Ovartaci

Ovartaci was the artistic name of the Danish visual artist Louis Marcussen (1894 – 1985).^[1] In 1923, Ovartaci emigrated to Argentina for six years for work, along the way rambling and experimenting with drugs.^[2]^[3]^[4] Ovartaci was committed to the Risskov psychiatric hospital in 1929. She then had a sex change operation in 1957. She lived and worked in the institution for fifty-six years.^[5]^[6] In 1972 Ovartaci decided not to identify as a woman and started identifying as a man until his death in 1985.^[7]

Ovartaci's phantasmagoric work features numerous female and animal figures set within an abundance of symbols, interiors, and landscapes. These figures are invested with a sense of identification that seems to defy the divide between real life and the realm of art. In 2018 an expansive exhibition entitled "Ovartaci and the Art of Madness" included a survey of the artist's work, as well as homages and related works by contemporary artists. His art can be seen at Museum Ovartaci in Aarhus, Denmark, a museum named after him showcasing artwork created at the psychiatric hospital in Risskov, Denmark.^[8]

In 2022, a monograph on Ovartaci's life, work and production was released: Ovartaci: The Signature of Madness.

References

^ "Ovartaci". Museum Ovartaci. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
^ Lejsted, Mia (2021). "The art of Ovartaci: outside or inside?". Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 30: e7. doi:10.1017/S2045796020001109. ISSN 2045-7960. PMC 8057432. S2CID 231543181.
^ "Om Ovartaci". Museum Ovartaci. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ "Queer Lines of Flight: Ovartaci — Mousse Magazine and Publishing". www.moussemagazine.it. 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ Ovartaci og kønnet Archived 2018-01-27 at the Wayback Machine on ovartaci.dk
^ Kryger, Mathias; et al. (2018). Ovartaci and the Art of Madness. Copenhagen: Antipyrine and Billedkunstskolernes Forlag. p. 227. ISBN 978-87-7945-108-7.
^ "Om Ovartaci". Museum Ovartaci. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ "Om Ovartaci". Museum Ovartaci. Retrieved 2022-10-14.