“Luise Kimme came amongst us and saw deep in us things, bold truths, great strength, nobility and beauty, that we are too close to ourselves to see, and she set about her task, chiselling, carving and sculpting our best-kept small-island secrets, giving us back to ourselves and celebrating us big to the world.”
– Peter Minshall, quoted in Bolero
German sculptor Luise Kimme was part of the Tobago landscape for more than 20 years; the story of her life and work is immortalised here in Stefan Falke‘s photographs. Kimme’s life-size wood figures combine themes from local folklore with images from classical myth, medieval art and modernist dance, but the rhythm of their poise, always about to spring into exuberant action, is inspired by her fellow citizens of the village of Bethel: the swing and lilt of their everyday motion and the stylized drama of ceremony and celebration.
If you can’t afford to buy one of Luise Kimme’s statues, or even statuettes, this book is an excellent subtitute, and a superb gift to give to budding artists.
– Anne Hilton, the Trinidad & Tobago Newsday (26 April, 2010)
Luise Kimme and I have worked together on her books and catalogues for a very long time. This new book Bolero combines stories and pictures from her past with the fantastic art she creates in Tobago, where she has lived and worked for more than 20 years… Bolero is a MUST for Luise Kimme fans…
– Stefan Falke
About Luise Kimme
Professor Luise Kimme was born in Bremen, Germany. She lived for decades below the village of Bethel, Tobago — from 1979, running her studio and the Luise Kimme Sculpture Museum from her home. Her unique Caribbean sculptures are created from native wood, often making use of the natural growth of trees and limbs. Her sculptures have been cast in bronze and are on display in public places. She has published several books of her work. Her other titles with MEP’s Prospect Press include Halcyon Days: Sculpture and Resurrection to Dance, both also with photography by Stefan Falke. Luise Kimme passed away in April 2013 after a battle with cancer, working on her distinctive sculptures and enjoying time with her dogs until the end.
A meaningful way in which to consider the art Kimme has been making for many years. A rainbow is symbolic of a bridge. Through her sculptures and drawings, Luise Kimme creates a bridge or link across which a spirit of place and people – a spirit of Tobago in particular – can traverse and take on physical, material form. With each sculptural piece and creative rendering on paper, Kimme reaches over the rainbow, and pulls what lies somewhere within us and brings it into a tangible manifestation. What she finds in us and carves into visible being is a powerful, indefatigable beauty.
– Marsha Pearce, the Trinidad Guardian
About Bolero
- Author: Luise Kimme
- Credits: Photography by Stefan Falke
- Publisher: Prospect Press (2009)
- Genre: Art History
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 185
- ISBN: 976950825X, 9789769508255
- Price: Click here for purchasing information (from the Kimme Museum). Coming soon to Amazon’s Kindle Store.