Kahmann, Anna
untitled
Anna Kahmann, untitled, no date, felt pen and gold paint on paper, 29,7 x 42 cm, photo : Atelier de numérisation – Ville de Lausanne, Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Author
Kahmann, Anna,
(1905-1995), Switzerland
Biography
Anna Kahmann began her creative activity at the age of eighty-seven, intrigued by the drawing materials of her artist daughter. At first, her works were abstract and structured by the play of colours, but they soon became figurative. She depicts flowers and figures with felt pens, but the motif that fascinated her wad a rooster, inspired by a small Balinese sculpture that her daughter put on her work table in the retirement home where she was living. Anna Kahmann drew several dozen versions of it, using an original technique reminiscent of pointillism.
Unique and colourful, her Güggel (rooster) variations are articulated at several points in response to the artist's personal logic: apart from the red crest, none of the elements that make up the little creature are recognisable or seem to be justified from a naturalistic point of view. The artist's subject is divided into long, straight or curved strips, themselves divided into small rectangular units, systematically studded with dots. The background is also covered with dotted lines, adding to the ornamental dimension of her works.