Niki de Saint Phalle Playing with the Feminine at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm

Saint Phalle, Niki de; Tinguely, Jean; Ultvedt, Per Olof. hon – en historia. Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 1967.

Folio; fold-out photographic endpapers; wire-stitched photographic wrappers; printed on newspaper throughout. In original card folder with painted canvas fragment of the original construction mounted on front cover above the artists’ signatures; some stains and discoloration on back cover; edgewear.

First edition, limited issue, number 99 of 150 copies signed by all three artists on the folder, with a piece of the original artwork mounted above. Text in Swedish and English.

Conceived by Niki de Saint Phalle and the curator of Moderna Museet, Pontus Hultén, “Hon” was a giant installation of a reclined female gure, exhibited in the largest space of the museum from June 4 to September 4, 1966. Hon – en katedral (“She – A Cathedral”) was only accessible through her vagina. Once inside, visitors found themselves in something akin to an amusement park: there was a cinema that showed a scene from the silent film Luffar-Petter [Peter the Tramp, 1921]; a planetarium in Hon’s right breast; an upstairs bar that served only Coca-Cola; a functional bottle-crusher; and a children’s slide. There were artworks by Jean Tinguely and Ultvedt throughout, many of which were interactive or actively functional. Their collaborative Banc des amoureux (“Lovers Bench") invited unwary couples to take a seat, and then transmitted their conversation via hidden microphones to the bar.

The work emphasized experience and participation over passive contemplation and catapulted the Moderna Museet into the spotlight of the international art world. Hon’s creation was documented by photographers Hans Hammarskiöld and Lüt Özkök: a few of their images were published in a thin newspaper-form catalogue in tandem with the exhibit. Hon – en historia was published after Hon’s disassembly, and brings together reviews, letters, notes, sketches, plans, and extensive images of her creation and demise. This limited edition was one of just 150 to be signed by all three artists.