedroom. Wetind the bedt madeup
and nrewn with pillo\it/5 with embroidered pillovwases. But the busy hand which so meticulously woF
ked all th6e stitches is not interested in sound slumber, but rather in 's€xual Jantasies', "reputation
,
'greed'
or
'disease", all concepts which have sexual connotations. 'Dis€ase" is not about "one night with
Venus, a whole life with Mercury" as Carl von Ljnn6 put it but rather about AlDs, the curs€ oJ the late
t\iventieth entury.,ana sterbak manaqes to treat even su

The dress was created at a time when art war going through an extremely 'clean' phase. This wat
the hey-day of 'Neo'Geo" painting, befor€ the Wall Street crash, and the art world was rjding on a
high. At the same time New York, where Jana Sterbak was tiving at th€ time, was abo inhabited by
countless homelers people. (8)
The .ontradictionr ot a society which displayr such extreme wealth that it can only be matded by an
equally extreme poverty could not but appeal to the artist,s keen sens€ of paradox. When the pie.e
was exhibited in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa jn 1991 it created a scandal in the news"
hungry local media. The artht - and the museum - were accused of misusing public funds and tood
which could have been dinributed to the starving. The artist's only comment on this was the following
laconic statement: 'What is lacking (in Canada) is not food but a potiticat and social desire to
distribute the necessary means {or everybodyto purchase it.. (9)
It is perhaps in h€r choice of mat€riah that there is most evidence ot the link between Jana Sterbak
and loseph Beuyt whose work aroused her interest a5 early as the 1970r, panly because his art was
so different from anything else being produced in North America.(10) lana Sterbak user neither lat,
felt nor copp€r, but perhaps the freedom and natural eare with which she ures ,'non-artistic'
materials
can be traced back to these origins,
One of her latest works is,like Vanitas: Flesh Dtess for an Albino Anorectic, m6de of an edible matetial.
Catacombes, 1992, ir a human skeleton made of extra bitter chocolate. In Golem, the human
organs were moulded by the hand of the artisL but here the bones are carts of actual sketeton
parts. This piece ako d€ah with the Memerto moritheme. 8ut just tike an exhausted sketeton after a
whofe njght's dance ma.abre, the inedible pa( of the body which any sel{-respecting cannibal
would reject is here prerent€d as a delicatessen. Not onty the chocolate is bta.k - so ir the artist!
During the last ten yea6 Jana Sterbak has exposed many o{ the funclions ofthe body and soul, both
in relation to the individual and to society. Elack humour and a senre of the absurd have always
been k€en weapont jun as the metaphor has always been an €ffective vehicle for the inexpressible.
Jana Sterbak demonstrater quite clearly that these w€apons are still elfective - ev€n in the context of art.
24

1) lana ltetbak, 'Artin Text', in th€ cataloooe for the ernibition
the hpo$lble 5./t winnipeqArt Gallery win^ipeg, 1963,
2) Reprodu.ed with thit d e in Pah.hute, ^o.54, p.42, as
well ar in lhelolderfor iana st€rb.k! exhibirion in The M!seum
of Mod€rn Artl Prcjecr Room, Ns York.1992-93
1l Pah.hute, no- 2A, 19A2, p. 29
4)Dinna N.di.ofi, 'statee of Being', in rhe.at.logue lo.lana
Sterb.k 5 exhibition oflheeme title, NationalGal€ryot Cana'
da. ottawa.1991, p. 40, nore 3
5) Con@6ation withtheartin Autumn 1992
5)rheexpreeion'bachelorma.hine' r€feBp.imarilytoMar
cel Du(hanp! 'Larqe Gla$'('The sriden.ipped baie by her
Badelorr ev€n') ton 1915, {here love irdepicred by hkha
?) See for innance Nancy tpeclor,'Fl6h and Bon6: lana 5t€.
h.k' , Att otum, March 1992, pp. 9t-99
3) The lai pan ofrhe ritl€ ref.u ro a ikinny, almon alb'^o
blonde woman, who was alwayr a.ound in theneighborhood
in whi.h l.na Slelb.k lived in NewYork. Conve.etion wilh ihe
9) quorcd in olivierA$linl r€view ol l.na st€lbak! exhibirion
in rhe Narional Galleryof Can.da, PaQ.hut, ^o. 61, 1991, p. 12
10) conveBation wirhthe anin, April r993

Seduction Cou(h. 1986
Courtesy Ydessa Hendeles
Art Foundation, Toronto

3 Remote Control t. 1989

4 Generic Man. 1989
Gerea,i* menrette

Shrinking
Lenin. 1991
Krwpende Lenin

Jacket, 1992
Jakke
7 lacket, dothlng for a performance. l99l
Jakke b*ladnlng$ty*ke til en pedornance

9 Hair Shirt,.lothing tor a performance.
't992
He.skhr'r, b*ladnlngstykke til en pe,'fomance

10 Sisyphus
lll. r993
sisyfos I

Seduction Couch. 1986
Perforeret rtAl, Van de craaff generator,
el€ktrostatisk lader
124 x 74 x 232 cm
Collection: Ydetsa Hendeles Art Foundation,
Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anor€ctic.
1987
Vanitas: Kodkjole til eh albino anorcktiker
Okseksd
Variable mel
Courtesy Galerie R€n6 Btouin, Montr6al
Remote Control l. 1989
Fjenstyring I
Aluminium, hjul, batteri
142 x 185 x 202 cm
Courtesy Galerie Crourel-Robelin/tsama, Park
Generic Man. 1989
Gene sk menneske
Fotograli
249 x 188 cm
Mus€e du Queb€c, Queb6c
Shrinking Lenin.199l
Graveret glarhylde. skindhand5ke
4,3 x 35,5 x 17 cm
Courtesy Galerie Crourel-Robelin/Bama, Paris
KAIAlOG
10
Catacombes. 1992
Variabl€ mel
Courtesy Galerie Crousel-Robelin/tsama, Paris
Jacket. (Clothing for a performam€). 1992
lakke ( Bekladningsstykke til en peiotmance)
Storrels€ 38
Court€ry Galerie Ren6 Elouin, Montr6al
Magic Shoes. 1992
Damesko, kede, jernring
Court€ry Galerie Crousel-Robelin/Bama, Parit
(With thanks to Mi

Jana Sterbak
Fsdt l95s i Prag, Tjekkoslovakiet (nuv. Tjekkiet)
Bor og arbejder i Montr6al, Canada.
Sep.ratudstillingel
BIOGRATI
Grupp€udnillinger
1978 Pumps An, Vancouver
1980 YYZ, Toronto
'Travaux r€cents', Galeri€ Optica, Montr€al
l98l "HowThingrStand
Up", Main Exit, Vancolrver
1982 "Golem ' Object5 as Sensations', Mercer
lJnion, Toronto
1985 The Ydessa Gallery Toronto
1987 Th€ Yd€ssa Gallery Toronto
Galerie Ren6 Blouin, Montr6al
1988 The Pow€r Plant,Ioronto
1989 The W€stern Front, Vancouver
MacKenzie Art Gallery Regina
Galerie Ren€ Blouin, Montr6al
1990 Donald Young Gallery Chicago
The Muteum of Contemporary Art, New York
1991 'Jana Sterbak: Corps; corps , Musee der
Beaux-Arts du Canada, Ontario
"Jana
sterbak: Stater of Being", MIT tist
Visual ArtsCenter, Cambridge, Massachurets;
san Diego Muserrm of Contemporary Art,
San Diego
"lana Sterbak: Sisyphe ll", Galerie Ren6
Blouin, Montreal
1992 Galerie Crousel-Robelin/Bana, Paris
"States
of Being", Museum of Contemporary
Art, San Diego "
1978
1993 Le r€tr6cisrement de Lenine', Galeri€ Rene
Elouin, Montrdal, Qu6bec
Caixa Pensiones, Barc€lona
Louisiana lluseum for modeme kunsl Humlebek
bureate du Prix Antoine Guichard: Saint Etienne
'5 Artists", Galerje Optica, Montr6al
1979'Bookworks', Powerhoure, Montr6al
1981 The New YrZ, Toronto
1982 'Photos byArtins", Galerie France Morin.
"
Monumenta'. YYZ, Toronto
"Menues
manoeuvres", Mus6e d'Art
Cont€mporain, Montr6al
"FourArtists',
S.t- Simpson Gallery Toronto
1983'Unaffiliated Artists', International
Exposui Toronto
'small
Works', Pomona University Gallery
calitornia
'SmallWorks",
San Diego University Gallery
Glifornia
1984'WorksSeleded byDavid Rabinowich',4fth
Parallel, New York
"lnfluencing
Machjnes", YYZ, Toronto
''Canada/New
York', 4fth Parall€|, New York
1985 "Anadromus',
Michael Katz Gall€ry
"lda
Applebroog and Jana Sterbak',
Glendon Gallery Toronlo
1986 "Oeuvrer
Ex'Centr6es", Galerie Ren6 Blou'n,
'Songs
of Experience', NationalGaliery oJ
Canad6, Ottawa
'Jana
Sterbak, Krzysztof Wodiczko", 49th
Parallel, New York
Nexus Galleryot Contemporary Arl Atlanta,
6eorgia
43

'sept
SculpteuB Canadiens', Mus6e d'Art khool of the Art Institute of Ch icago, Chicago
Contemporain, Montr6al
'Drawings
show", Southern Alberta Gallery
Donald Young Gallery, Seattle
"G6n6rique
1: D6sordres", Galerie Nationale
of Art, Lethbridge du Jeu de Paume, Paris
1987'Subjecvobject',56Blee

Off entliggione proiekter
BIBUOGNA]I
Artikler om Jana Stc.bak
1982 'Malevolent Heart', Parachute, nr 28, efterer 1979
1983'Golem-Objects as Sensations', /mpres5,ont
nr 30, vinterffor3r 82-83, s. /14-45
1986'Two 3-d Multisensory Projects', Aubi.on, 1980
nr, 7, tommer
1987'Artist ar Combustible', File Magazine, lotSl
"Adverti5ements
by Artists" , Paallelogtam,
Vanguarcl, 'C',
Paftchute, Canadian Art,
Parkeft 1982
1989 'Attitudes', Public, nr 2, s. 52-59
1990 'Generic Nixon, Vjrginia,
Man", Iransition: Discou6e on
Architedure, nr 31, sommer, s.3
'Meat
Couture',
Harper's, vol. 281, nr.1683, august, s.30
'
Med ialcu lture/Art ",
CMagazine, .25,
marts, indstik arrangeret af MacKenzie Art
Gallery Regina
Artikler .f J.na Stelbak
1983
'Women! Eookworks -
Something New forAll',
Ihe Gazette, 4, oktob€r
Rhodes, Rick, ".,ana St€rbak at YYZ',
Toronto, Yarguard, oktober
Mays, John Bentley,
'Sterbak's
Sculpturet
Chart Modern Art'r Off-the-Wall lssues',
The Globe and Mail,17.juni
Payant, Ren6, L'Ampleur de Petits Riens',
Tourangeau, Jean, 'Quand les objects nous
interrogent', la P/esre, 21. augun
Viau, Ren6, "Der Menues Manoeuvres et
lng6nieuser', te Devolr 7. august, s.15
Hume, Christopher, Ihe loronto star,
4. april
Randolph,.,eanne, " Golem", Vanguard,
december/januar
Lewison, David,
'SmallWorks Stk Wonders
About Exirtence',
5a, Diego Union, 10. tebruar, s. E8
"The
Shape ofThingr', fhe San Diego
neader, 3- februar, 2. rektion
"Gofem:
Ojects as Sensationt', lmprcssions
Magazine, vinterllotAr 82-83,s. 30
Oille,lennifer, 'Golem - Objects as S€nsarionr'.
Parachute, vjnter 82-83
Town, Elk€, "lnfluencing Machines",
PaBchute 36, etrelal
Hum€, Chrirtopher, 'The
Machinations o{
Att" , The Toronto Stat, 9. maj, s.14
Mays, John Bentley,
"Sculpture
with a
Franknest', Ihe G/obe and Mail,7. maj
Raynor, Vivien,
'Art:A 1978
Pioneer's Experi-
".lonas
Mekas: An Int€rview byJana sterbak",
Pa ft chute, nt.10, s. 21 -24
1979 "Murray McDonald, Mercer Union,
Toronto', yanguard, vol.8, nr.8, r.3l-32
"Mark
Gomes, Unlitled Winter Workt
Harbourfront Art Gallery lsaacr Gallery'.
Vanguatd, vol.8, nt.6, s.27-28
1980'Betty Goodwin, Marcel Lemyre, 4005 Menta- 1984
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1981 'Howard Fried', Pa rachute, nr.3, s. 4445
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suming Personality', CMagazirq vinter
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1986 McFadden, David, "Review ofJana Sterbak
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1987 Audreae, Janice, "lana St€rbak", Parachute,
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Lepage, locelyne, "l-'art d'appra't€r la viande",la
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1948 Godfrer Stephen,'lndividual Styles Conflict
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1990 Seve6, Brian,
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1991 Fair€, Leslie, 'Canadians
in lJproar over
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Dtesi" , The Journal of Atts,
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"
Paris. Sunealism e la mode',
The Att News-paper, nr 10, juli-september
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t Ja