Niki de Saint Phalle: Wer ist das Monster - Du oder ich?

Who is the monster - you or me?

Niki de Saint-Phalle, the French-American artist, talks about her life, her work and her collaboration with her Swiss husband, Jean Tinguely, famous for his kinetic art: "I invent machines which aren′t useful at all."

The film begins with Niki′s "shooting paintings" of the early 60′s: "instead of becoming a terrorist, I became a terrorist in art". It follows her work on the voluptuous colorful "Nana" figures and the giant architectural sculptures. The construction and the opening ceremony of the enormous sculpure garden in Tuscany, wherein the artist optically depicts the 22 main Tarot Cards, are the bookends for this film. Highlights are clippings from Niki′s own experimental films: "Daddy and A Dream - Longer Than The Night" with various grotesque performances by her and her husband, Jean.

Source: German films Service & Marketing GmbH