Gertrude Degenhardt

This collection of 65 drypoint etchings from the brilliant Gertrude Degenhardt was created while the artist was in the West of Ireland - apparently one of her favorite haunts. Drawn directly onto the copperplate, these images - by turns whimsical and exuberant, melancholy and sometimes sinister - capture the contradictory feelings of loneliness and community that the outsider can sometimes observe in the region.

I am not sure that it is appropriate to write of having "read" this book, since the text consists of a one-page discussion (three pages, if you count the German and French versions) of the art of drypoint etching, and the creation of Farewell to Connaught. I have, however, often looked through this book and savored the visual treat that it offers - and the memories of my own time in Ireland that it evokes. The landscapes and pub scenes in particular remind me of some of my experiences while there... whether walking past a dry-stone wall, or sitting and listening to a traditional musician...

I find Gertrude Degenhardt's work, both in Farewell to Connaught and Women in Music to be powerful - full of vitality, and capable of piercing me to the heart. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: this artist deserves to be better known in the United States.… (más)

Published in conjunction with an exhibit at the Mittelrhein-Museum in Koblenz, this brief catalogue contains twelve out of a cycle of ninety color etchings devoted to the topic Women in Music. It also includes six very brief essays (presented in German and English) written in response to this cycle.

I first encountered the work of Gertrude Degenhardt while traveling in Ireland, where postcard reproductions of many of her works were available in the music and book stores that I passed through. It seems a shame to me that such a brilliant artist remains virtually unknown in the United States.

Degenhardt, who also created a wonderful cycle of etchings that portray the people and landscape of Connaught, here captures the interplay between women musicians and their music. There are no "pretty girls" here, but rather a grotesque union of woman and instrument. In Aus Vollem Herzen (With All My Heart), a violinist bows away at her own distended breast; the musician in Ausser Sich (Beyond Herself) is positioned in an almost-sexual pose with her harp. Each etching emphasizes the organic, physical aspects of music production, and puts the female body - in all its imperfection - center stage, not as inspiration or muse, but as actor and producer.

I find the Women in Music cycle incredibly powerful, even beautiful, and have a number of reproductions from it hanging on my wall. This little book provides a basic introduction to the cycle, but will leave you longing to see the other 77 etchings. As for the essays, the best of the lot was the short response written by the poet Marieluise Muller.… (más)