Henning Bohl
First Coffee Break, 2007

Artist
Henning Bohl

Title
First Coffee Break

Year of creation
2007

Technology and dimensions
wood, cardboard, rope, highlighter, 193 x 119.5 x 96.5 cm

Year of acquisition
2009

Acquisition of the foundation

Various elements connect Henning Bohl's three works and thus make them appear in a clear connection. The viewer finds the blue book, which is introduced in Bohl's picture "The Poster Book Poster, Blue", in the work entitled "La revue blanc blue". The latter clearly draws on Pierre Bonnard's "La revue blanch", which was written at the end of the 19th century, not only in the title but also in the motif. With this reference, Bohl deliberately refers to the poster with the silhouette of Misia Sert, which suited him thematically well as the cover of an empty magazine and at the same time is a reference to the beginning of the poster. While Bonnard's original refers to the magazine "La revue blanch", the female silhouette in Bohl's picture presents his "Poster Book". Finally, through the visible stretcher frame, the picture shows a formal connection to Bohl's figure "First Coffee Break".

But that is not the only parallel between the two works - they are also linked by the theme of the silhouette. For "First Coffee Break" Henning Bohl used a set photo from the catalog for Jack Smith's film "Flaming Creatures". Similar to "La revue blanc blue", he was particularly interested in the human silhouette changed by clothing. In his eyes, the person drinking coffee during a break in filming also embodied the private moment during work. Bohl doubled the body outline of this image and stuck them together to create a sculpture. A self-quote from his Kabuki mask pictures is the mask that hangs around the figure's neck. According to Henning Bohl himself, the stretcher frame could ultimately be seen as a symbol of the work that is breathing down people's necks even during breaks.