Freiheit ist ein anderer Ort – Das Leben der Camille Claudel

She sought her place

An uncompromising artist, passionate lover, gifted sculptor, a genius misunderstood by her contemporaries, and ultimately broken by her inner and outer demons: Camille Claudel not only led a life straight out of a novel. Her independent spirit, wild temperament, and unconditional creative drive repeatedly led her to clash with the social constraints of her time, which tended to assign women the role of muse rather than genius. Regina Speiseder and Katrin Aissen present this eventful biography in their production Freedom is Another Place.

Fight for recognition

The production highlights important stages in the life of this innovative artist: her childhood in the French countryside, in the wild landscape of the Tardenois, which shaped her and where she began to sculpt with local clay at an early age. Her soulmate friendship with her brother Paul Claudel and their joint rebellion against their conservative mother. Her time at the Académie Colarossi in Paris, where she also met the sculptor Auguste Rodin, becoming his student, muse, lover, and working partner.

Rodin’s affairs with other students and models, as well as her desire to establish herself as an independent artist, drove Camille Claudel to break up with her lover. This was followed by an artistically productive phase, which was, however, marked by financial worries and the struggle to survive as a woman in the established art world. Uncompromising and full of creative energy, she broke social taboos, for example when she defended herself against the antiquated tastes of exhibition visitors and authorities who denounced the nudity of her figures as offensive and denied her the ability to create art.

A penchant for destruction

She also had an unusual relationship with composer Claude Debussy, the nature of which remains unclear to this day. Growing poverty, a desperate struggle for recognition, and an increasingly reclusive life led to Camille’s isolation and mental breakdown. She became increasingly paranoid, and her penchant for destruction culminated in the destruction of her own works. Against her will, she was committed to a mental institution by her mother and brother—who betrayed her in this way despite their close relationship. She spent the last 30 years of her life there.

Between dream and reality

With associative images and emotional songs, the production takes the audience into the cosmos of Camille Claudel. In their own adaptation—inspired by letters—Regina Speiseder and Katrin Aissen bring this fascinating female character to the stage. Manuel Heuser will accompany the solo evening on the piano.