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Niki de Saint Phalle<\/strong> (1930-2002), an icon of feminist art<\/strong>, worked with a variety of mediums, from sculpture to painting to installation and also film. Born a French native, the artist moved and lived in various parts of the world, from a childhood and schooling in New York City, to the Balearic islands, where she was introduced to the architectural style of Gaud\u00ed, to Paris, where she met fellow artist Jean Tinguely<\/strong>, who would later become her husband.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the early 1960s, she became part of the Nouveau R\u00e9alisme <\/strong>movement alongside Tinguely, Yves Klein, and Arman, and others, de Saint Phalle was the only woman of the group. Her larger than life sculptures have found homes in various public spaces, including the delightful Tarot Garden<\/strong>, located in the Tuscan countryside. Perhaps her most well known artworks, the Nanas<\/i><\/strong> series, are composed of large-scale feminine figures that seem to leap through the air, painted in an almost kaleidoscope style of colours, however they demonstrate a non-traditional view of the female body. De Saint Phalle\u2019s sculptures do not conform to the stereotypes of female beauty as established by Western society and art narratives. Coming from the French slang for girls, the Nanas<\/i> are curvy, with exaggerated breasts, buttocks and thighs, accentuated with flowers and patterns. One of these sculptures, Gwendolyn <\/i>(1966-1990), was presented at the main exhibition in the 2022 Venice Biennale<\/strong>\u2019s Arsenale.\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of her filmography, another medium of her artistic expression, de Saint Phalle completed Un r\u00eave plus long que la nuit<\/i><\/strong> in 1976, having previously worked on Daddy<\/i><\/strong> in 1973. The film follows the story, in almost fairy tale fashion, of a young girl who meets a friendly dragon and a benevolent witch, who grants her wish to become a woman. Clearly made in the 70s Zeitgeist<\/strong> and with surrealist influences<\/strong>, the film makes references to sexual decadence with harems and worshipping of phallic sculptures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe film is an imaginary and poetic ballad, a marvellous tale that can be seen as the dream of a night brought to life\u2026 it is the intimate, poetic vision that a mother, an artist, can have of her daughter\u2019s life.\u201d<\/em> Andr\u00e9 Cornand, 1977<\/p>\n Un r\u00eave plus long que la nuit \/ A Dream Longer than the Night<\/em> (France, 1976)
\nDirected by Niki de Saint Phalle
\nRestored in 4K in 2023 by Niki Charitable Art Foundation with funding provided by Dior at L\u2019Immagine Ritrovato laboratory, from the 16mm camera and sound negatives<\/p>\n