While the United States was going through the Pop Art Movement in the 50s and 60s, France was experiencing the Nouveaux Réalistes. The most important female artist of that moment was Niki de Saint Phalle.
Niki de Saint Phalle with Jasper Johns, 1961
She was born into a bourgeois french family, but raised in New York City. She eloped at the age of 18 and had 2 children with author Harry Mathews, and quickly moved to Paris. A few years into the marriage, finding herself in the same bourgeois lifestyle that she had tried to escape, she suffered a nervous breakdown. In her recovery, she discovered painting and decided to become an artist. By 1960 her marriage was over, and she began a relationship with artist Jean Tinguely- it would be a life-long collaboration, romantically and creatively.
Niki with Jean Tinguely (left), 1962
In 1961, she become famous for her tir paintings. Her process was to prepare a canvas with found objects and plaster. Under the plaster, she would create pockets of paint, sometimes in balloons or simply cans of spray-paint. Then as a recorded event, she would raise the painting and shoot at it with a .22 caliber rifle. Paint would spill out of the bullet holes, creating a spontaneous painting. She performed her art in Paris, Sweden, California and Milan, but after only a few years, she grew out of the medium, moving away from its violent tendencies.
Her personal style during this tir paintings period is extremely fascinating. The juxtaposition of her tomboy artist looks and feminine looks is fascinating. She took to wearing a specially designed jumpsuit when performing her shootings.
With a career spanning 5 decades, Niki is most famous for her Nanas: large scale sculptures of women, exploring their various roles in society.
