Ilse Noor - Metamorphosis

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Metamorphosis

1997

Metamorphosis pays homage to the canonical novel by the German writer, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), of the same title. The Metamorphosis (1915) tells the story of the travelling salesman, Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one morning from a series of troubling dreams to find himself transformed into a large, insect-like creature. Kafka’s blend of realism and fantasy, as well as the writings and illustrations of Alfred Kubin (whose work in turn inspired Kafka to write The Castle (1926)), were formative sources of inspiration for Ilse during her early years.

In Ilse’s version of Kafka’s story, the human-to-creature transformation is absent. Instead, her etching conjures an insect’s carcass laying limp on the composition’s ground from which emerges another insect rising vertically from its tail. Our attention is drawn to the grandeur of this floating insect, which has been etched more intensely to contrast the translucent and almost disappearing quality of its counterpart. Ilse sets this auratic scene against a sculptural arrangement of foliage and rocks in the right middle ground. An indistinguishable vertical form is placed in the far left background, perhaps a shadow of the scene occurring in the foreground, or another biological aberration awaiting definition. This etching is one example of the artist’s recurring fascination with mythological landscapes, animals, and objects.

Details

Medium:

Etching on paper

Dimension:

39.5 x 35 cm

Date:

1997

Credit Line:

Collection of ILHAM Foundation

About Ilse Noor

Ilse Noor (b. 1941, Wipperfuerth, West Germany) is a celebrated graphic fine artist, known best for her semi-autobiographical etchings. Her works typically depict landscapes, animals, buildings or objects, interwoven with her interest in the literature, histories, myths, and legends of Germany and Southeast Asia. At the age of sixteen, she studied graphic design, initially under W. M. Stucke in Bonn, then at the College of Art in Cologne, and finally at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1963-64. There, she studied graphic art and painting under Professor Franz Nagel, winning her first award in painting from the Academy. It was during this period when Ilse met her Malaysian husband, later migrating to Malaysia in 1974. Apart from over 100 group and solo exhibitions worldwide, Ilse has written three books, illustrated posters, magazines, and various children’s books including one for the Oxford University Press. She has received commissions from various bodies including Shell Companies Malaysia (1985), His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor (1992), and Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (1997). Her 24 etchings of historical buildings commissioned by Shell resulted in the publication of the book, Warisan Nusa Shell Book of Malaysian Heritage (1991), where Ilse writes about her experiences in various buildings and sites around Malaysia. Her collections reside in galleries, museums and banks in several locations including Malaysia, Germany, Egypt, France, and Bosnia.

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