Rifle Art by Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002)

First time we tried to enter the exhibition in the Grand Palais a few days ago, the queue was just too long and we received the recommendation to come back another day in the evening, i.e. today.

I guess that most people will know Niki de Saint Phalle from her Nanas work, the large, colour- and powerful female figures. The largest made for an exhibition in Stockholm was even 27 meters long. But I didn’t know so far much about her life. She started as a model and then moved towards creating her own art works in different styles over time.

Quite a weird period was the “Rifle Art” in the early 1960s. Small bags of paint were integrated in the art works, covered with plaster and then shot at (see in large). In the exhibition there was even a listing called:

The Wall of Rage.
I shoot at:
1. Hunger
2. Thirst
3. Injustice
4. Misery
5. Cruelty
6. Indifference
7. Physical Torture
8. Mental Torture
9. Illness
10. Racism
…
53. Hearts of Stone
54. Hell
55. Poverty
…
… etc. (up to No. 84)