Betrant Peret as a DJ at the Esperantopolis 2011, a cultural event featuring a variety of arts, held at the French Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City last month.
A space, an atmosphere where art interacts with life in a way that everyone is comfortable, no matter what his or her background, no matter what the person’s age, no matter what the person’s relationship to art – Esperantopolis 2011 aspired to create this space.
Betrant Peret, his partner Sandrine Llouquet (a Viet kieu artist), and Sophie Gambart of the French consulate organized the multi-art exhibition at the French Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City last month.
The show brought together works by some 20 French and Vietnamese artists, including graffiti, photography, installation art, plays and hip-hop performances.
Event-goer Mai Thao discovered “many strange things at the unique cultural event,” including a fashion show of “remakes” by a Vietnamese designer.
“I was also moved by the graffiti by Seth. The French artist’s talent amazed me,” she said.
“The story of the Vietnamese lady in his painting somehow expressed people’s feelings about changes caused by urbanization.”
For Peret, the show succeeded in one of its key aims, because the audience seemed to feel at home.
“Esperanto used to be a utopian language in the early 19th century. The ambition of that language was to be universal… and polis, in Greek, means the city,” said Peret, explaining the title of the exhibition.
“That is what we had in mind… Could we consider art and art events as this universal zone?”
Peret said he together with the co-organizer, Sophie Gambart, wanted to create an event with high-quality art for everybody without assigning any theme or topic to it.
“To me, it’s really important for everybody and anybody, from the xe om (motorbike taxi driver) to the director of a gallery, to feel comfortable in the environment of esperantopolis.”
It was not the first time Peret, a graduate of France’s Ecole National des Beaux Arts de Bordeaux, had tried to create this universal space.
He has organized many events and exhibitions “in the spirit of esperantopolis,” mainly in France, but also in the US, Germany, Cuba, Singapore and other countries, before he came to Vietnam.
As an artist and an art event organizer with more than 20 years’ of experience, Peret said he’s always been interested in the relationship between a venue and the public.
Any venue has potential for displaying art work, while art has to adapt to the venue, which allows the venue to generate its own public, he said.
“I would say that painting or organizing an event is nearly the same to me, it’s a question of composition, a question of how to invest, to use a delimited zone.”
“I like the public, any public, to be able to feel happy and comfortable in any location… then art becomes part of the environment and the public, too.”
The 40-year-old artist had earlier developed the idea of an “Art Total” that blurs the borders between art and life, creating “ephemeral and utopian moments.”
Over the last four years he has felt that his shows in Vietnam have been reaching an increasingly larger, mixed audience of both Vietnamese and expatriates, and that there is a greater expectancy for such events.
So he aims at an Esperantopolis 2012 which is “bigger, stronger and longer.”
Asked about his journey to Vietnam, Peret said that after he and his partner Llouquet had completed a lot of projects in France, they decided to come here to start doing “some exchanges between the two countries and the two cultures… to try to be part of the exciting adventure an emerging country like Vietnam can provide.”
He is also a founding member of the artists’ collective, Mogas Station, which brings together French, German, Japanese, American and Vietnamese artists.
“The energy we can find in Vietnam is super strong, that is the fuel we need to go on, in life and art.”
2011年7月18日星期一
2011年3月22日星期二
Auction for artists' colony scorched in Carmel fire
David Leviathan had only enough time to grab his laptop computer and a few belongings when December's devastating Carmel fire reached the artists' colony of Ein Hod, razing his house and many other buildings. On Wednesday, some three-and-a-half months later, one of his paintings is set to go under the hammer in Tel Aviv as part of a public sale being held by Matsart Auctioneers to raise much-needed funds for the village.
Unlike many of his neighbors, Leviathan worked from a studio located outside Ein Hod, meaning that most of his artwork survived, including "Legs in the Water," an oil-oncanvas that will be sold at the auction.
The fire claimed only two of his paintings, which he had stored at his house prior to a sale that was scheduled to take place two days later.
Leviathan said that one of the lost pieces "was a painting that had been displayed in a gallery, and I hadn't managed to bring it to the studio [afterward].
It was a very important painting I had worked on for more than a year, erasing and then adding and then erasing again. It was a lot like giving birth."
He said the shock from losing the two paintings and the experience of the fire left their mark on the work he has done since, although he couldn't say whether other artists had been affected in the same way.
"One of the last two paintings I've done is essentially like a monument to the burned, because you see a man, standing in, or in front of, not exactly a ball, but a kind of field in space, the whole thing ablaze, and it's [just] him and infinity inside that space," he said. "I didn't decide in advance to paint that. I never know [when I begin] how the painting will look. I start from the foundations – earth, fire, air, water – and later either a character emerges and I continue with that, or it stays abstract."
As for "Legs in the Water," Leviathan said it doesn't have any connection to the fire, but that he gladly agreed to a request to have it included in the auction. He said the painting focuses on the meeting of rays of light with the water, with the light being shown in the space between a girl's legs.
He said that he wanted to make the meeting of light and water into something holy, something that hints at humanity.
"Legs in the Water" will be put up for sale by Matsart as part of an auction of Israeli and international artwork at Tel Aviv's Dan Hotel on Wednesday night. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of six items produced by Ein Hod artists will go toward the village's fire relief fund. Alongside Leviathan's work are three other oil paintings, one paper collage and one sculpture.
Unlike many of his neighbors, Leviathan worked from a studio located outside Ein Hod, meaning that most of his artwork survived, including "Legs in the Water," an oil-oncanvas that will be sold at the auction.
The fire claimed only two of his paintings, which he had stored at his house prior to a sale that was scheduled to take place two days later.
Leviathan said that one of the lost pieces "was a painting that had been displayed in a gallery, and I hadn't managed to bring it to the studio [afterward].
It was a very important painting I had worked on for more than a year, erasing and then adding and then erasing again. It was a lot like giving birth."
He said the shock from losing the two paintings and the experience of the fire left their mark on the work he has done since, although he couldn't say whether other artists had been affected in the same way.
"One of the last two paintings I've done is essentially like a monument to the burned, because you see a man, standing in, or in front of, not exactly a ball, but a kind of field in space, the whole thing ablaze, and it's [just] him and infinity inside that space," he said. "I didn't decide in advance to paint that. I never know [when I begin] how the painting will look. I start from the foundations – earth, fire, air, water – and later either a character emerges and I continue with that, or it stays abstract."
As for "Legs in the Water," Leviathan said it doesn't have any connection to the fire, but that he gladly agreed to a request to have it included in the auction. He said the painting focuses on the meeting of rays of light with the water, with the light being shown in the space between a girl's legs.
He said that he wanted to make the meeting of light and water into something holy, something that hints at humanity.
"Legs in the Water" will be put up for sale by Matsart as part of an auction of Israeli and international artwork at Tel Aviv's Dan Hotel on Wednesday night. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of six items produced by Ein Hod artists will go toward the village's fire relief fund. Alongside Leviathan's work are three other oil paintings, one paper collage and one sculpture.
2011年3月13日星期日
Shelby Keefe named Pfister's third resident artist
The Pfister Hotel recently named Milwaukee painter Shelby Keefe as their third and latest
artist in residence. Keefe, who was one of six finalists, won the position after she received
the most votes via Facebook, Twitter, a web site and in-person voting and was approved by a
committee of artists.
The current artist in residence is Katie Musolff and the first artist to hold the position
was Reginald Baylor. The residency is a one-year, paid position that provides hotel-based
studio space for the artist. The studio is open to visitors and hotel guests and the artist
also provides tours of the hotel's impressive art collection.
Originally from Whitewater, Keefe graduated with an art degree from Cardinal Stritch College
in 1981. She is known for her paintings of cities -- many of which Milwaukee locations are
the subject -- and her plein air (outdoor) pieces. Keefe currently resides in Bay View.
OnMilwaukee.com recently caught up with Keefe to hear more about her new role.
OnMilwaukee.com: Is this the first time you applied for the residency?
Shelby Keefe: Yes, this is the first time I applied. I heard about it last year when Katie
Musolff got the gig, I thought that it would be cool to apply for it some day when i didn't
have the need for my large studio space at the Hide House. But then she told me you don't
have to get rid of your existing studio, you just have more than one studio.
OMC: Have you ever had a residency anywhere else?
SK: In 2002, I had a week-long residency at Prairie School in Racine where I presented my
painting technique to all levels of students throughout the week during their regularly
scheduled Art Class. Can you believe they actually had Art EVERY DAY? At the end of the week
I did a painting performance on stage for the whole school in an auditorium setting.
OMC: Is this a paid position?
SK: Yes, the Pfister pays me a monthly stipend. For that stipend, I will be taking people on
tours of their large Victorian art collection two times a week, giving talks and doing demos
to groups of visitors, hosting Gallery Nights at the Pfister, but mostly, maintaining an
artistic presence as people come and go.
OMC: Other than money and studio space -- which is a lot -- what does the residency provide
for you?
SK: Well, for me, it's going to be an expanding experience. I will be exposing my work to a
larger, nationwide audience through doing paintings of our beautiful city. I can sell my work
directly to clients and spread the work to an even bigger group of people.
OMC: How long is the residency?
SK: It's a year-long residency that starts April 1st and ends March 31, 2012.
OMC: What are your personal goals?
SK: This opportunity is going to allow me to become a better painter, because it's like
anything else: the more you do something, the better you get at it. I will have regular
hours, and will be cranking out the work. Usually it takes a timeline or a show or a plein
air painting competition to get me to paint for hours and days in a row.
I also plan on focussing mostly on Milwaukee-themed work. I won't be distracted by painting
other cities for the art fair circuit since I'll only be doing Milwaukee shows such as
Lakefront Festival of Arts and Milwaukee Domes Art Festival this summer. A good distraction
will be painting in Door County, for their Plein Air Painting Festival and competition in
late July as well as painting Door County themes for my show at Edgewood Orchard Galleries
from July 16 through the middle of August.
OMC: Any other specific plans at this point?
SK: One of the most exciting things I plan on doing during my residency is my version of
"performance art." That means creating a 30 x 30 inch painting in 20 minutes to my original
musical compositions. I will be doing these between 9 and 11:30 p.m. at the Pfister in the
Rouge ballroom. I've been doing these pieces since 2002 when I did my residency at Prairie
School, and the resulting paintings are dynamic, expressionistic, juicy oil paintings that
will also be for sale in my new studio/gallery at the Pfister.
OMC: Do you support yourself solely on your art?
SK: Yes. I also teach small workshops in my studio as well as traveling to Door County to
teach at the Peninsula School of Art and other small, independent institutions.
OMC: When did you start making art?
SK: I come from a family of artists, creative thinkers and educators. As a young child, the
thing that gave me the most joy was making art; making things. I was encouraged to draw,
paint, sculpt, craft. Anything that would be considered creative, including music, like
singing, playing the piano, playing the oboe. So, thankfully, I was encouraged to attend art
school, despite the fact that my dad wasn't sure I could make a living at being an artist.
OMC: Where did you study art?
SK: I graduated from Cardinal Stritch University and studied under Sr. Thomasita Fessler in
the late 70s and early 80s. I worked as a graphic designer and illustrator until 2005 when I
retired from that title to work solely as a fine artist and teacher.
OMC: Where exactly is the studio inside the Pfister? Where can we find you?
SK: People can find me in my new digs on the first floor just north of the main lobby
opposite of, but between the two banks of elevators. You won't be able to miss me. It's a
windowed, well-lit room that looks more like a gallery than a studio. When I have a chance to
get in the groove of this residency, I will post my hours, but pretty much, if i am not plein
air painting (painting outside), I will be painting at the Pfister.
artist in residence. Keefe, who was one of six finalists, won the position after she received
the most votes via Facebook, Twitter, a web site and in-person voting and was approved by a
committee of artists.
The current artist in residence is Katie Musolff and the first artist to hold the position
was Reginald Baylor. The residency is a one-year, paid position that provides hotel-based
studio space for the artist. The studio is open to visitors and hotel guests and the artist
also provides tours of the hotel's impressive art collection.
Originally from Whitewater, Keefe graduated with an art degree from Cardinal Stritch College
in 1981. She is known for her paintings of cities -- many of which Milwaukee locations are
the subject -- and her plein air (outdoor) pieces. Keefe currently resides in Bay View.
OnMilwaukee.com recently caught up with Keefe to hear more about her new role.
OnMilwaukee.com: Is this the first time you applied for the residency?
Shelby Keefe: Yes, this is the first time I applied. I heard about it last year when Katie
Musolff got the gig, I thought that it would be cool to apply for it some day when i didn't
have the need for my large studio space at the Hide House. But then she told me you don't
have to get rid of your existing studio, you just have more than one studio.
OMC: Have you ever had a residency anywhere else?
SK: In 2002, I had a week-long residency at Prairie School in Racine where I presented my
painting technique to all levels of students throughout the week during their regularly
scheduled Art Class. Can you believe they actually had Art EVERY DAY? At the end of the week
I did a painting performance on stage for the whole school in an auditorium setting.
OMC: Is this a paid position?
SK: Yes, the Pfister pays me a monthly stipend. For that stipend, I will be taking people on
tours of their large Victorian art collection two times a week, giving talks and doing demos
to groups of visitors, hosting Gallery Nights at the Pfister, but mostly, maintaining an
artistic presence as people come and go.
OMC: Other than money and studio space -- which is a lot -- what does the residency provide
for you?
SK: Well, for me, it's going to be an expanding experience. I will be exposing my work to a
larger, nationwide audience through doing paintings of our beautiful city. I can sell my work
directly to clients and spread the work to an even bigger group of people.
OMC: How long is the residency?
SK: It's a year-long residency that starts April 1st and ends March 31, 2012.
OMC: What are your personal goals?
SK: This opportunity is going to allow me to become a better painter, because it's like
anything else: the more you do something, the better you get at it. I will have regular
hours, and will be cranking out the work. Usually it takes a timeline or a show or a plein
air painting competition to get me to paint for hours and days in a row.
I also plan on focussing mostly on Milwaukee-themed work. I won't be distracted by painting
other cities for the art fair circuit since I'll only be doing Milwaukee shows such as
Lakefront Festival of Arts and Milwaukee Domes Art Festival this summer. A good distraction
will be painting in Door County, for their Plein Air Painting Festival and competition in
late July as well as painting Door County themes for my show at Edgewood Orchard Galleries
from July 16 through the middle of August.
OMC: Any other specific plans at this point?
SK: One of the most exciting things I plan on doing during my residency is my version of
"performance art." That means creating a 30 x 30 inch painting in 20 minutes to my original
musical compositions. I will be doing these between 9 and 11:30 p.m. at the Pfister in the
Rouge ballroom. I've been doing these pieces since 2002 when I did my residency at Prairie
School, and the resulting paintings are dynamic, expressionistic, juicy oil paintings that
will also be for sale in my new studio/gallery at the Pfister.
OMC: Do you support yourself solely on your art?
SK: Yes. I also teach small workshops in my studio as well as traveling to Door County to
teach at the Peninsula School of Art and other small, independent institutions.
OMC: When did you start making art?
SK: I come from a family of artists, creative thinkers and educators. As a young child, the
thing that gave me the most joy was making art; making things. I was encouraged to draw,
paint, sculpt, craft. Anything that would be considered creative, including music, like
singing, playing the piano, playing the oboe. So, thankfully, I was encouraged to attend art
school, despite the fact that my dad wasn't sure I could make a living at being an artist.
OMC: Where did you study art?
SK: I graduated from Cardinal Stritch University and studied under Sr. Thomasita Fessler in
the late 70s and early 80s. I worked as a graphic designer and illustrator until 2005 when I
retired from that title to work solely as a fine artist and teacher.
OMC: Where exactly is the studio inside the Pfister? Where can we find you?
SK: People can find me in my new digs on the first floor just north of the main lobby
opposite of, but between the two banks of elevators. You won't be able to miss me. It's a
windowed, well-lit room that looks more like a gallery than a studio. When I have a chance to
get in the groove of this residency, I will post my hours, but pretty much, if i am not plein
air painting (painting outside), I will be painting at the Pfister.
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