Amanda Lear: “The buttocks, I manage them quite well”

We know very well Amanda Lear queen of disco and actress. Well, it’s Amanda Lear painter we’re talking about. “Painting is my first love and certainly my last”, she told us when we met on Wednesday November 30th in Zurich, at the Efficiency Club, where she exhibits until December 16th. About fifty paintings by the French artist hang there. Her documentary ‘Queen Lear: The Different Lives of Amanda Lear’ also airs there.

Funny, frank and talkative, she who was Salvador Dalì’s muse tells us about the unbearable and male chauvinist side of the Spanish surrealist artist, exalts the therapeutic benefits of art and laughs at “men more complex than women when it comes to getting naked’.

Amanda Lear, you are often in Switzerland…

Are you from Lausanne? I love the Beau-Rivage hotel. I went there for the first time with Salvador Dali. It was towards the end of our relationship, he was already sick (note: in the 70s). As I walked out of the facility, he tripped and fell right in front of my eyes. Seeing my Dali, whom I considered a supreme being, on the ground like an old man who could no longer stand on his feet…he Shocked me.

Exhibit your paintings in Zurich. One of the largest represents Icarus, naked, who falls after approaching the sun. What is the symbolism of this painting?

This painting is systematically shown to me upside down! I tell them: “It can be seen that it is falling!” I purposely made her sex in the air so that we would understand better. It is a symbol of the show. Today she perfectly represents influencers, those people who are just trying to become famous. They get too close to the light and poof! we don’t talk about it anymore. Before social media there were stars… But know that fame doesn’t make you happy.

You also dreamed of becoming famous, right?

No. I mostly wanted to leave my family. I found it pathetic. They had a somewhat bourgeois life, too clean. I was more interested in fine art, bohemian life, artists and people smoking firecrackers…

At what age did you leave the family cradle?

Very early. I was 15 and went to Paris. I enrolled in fine art and then switched to Central Saint Martins College in London. Since I only frequented artists, I was mainly interested in painting. But this dream didn’t come true right away… Quite by chance, I was asked if I wanted to be a model. I accepted because I needed money to pay for my studies. The rest followed very quickly: music, theatre, cinema… Without ever forgetting that painting was my first passion.

Is painting still your first passion?

Yes. If everything stops tomorrow, I still have my painting. For this art we don’t need anyone, that’s what I particularly appreciate. There are always people to make a record or a film. In front of my canvas, with my brush, I am calm, silent. As in the kitchen, let’s add some details to perfect the result. It is a handcrafted and very intimate work.

It is above all a great therapy. All my successful friends do drugs, drink, try to kill themselves, or go to the shrink. This job creates a lot of problems that lead to frustrations. I assure you that thanks to painting I am always in a good mood! I no longer need Prozac or other tranquilizers and antidepressants. It’s kind of like meditation. It forces you to focus. Then you forget the taxes, the partner or whatever. Also, throughout all my work we notice when I’m sad or frustrated.

There’s also a little, a lot of buttocks…

It’s true. The front do not really know how to do. But the buttocks are quite good for me.

Are these naked men from your imagination? Or are they exes or people you’ve met?

(Bursts out laughing.) I’m always looking for models. The boys still mess around a lot. They tell me: “Ah, I would really like to pose for you.” I accept the proposal, because most of the time they are beautiful and well made. From the moment you have to strip completely, they make a fuss. I’m not going to jump over it. There’s a kind of boy-with-hair complex. From behind they have no problems, but when you have to show the front it annoys them a bit…

You also draw a lot of flowers.

It’s because of Provence. I discovered this region forty years ago, this is where Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Cézanne lived. They didn’t come here for nothing. There are beautiful blue skies, amazing light, and beautiful nature. I was very inspired by this place. Unfortunately, Salvador Dali hated it. He has never painted a bouquet of flowers in his life. He was too cute and feminine. Also, when I told him I was a painter, he retorted, “Oh no, painting of women, that doesn’t exist.”

Didn’t he see you as an artist?

I told him there was Frida Kahlo or Mary Cassatt… He replied: “Yes, but it’s not real painting”. As a Spanish macho, he viewed women as objects. That is to say cute but not creative. “To be creative, you have to suffer like Michelangelo,” he said. He annoyed me a lot, it was a dirty scam. (Laughs.)

Why did you stay with Dali, if his mentality displeased you so much?

I found out it was Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He had some kind of schizophrenia. Dali in public he was obnoxious, I hated what he did. He thought he was the king of the world with a mustache and talked shit. While the man I had at home was exquisite and cultured. He kissed my hand, recited poems by Federico García Lorca to me. I fell in love with the private figure so quickly that I moved in with him. I wanted to hang out with the Dali I loved.

Have you ever expressed your opinion on his art?

I kept criticizing his paintings. I told him he sucked and he said, “Shut up, it’s already sold for $600,000.” He always went back to the business side, which really annoyed me.

Isn’t it inevitable to think about the financial side after years of activity?

Yes… Dali’s excellent paintings date back to the 1930s and 1940s. Then, for money, he made ashtrays, ties, everything. Like all painters, after all.

Has Dali ever been angry with you?

He told me: “Never show me your paintings. I don’t want to see them!” So the only time I had the courage to show him one of my works was an unfinished angel head. He just said, “That’s not bad…for a woman”. I was enraged.

Among the paintings you exhibit is a portrait of Pablo Picasso. Have you met him?

No, I knew your daughter, count? (Laughs.) I love what he did and almost met him. Dali she went to New York every year by boat, because she was afraid of flying. You left Cannes, where Picasso lived. One day, when he got there, he told me that he wanted to say hello to Pablo, because he hadn’t seen him for forty years. He called her and I listened with an ear to the whole conversation. At the end of the line, Picasso exclaimed: “What are you doing here? It’s wonderful! Are you with your wife?” Dali replied, “No, I’m with Amanda.” He quickly explained to her that he was still with his wife, Gala, and that I was his muse who accompanied him everywhere. The conversation then quickly derailed when Picasso asked her, “Are you still hard?” I was hallucinated by this scene. I thought these two geniuses of painting were going to discuss their work, but they only talked about ass for ten minutes. They were two old idiots talking about their prostates I was very disappointed. (Laughs.)

In Zurich, visitors can also see your documentary “Queen Lear: The Different Lives of Amanda Lear”. You talk about your life in Swinging London. How was it?

I had the opportunity to be present during the most creative period, the revolution of May 68. Everyone was there, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bailey, and so on… I was in the right place at the right time, I met all creators at that time. In the end it stimulated me a lot.

Did a meeting in London particularly strike you?

Bryan Ferry, I think. He saw me at a fashion show and thought, “This is the girl I want for the Roxy Music album cover.” (Editor’s note: “For Your Pleasure”, published 1973). I had never heard his name before and asked him how much he would pay me. In the end I received 25 British Pounds. It was regrettable. (Laughs.) The photo became mythical when it was actually scary. There was a real panther that scared me. But she couldn’t stand up because they gave her an injection to calm her down. I had to pull on the leash to get his face up again. Eventually, they had to redraw the animal.

A bad memory that indirectly launched your musical career.

Yes, that’s why David Bowie wanted to meet me and made me sing. Then it all happened very quickly. I recorded my songs in Munich, because everything disco was happening there. The Germans tried to make me a disco Marlene Dietrich. They made me sing in a much lower range than mine and they bet on my blond hair and build. Eventually, they got it right.

Exhibition of works by Amanda Lear at the Efficiency Club until 16 December. Oetenbachgasse 26, Zurich.