Tulipomanie ( Workshop )
► Introduction to data-sculpture at the exhibition Tant qu’il y aura des fleurs, march 2022, Collégiale Saint-Pierre-le-Puellier, Orléans (FR)
Audience: Art students
Date: March 2022
Subject: From Dutch still lifes to Jeff Koons’ monumental Bouquet or Mona Oren’s Wax Flowers, tulips are an essential element in the history of art. Native originally from the Himalayas, this flower has fascinated people to the point of leading to the first stock market crashet in recorded history… In a world where everything is being archived, what traces do these flowers leave on the Web? Whether it’s on Instagram, in countless scientific articles or thanks to Google trend tools, tulip-related data abounds.
As an introduction to the practice of data-sculpture, we will be working at the frontier between digital and traditional techniques, making this ‘data’ one of our raw materials, in the same way as coloured inks, Chinese ink and paper. We’ll be using this data to create a contemporary portrait of the flower, taking care to break away from bar charts and pie charts.
Shapes of time ( Workshop / Course )
► Introductory course in design research / ceramic work.
► As Collectif Kaïros with Eva Vedel
Audience: first-year students at the École Supérieure d’Art et de Design d’Orléans.
Dates : November, December 2021, March 2022
Subject: This workshop is an invitation to reflect on our relationship with time through the medium of ceramics. Working alone or in groups, students will each take it in turns to interpret the three antique figures of time: Chronos, Kaïros and Aiôn. The aim is not to illustrate, but to work on representations, materializations and echoes of these three Greek symbols in relation to our own society.
How can time be interpreted poetically or politically? How do we experience it in the era of a digitised society, hyper-connectivity and the complete unrestricted availability of information, objects and data? Are we the masters of our own time? Our creative approach is based on short performances, each day participants will take hold of one of the three concepts of time to give it concrete form. The aim is to engage in critical reflection through the demanding process of working with clay, the “material of memory”.
Totem ( Amateur practical workshop )
► Modelling and data: “totems” in the manner of the Amerindians, 108 Maison Bourgogne (Orléans)
► As Collectif Kaïros with Eva Vedel
Public: teenagers aged 12-16
Date: July 2021
Topic: Amerindian peoples preserve the stories of their culture by carving wooden totem poles whose style is unique to each clan. These symbolic representations tell the story of their myths and legends. They embody data (dates, information, ideas) in matter. We will be revisiting this practice, now almost extinct, through ceramic modelling using data as a material of creative expression. In the manner of the Amerindians we will transform the story we have selected into a totem. A number turns into a figure, a date into a texture, an emotion is transformed into colour… Our stories will take the shape of stackable modules to create vertical sculptures. This way, we can stage our stories and allow ourselves to be surprised by unexpected combinations.