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Niki de Saint Phalle : Le jardin des secrets
Niki de Saint Phalle savait que l'Art peut sauver le monde, parce que l'Art l'a sauvé. De la folie. De la violence. D'elle-même.
186 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 28, 2018
“I always admired people who went all out.”
Niki de Saint Phalle lived primarily in France and the U.S. Self-taught, an “outsider” artist, she became a kind of insider for a time in the international art world. She was a painter, sculptor and filmmaker, initially making assemblages using found household objects including broken plates. Her own Self Portrait is made of shards of glass. Saint Phalle explored the roles of women in art in society. She became famous for Shooting Pictures, in which she fired a .22 rifle into bags of paint strapped to a canvas, and the "Nanas", bold and colorful sculptures of voluptuous women. She also constructed The Tarot Garden, a garden filled with colorful sculptures based on Tarot card symbols, which she created over 20 years on land she acquired in Tuscany.
What I like about this comics biography is that it attempts to capture the character and energy of the “enfant terrible” Saint Phalle, through her life and art. A tumultuous life from the start, with lots of men, principally a connection with the Dadaist sculptor Jean Tinguely, and lots of bold and almost impossibly big ideas. Each chapter features her on a Tarot Card. It’s wild and fun and a little overwhelming, but I learned a lot about her and it introduces you to a lot of aspects of her life you can look into more deeply if you like. The book includes a chronology of her life and lots of resources if you want to learn more about her. Both she and her biography are full of life and color and energy.
If you want to read other really ambitious comics artist biographies, the others from NBM I have read include Monet: Itinerant of Light, Thoreau: A Sublime Life, Billy Holiday, and A Girl in Dior, and they are all lovely in their own ways.
A taste of her art work:
https://www.artsy.net/artist/niki-de-...
Niki’s shooting paintings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5MUx...
Niki’s Tarot Garden:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
Niki de Saint Phalle lived primarily in France and the U.S. Self-taught, an “outsider” artist, she became a kind of insider for a time in the international art world. She was a painter, sculptor and filmmaker, initially making assemblages using found household objects including broken plates. Her own Self Portrait is made of shards of glass. Saint Phalle explored the roles of women in art in society. She became famous for Shooting Pictures, in which she fired a .22 rifle into bags of paint strapped to a canvas, and the "Nanas", bold and colorful sculptures of voluptuous women. She also constructed The Tarot Garden, a garden filled with colorful sculptures based on Tarot card symbols, which she created over 20 years on land she acquired in Tuscany.
What I like about this comics biography is that it attempts to capture the character and energy of the “enfant terrible” Saint Phalle, through her life and art. A tumultuous life from the start, with lots of men, principally a connection with the Dadaist sculptor Jean Tinguely, and lots of bold and almost impossibly big ideas. Each chapter features her on a Tarot Card. It’s wild and fun and a little overwhelming, but I learned a lot about her and it introduces you to a lot of aspects of her life you can look into more deeply if you like. The book includes a chronology of her life and lots of resources if you want to learn more about her. Both she and her biography are full of life and color and energy.
If you want to read other really ambitious comics artist biographies, the others from NBM I have read include Monet: Itinerant of Light, Thoreau: A Sublime Life, Billy Holiday, and A Girl in Dior, and they are all lovely in their own ways.
A taste of her art work:
https://www.artsy.net/artist/niki-de-...
Niki’s shooting paintings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5MUx...
Niki’s Tarot Garden:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
April 26, 2018
I received access to this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'd never heard of Niki de Saint Phalle prior to reading this graphic novel, but her monumental sculptures remind me quite a bit of a friend's work. The font choice here makes the background information a bit difficult to read, though the speech bubbles are easier going. de Saint Phalle had a fascinating life and career and this was a pleasant way to learn about her and her life. The suggested reading at the book's end definitely warrants investigation, however, since the drawings of her works don't quite capture them the same way photographs do.
I'd never heard of Niki de Saint Phalle prior to reading this graphic novel, but her monumental sculptures remind me quite a bit of a friend's work. The font choice here makes the background information a bit difficult to read, though the speech bubbles are easier going. de Saint Phalle had a fascinating life and career and this was a pleasant way to learn about her and her life. The suggested reading at the book's end definitely warrants investigation, however, since the drawings of her works don't quite capture them the same way photographs do.
December 21, 2023
Je crois que ce roman graphique m'a peu convaincue. Sur le fond, on passe trop vite sur certaines choses alors qu'on aimerait aller plus loin, et au contraire, certains passages sont trop longs. Parfois on passe du coq à l'âne et c'est bof. Et sur la forme, j'ai plutôt aimé mais la lecture était parfois difficile tant l'écriture était petite et noire sur des couleurs déjà foncées. Un peu déçue.
April 17, 2022
Une BD biographique peu originale dont le graphisme ne m'a pas du tout séduit. Niki de Saint Phalle méritait mieux.
July 2, 2025
"Ce qui est sûr, c'est que si je n'avais pas créé, j'aurais détruit."
March 18, 2025
J’ai recherché mon secret, je ne l’ai pas trouvé mais cette BD.
Elle retrace une partie de son histoire ça m’as bcp plu.
Elle retrace une partie de son histoire ça m’as bcp plu.
June 13, 2018
Extremely informative, colorful, and well drawn. I would not hesitate to purchase further works by Dominique Osuch and/or Sandrine Martin. I would recommend this to anyone interested in graphic arts and art in general.
August 4, 2024
Passionnant j'ai appris beaucoup d'éléments sur la vie de Niki.
January 31, 2018
No conocía absolutamente NADA de esta artista (exceptuando algunas fotos que vi de su famoso Jardín del Tarot), asi que este cómic fue un gran comienzo para saber de su vida y obra, dividida por capítulos, dedicado cada uno a un arcano del Tarot (no en orden). Desde su rebeldía como niña (escogiendo su propio nombre), la violación de su padre, sus matrimonios, su vida como madre privilegiando su arte, siguiendo su pasión por pintar, esculpir y hacer arte accesible para todos (que muchas veces se tildó de naïve), sus depresiones, todo está contado de manera cronólogica, con un uso de colores y formas que recuerdan su trabajo. Muy bueno.
January 24, 2023
I knew nothing about Niki de Saint Phalle so I have this book to thank for introducing me to her work. If only the writing was smooth. Key pieces are missing in the narrative. We see the death of her sister affect her but we only knew about the sister's existence 5 panels before. I spent the first half of the book jumping back to try and keep track of the people mentioned. The script that is her voice that takes us through the story is very hard to read on some of the panels as the black ink used for it is too close to the background to make it unreadable. I had to get a magnifying app to read these passages. Many of her significant works are just brushed by and I needed to look them up to get an idea of what they actually are. A lot of this is clarified in the chronology at the end but I shouldn't need to get there to follow the flow
The artwork is lovely and gives us a real sense of what her work is like as well as her struggles with mental health. Her physical health struggles aren't given the same artistic treatment. I wondered early why each chapter used a tarot card but that's because I knew nothing of her most obsessive work. It's a great way to introduce what happens in the chapter and is a lovely thread through the narrative. This book comes so close to being great. It is a great intro to her work though. I look forward to learning more about it.
The artwork is lovely and gives us a real sense of what her work is like as well as her struggles with mental health. Her physical health struggles aren't given the same artistic treatment. I wondered early why each chapter used a tarot card but that's because I knew nothing of her most obsessive work. It's a great way to introduce what happens in the chapter and is a lovely thread through the narrative. This book comes so close to being great. It is a great intro to her work though. I look forward to learning more about it.
March 13, 2022
So incredibly disappointing.
With a figure as radical as Niki this book could have gone in so many directions yet it didn't know whether it wanted to be a children's book or something bold, complicated and dark much like de Saint Phalle's life.
I suspect that the authors wanted to combine the 'childish' with the mature-much as Niki herself thought children are actually mature in their own rite-but this book is all over the map.
In one section we see episodes with non-consensual sex and then fantasy.
In another dealings with mental health and 'baby talk'. The illustrations themselves are nothing to write home about either. Don't get me started on the cursive print that made everything that much harder to read and didn't match the other typeface used throughout the book.
Two stars for the research but even the chronology of de Saint Phalle's life skipped over hospitalizations and other darker aspects of her life. It read more like an 'in review' section than a chronology of a great figure's life.
As generous as I am and as much as I wanted to like this book I couldn't wait to get through it and put it down.
With a figure as radical as Niki this book could have gone in so many directions yet it didn't know whether it wanted to be a children's book or something bold, complicated and dark much like de Saint Phalle's life.
I suspect that the authors wanted to combine the 'childish' with the mature-much as Niki herself thought children are actually mature in their own rite-but this book is all over the map.
In one section we see episodes with non-consensual sex and then fantasy.
In another dealings with mental health and 'baby talk'. The illustrations themselves are nothing to write home about either. Don't get me started on the cursive print that made everything that much harder to read and didn't match the other typeface used throughout the book.
Two stars for the research but even the chronology of de Saint Phalle's life skipped over hospitalizations and other darker aspects of her life. It read more like an 'in review' section than a chronology of a great figure's life.
As generous as I am and as much as I wanted to like this book I couldn't wait to get through it and put it down.
May 31, 2020
'Niki de Saint Phalle: The Garden of Secrets' by Dominique Osuch and Sandrine Martin is a graphic novel biography of an artist known for creating large, strange sculptures.
The story tells the life Niki de Saint Phalle. There are some early traumatizing events in her life that she had to learn to deal with. She did through a feminist style of art. She worked in many mediums, but is best known for sculptures. The book is told as a series of journal entries and color is used sparsely in the beginning of the story and saturates more later in the work.
I wanted to like this more than I did, but the font choices felt cramped and made reading it difficult. I also feel like the art was kind of crude and didn't really do proper homage to this artist's works. There is a nice timeline of the artist with more information in the back of the book.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from NBM Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
The story tells the life Niki de Saint Phalle. There are some early traumatizing events in her life that she had to learn to deal with. She did through a feminist style of art. She worked in many mediums, but is best known for sculptures. The book is told as a series of journal entries and color is used sparsely in the beginning of the story and saturates more later in the work.
I wanted to like this more than I did, but the font choices felt cramped and made reading it difficult. I also feel like the art was kind of crude and didn't really do proper homage to this artist's works. There is a nice timeline of the artist with more information in the back of the book.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from NBM Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
October 6, 2021
✨Citation: « Voilà. Je crois que finalement, je n'ai rien fait d'assez difficile, d'assez excitant, d'assez grand ! Suis-je une héroïne ? Je n'en sais rien... Ce qui est sûr, c'est que si je n'avais pas créé, j'aurais détruit. Oui, j'aurais fait une assez redoutable terroriste ! » 💫
Aujourd’hui c’est une Bande Dessinée (encore ?!) sur Niki De Saint Phalle, une artiste ayant vécu de 1930 à 2002.
Une artiste remplie de douleurs, d’épreuves et de maladie qui s’avère l’avoir beaucoup « servie » dans son oeuvre et en même temps, elle a utilisé l’art comme thérapie.
C’est une artiste GÉNIALE, qui à créer énormément d’oeuvres et dans ce livre on découvre avec plaisir le « pourquoi », les étapes et comment elle ce servaient de l’art comme une thérapie. C’est juste un livre au moins aussi fou que les oeuvres de Niki de Saint Phale et qui est emplie de bonne humeur malgré tout! 🌸
Aujourd’hui c’est une Bande Dessinée (encore ?!) sur Niki De Saint Phalle, une artiste ayant vécu de 1930 à 2002.
Une artiste remplie de douleurs, d’épreuves et de maladie qui s’avère l’avoir beaucoup « servie » dans son oeuvre et en même temps, elle a utilisé l’art comme thérapie.
C’est une artiste GÉNIALE, qui à créer énormément d’oeuvres et dans ce livre on découvre avec plaisir le « pourquoi », les étapes et comment elle ce servaient de l’art comme une thérapie. C’est juste un livre au moins aussi fou que les oeuvres de Niki de Saint Phale et qui est emplie de bonne humeur malgré tout! 🌸
January 3, 2020
Bd très complète qui relate la vie de Nikki de Saint phale, une jeune femme débordante d'énergie. Par moments on traîne en longueur notamment car je ne la connaissais pas et qu'en commençant cette bd, je ne m'attendais pas à lire une biographie. Néanmoins ça reste captivant et je suis curieux de m'intéresser à certaines des œuvres faramineuses qu'elle a créé au cours de sa vie, j'aime beaucoup le lien avec l'univers du tarot en lien avec sa vie qui tourne autour de ce thème essentiel !
April 2, 2025
5 stars for drawing. It's a shame more of illustrator Sandrine Martin's work isn't available in English (but that won't stop me from obtaining her graphic novels in French, at the very least I can look at the pictures). 3 stars for writing. It could've been a problem with the translation, but the narrative seemed a bit clunky and disjointed. I learned a lot about Niki de Saint Phalle though, and it is now on my bucket list to go to the Tarot Gardens in Tuscany.
October 5, 2025
J’ai adoré cette bd! Bien plus qu’un récit de la vie (oh combien passionnante et extraordinaire!) de Niki, c’est aussi une réelle plongée dans son univers coloré et ésotérique. Le personne de Niki de Saint Phalle m’a transportée et beaucoup émue !
Sa vie est tellement dense qu’il y a évidemment certains événements qui sont un peu survolés, mais heureusement il y a une petite biographie à la fin! J’ai trouvé le format vraiment parfait et très prenant !
Sa vie est tellement dense qu’il y a évidemment certains événements qui sont un peu survolés, mais heureusement il y a une petite biographie à la fin! J’ai trouvé le format vraiment parfait et très prenant !
December 18, 2021
This is a woman of my heart and after my heart, so I can't rate this anything less than 5 stars. I have a pure love for Niki de Saint Phalle's life and art. This is a colorful and whimsically detailed (organized by tarot card chapters) exploration of her life and art, everything from the shooting paintings to her tarot garden.
July 19, 2024
I was unfamiliar with Niki's life before reading this book. I only read about a third of it before skipping to the end and discovering the chronology. I found it disjointed and confusing, so I often had to guess what was going on, but rarely got enough context later to learn if my guess was correct. The art was not compelling and the font was very hard to read. I did not finish the book.
January 1, 2019
Graphic novel of the life and art of the artist Niki de Saint Phalle. Her art is very vibrant and unusual. Meh. I found it confusing. There was also nudity and sexual situations more appropriate for new adult or definitely high school, not middle school.
May 25, 2021
Il y a peu d'artiste aussi prolifique, touche-à-tout et révolutionnaire que Niki de Saint Phalle. Cette bd lui rend un délicieux hommage en mettant en valeur ses oeuvres majeures et en dévoilant les grands jalons de sa vie. Le tout avec de belles planches à l'allure crayonnée.
May 4, 2018
The storytelling felt patchy, and I was never really won over by the art.
June 17, 2018
Graphic novel - back matter - interesting illustrations
August 17, 2018
Interesting, imaginative graphic biography of a French-American avant-garde artist with whom I was unfamiliar.
January 15, 2019
This graphic biography about the artist Niki De Saint Phalle is wonderful, told in the perfect medium for a visual artist.
August 31, 2019
Très jolies couleurs, dessin attachants et une artiste exceptionnelle. Je connaissais déjà un peu la vie de Niki et son oeuvre mais cette bd me l'a fait découvrir en profondeur. J'adore.
November 25, 2019
Une BD très instructive sur la vie de cette artiste. Les dessins sont magnifiques
January 6, 2020
I loved this book so much. Especially the Tarot card splash pages that designated every 'chapter'. This book was as charming as one of Niki's pieces.
January 13, 2021
Vraiment intéressant
March 4, 2023
A graphic bio, good, quick way into her life & work.
February 11, 2024
Encore un livre abandonné. J’ai trouvé ça difficile à lire, suivre qui est qui. Il y a le texte des bulles et sous les bulles qui sont de 2 narrateurs différents…
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