Archives
1980-1989
En Avant vers les Sources
To complete our vision, we created a fifteen meter, blazing red dragon that we planned to present to the curators of the Pompidou Center. They refused to see us, of course, so we thought, fuck them, we'll do it anyway. For months, Lisa Davidson and I designed and executed a dragon conjured up from deep cadmium red canvas. It was carried by 12 people, dressed as widly as possible, faces painted. It was a beautiful Parisian Saturday afternoon, with people milling around, musicians playing and street artists selling their wares. We exploded out of the parking lot, screaming all the way, lighting off smoke bombs as we wove in and out among the bewildered crowds. Our dragon danced ecstatically, circling round and round, then laid a large golden egg painted with "En Avant vers les Sources". And with that, we left. As young artists, we were not asking anybody's permission or approval.
Despite the predictable rivalries, some petty, some epic, the vernissage in the transformed chateau was impressive. After the exhibition was finished, Sasha and I returned all the artworks to Paris. Lisa and I drove the borrowed truck back to the village and took the train back to Paris. We arrived at our studio near Porte de Clignancourt early in the morning where, tragically, we found Sasha dead in our bed. Suicide.
We all bucked the system and one of us perished. The system is ruthless. Conform or suffer the consquences.
I met two American artists at the Fondation des Etats-Unis at the Cité Universitaire in southern Paris in 1977.
We shared similar views on art and, more importantly, the direction we could take. Sasha Gerard, Stephan Paul Day and I began looking for a place to hold an exhibition reflecting our conversations.
Sasha found a small chateau in the Haute Vienne, not far from Limoges, dating to the fifteenth century; although somewhat abandoned, Its origins dated from the fifteenth century and, although somewhat abandoned, it still retained its original character.
We proposed our idea to the mayor, who embraced it enthusiastically, as the village was looking for activities to animate the property and bring in tourists.
The chateau bordered a small lake and was nestled in a beautiful verdant park. It was perfect.
Our idea for this Château de Nieul project was to create an exhibition with a group of about 15 artists, all of whom agreed to participate without attaching their names to any of the works. The inspiration for this idea came from medieval cathedrals, where sculptures, stained glass and wall paintings created a spiritual atmosphere, but few, if any, were signed by individual artists. The show would be a holistic experience; rather than celebrating then individual, we were celebrating the whole.
Initially, the other artists were reluctant to lend their works without labels and names. But we found a compromise: no labels on the works for the opening, but names and titles were put up afterward for the duration of the show (held throughout the summer of 1982). A major part of our vision was to make art that had roots in nature, hence the title, "En Avant vers Les Sources".
Paintings
Sculptures
