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NURSE WITH WOUND / ADOLF WÖLFLI - Lea Tanttaaria / Great-God-Father-Nieces

Format: BOOK & mCD Label & Cat.Number: Lenka Lente lkl-07 Release Year: 2014 Note: a book (38 pages) in French about the unique schizophrenic "l'art brut" painter ADOLF WÖLFLI, with additional mCD by NURSE WITH WOUND with the two tracks from the legendary 'Necropolis, Amphibians & Reptiles' LP (1986- feat. DAVID TIBET, DIANA ROGERSON and STEVEN STAPLETON), for the first time on a seperate release! Lim. 300 Price (incl. 19% VAT): €15.00 Warning: Currently we do not have this album in stock! More Info "Amis et amies proches et lointains, s’il est parmi vous un être sans péché, qu’il vienne jusqu’à moi, je le supplierai de m’accorder grâce et pardon. Figure majeure de l’art brut, Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930) fut interné en 1895 à l’asile d’aliénés de la Waldau. Cette même année 1895, il y rédigea sa Courte autobiographie, prélude aux 25000 pages de dessins, écritures et collages qui composeront son œuvre graphique. Réputées indéchiffrables, ses « partitions graphiques » n’en ont pas moins inspiré deux belles pièces à Nurse With Wound (Steven Stapleton, Diana Rogerson et David Tibet), Lea Tanttaaria et Great-God-Father-Nieces. Publiées en 1986 sur le 33 tours Necropolis, Amphibians & Reptiles (Musique Brute), ces deux pièces sont à retrouver sur le CD qui accompagne ce livre." [label info] www.lenkalente.com "When I studied at the Academy of Arts, which is a long time ago, I did my thesis on ‘outsider art’ or, to use Jean Dubuffet’s perhaps more appropriate term, ‘Art Brut’. Not exactly an art movement, Art Brut is a term used to describe individual artists who create art inspired by their own world, language and themes, ignoring the traditional world of art, academies and its (unwritten) rules. Nothing new you’d say, but there is a catch: many of these artists suffer from psychic disorders and were/are outcasts from society, often living in mental institutions or even prison. One of the most famous and inspiring of the Art Brut artists is Swiss-born Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930). Abused at an early age and orphaned at the age of 10, Wölfli worked the land as youngster, but was convicted when he tried to molest a girl. He spent some time in prison and, after a second attempt, was admitted in 1895 to the Waldau Clinic in Bern - a psychiatric hospital, where he would spend the rest of his life. Wölfli suffered from psychosis, which would lead to frequent intense hallucinations. Using drawing and writing as methods to get to grips with these hallucinations and his often-violent temper, Wölfli would work obsessively, going though reams and reams of paper per day. To illustrate his work rate: his semi-autobiography eventually stretched to 45 volumes, containing a total of over 25,000 pages and 1,600 illustrations! In his works Wölfli would often incorporate musical symbols and in his cell at Waldau he would make paper trumpets and hum through them hours on end. One of the people fascinated by this musical side of Wölfli’s works is Graeme Revell of SPK, who released an LP featuring music inspired by Wölfli on his Musique Brut label in 1987. Titled Necropolis, Amphibians & Reptiles: The Music of Adolf Wölfli, the album included works by Revell himself, DDAA and Nurse With Wound. The two tracks by NWW (Lea Tanttaaria and Great God Father Nieces) have now been re-released on this mini CD (a little under 10 minutes of playing time) that comes with a booklet featuring an excerpt of Wölfli’s autobiography, which is as mini as the CD itself. I have to admit I’m slightly puzzled by this release. A full re-release of the Musique Brut album would have been most welcome. The CD version of the album dates from 1994 and has been out of production for many moons. Is this product aimed at newcomers to Wölfli’s world? Then they must be able to read French, as the booklet is in French – why not English? However, Steve Stapleton’s brief description of Wölfli’s music, taken from the 1987 Musique Brut LP, is in English. The Lenka Lente booklet does not contain any illustration (other than the cover) of the works of Wölfli. That leaves us with an extract of an autobiography, which is, I suspect, incomprehensible to many Vital readers and two beautiful ambient musical pieces. Do I recommend this release? Yes, if you speak French and yes, if you don’t own the NWW tracks. But most of all I’d recommend you to find a copy of the Necropolis, Amphibians and Reptiles album and a decent book on Wölfli. As it is, the Lenka Lente release seems a bit like a missed opportunity." [FK/Vital Weekly]