Düsseldorf, 16 March 2023, Art Calendar

On the occasion of the Costume X Fashion joint exhibition at the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf, the internationally renowned artist Corina Gertz is showing a new series of Das Abgewandte Portrait -The Averted Portrait. The Düsseldorf Opera is a topical subject, not only because of the new building project of the century, but also because crafts are preserved there that would otherwise no longer exist.

In the fascinating interview, you can also read how Corina Gertz came to her artistic focus.

Garments as non-verbal communication.

The interview was held in German. German version below.

Corina Gertz on the occasion of Costume X Fashion, photographed by Kris Scholz ©Kris Scholz

Costume X Fashion at Theatermuseum, Düsseldorf until 19 March 2023 ©Kris Scholz

Düsseldorf, 16 March 2023, Art Calendar: One of the most beautiful photography and fashion exhibitions in the NRW region is currently taking place at the Düsseldorf Theatre Museum, until 19 March 2023. Costume X Fashion is a joint project for which original costumes from the Düsseldorf Opera have been interpreted by students from the fashion school AMD Akademie Mode & Design. This is also to show the appreciation of the special craft, some of which only exists in operas.

The internationally renowned Düsseldorf photographer Corina Gertz is the artistic highlight of this joint exhibition. She continued her series Das Abgewandte Portrait, taking portraits of the original opera costumes. For this, she photographs traditional costumes and cultural clothing from all parts of the world, with the woman always facing away.

The Averted Portrait: Articles of clothing have a certain meaning and are thus non-verbal communication. The insider can read everything. The Beginning.

Corina Gertz travels the world. As a model, fashion designer and artist, she lived and worked in Florence, Africa and Asia. In southern Africa she met the nomadic Himba people, whose traditional garments fascinated her so much that she tried to decipher the garments' non-verbal communication. Her first Averted Portraits were created. Corina Gertz also reveals her next stations: She will soon be photographing the miners' costumes in Chemnitz, for example, on the occasion of the city's nomination as Capital of Culture 2025.

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The distribution of roles must become clear very quickly through the costumes.

Alethea Magazine: Can you briefly describe for the readers how this collaborative project came about?

Corina Gertz: In Lockdown I couldn't travel as much as I normally do. So the idea came up to photograph the opera's collection. Opera clothing is a very important element for non-verbal communication, my main theme. In opera, old stories are told, where the distribution of roles must become clear very quickly through the costumes.

There are also old crafts in opera that need to be preserved, such as that of the belt makers or also the tailoring, and so I made this suggestion to the opera. My original idea, however, was that the pictures should be hung up in the city as huge tarpaulins to show the city what goes on behind the scenes of the opera. The same way posters are put up in Italian cities, like Milan. Unfortunately, it didn't work out because of permit procedures. My friend, the dean at the AMD, said it would be a great project for the students. Sascha Förster from the Theatre Museum heard about it and wanted the project for his museum. A total of eleven of my works hang in the museum.

Can you tell us about your artistic career?

Corina Gertz: I studied fashion design and worked for Roberto Cavalli in Florence. Then I lived and worked in South Africa. Back in Düsseldorf, I went on to China, where I designed collections for companies that were produced there. During my time in Africa, I got to know the Himba, a nomadic people from the north of Namibia who lived far away from tourism. They fascinated me because every piece of clothing, accessory or hairstyle had a certain meaning and was communication; the insiders could read everything, even which one was the favourite.

The Codes of Communication. I became more formally strict.

This form of non-verbal communication fascinated me and I began to take photographs, then in a different form. It was black and white, from the front and I photographed the whole way of life. I had to realise that the pictures did not depict what I was about. The clothes, the materiality, the production and the codes of communication. When I realised that the face and hands had a great attraction for the viewer, I became more formally strict. When you photograph people from behind, you see a lot of communication. In the old days, people were often seen from behind, like on carriage rides or in church.

I don't want to depict anything backwards, but to show a development.

So the core is traditional costumes and cultural traditions? You only show historical things?

Corina Gertz: Traditional dress defines regions. In China, for example, it was not possible, because a lot was lost during the Cultural Revolution. I worked on a project with the Chinese Costume Restoration Team, where students together with historians and archaeologists researched what was worn at court during the Tang Dynasty, for example. The hairdressers also recreated the hairstyles; we learned that the mother's hair was inherited and reincorporated into the hairstyle.

I don't want to portray anything backwards, but to show a development. For example, African women combine their traditional costumes with second-hand pieces; suddenly an Adidas T-shirt is found in the traditional costume. Everything is evolving. The traditional costumes are still lived and cultivated. They are passed down within the family, some of them several hundred years old. They are well kept, wrapped in white cotton cloth and placed in chests.

Is there also a Düsseldorf traditional costume?

Corina Gertz: There are carnival clubs and Funkenmariechen, but there is nothing here that is still lived like that.

How large is your body of work? How many cultures have you already photographed and which ones are still missing?

Corina Gertz: I will never be finished, because there are so many destinations on my schedule. Next week I'll be in the Ore Mountains because Chemnitz will be the Capital of Culture in 2025. In the Erzgebirge there are the miners' costumes, which I will photograph. In June I'll be on the island of Föhr at the Museum Kunst an der Westküste. 

I am fascinated by all cultures. Even though I'm doing a community portrait, it's very intense and intimate because you get very close to the people, there's a great exchange and you learn a lot from each other.

I would like to continue exploring this world for a long time, to get to know the world of traditional clothing and its creators.

What would you like to continue to achieve as an artist?

Corina Gertz: What I want is what all artists want, namely to be able to make a living from it. That changes, of course, and I would like to continue exploring this world for a long time, to get to know the world of traditional clothing, its creators, to learn from them. To record and archive that.

Will you be going to China again soon? 

Corina Gertz: I hope so, because China is just opening up again. I have two gallery owners there who are already waiting for me.

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Read in the next interview: 

Corina Gertz is a founding member and spokesperson of the Council of the Arts, RdK, the independent and elected representation of the interests of Culture professionals in Düsseldorf. The Council represents its interests vis-à-vis the state capital Düsseldorf, the state of NRW and the federal government.

An interview on exciting topics follows.

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Dates:

Next, the Council of the Arts and the Cultural Office will be hosting the 1st Dialogue Forum on Culture Düsseldorf on 24 March 2023 from 1:00 to 5:30 pm at the FFT .

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