Koen Hauser
Koen Hauser

Michelangelo Iconoclastia


Iconoclastia, italian for Iconoclasm︎︎︎ refers to the social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and other images or monuments, most frequently for religious or political reasons.

The different versions of the original images in the various volumes I consider as instances of  a phenomenological cycle. The notion of such a cycle first appeared in my work Ocean of Darkness, as can be read in it’s voice over text︎︎︎.

Transfiguration︎︎︎ means a) change in form or appearance: metamorphosis, b) an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change.

Michelangelo Iconoclastia


The Michelangelo Iconoclastia artist book series (2023-2025) consists of facsimile reproductions of an old ubiquitous art historical tourist guide on the work of the famous Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, in which the photographic reproductions are altered with the aid of AI. The different volumes each focus on a specific visual motif inspired by my archive of images cut out from old, second hand books.

For this ongoing project I already prompted and manually reviewed and edited over 50.000 images, resulting in the first 36 volumes presented here. The radical amount of obsessive and painstaking work needed to accomplish this project not only shows the individual qualities of the images created, but at the same time underline the meaninglessness of their uniqueness - since they all originate from an infinite source.

When looked at these books on their own, the interplay between the titles and text referring to the original works of art and the visual offspring of their depictions comes to the forefront.
But when considering the appearances of each image across the different volumes, families of images imbued by their shared visual origin take center stage, like instances of a transfigurational source.

The encyclopedic result refers to a cycle of destruction and rebirth. The repetition of transformed appearances suggests an underlying organizing force, while at the same time revealing the endlessness– and perhaps also the meaninglessness – of such unique manifestations. In doing so, it touches upon existential questions about creation itself.


Similarities between the images in the different volumes

overview of editions

Michelangelo Iconoclastia
marble objects 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
seashells 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
seafish 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s /edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
porcelain 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
clay 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
socialist communist architecture 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
theatrical costumes 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
applique textile 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

price 150 euro
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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
microscopic images 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

price 150 euro
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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
snakes 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

price 150 euro
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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
mummies 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

price 150 euro
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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
jewelry 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
flower arrangements 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
dolls 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
egyptology 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
houseplants 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
caves 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
midcentury interiors 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
cats 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
artefacts 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

price 150 euro
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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
coral reefs 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
rag dolls 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
wax 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

price 150 euro
Michelangelo Iconoclastia
destroyed theatres 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
midcentury churches 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
insects 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
cubist wooden objects 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
ethnographic wooden objects 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
origami 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
ceramics 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2
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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
artworks from emaciated bodies 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
sixties artworks 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
set tables 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
installations from textile 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
stones and minerals 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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Michelangelo Iconoclastia
Henry Moore 192 x 242 mm / 120 pagina’s / edition 2/2

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