My regard on the French art scene is layered by years of misunderstanding. Because what is a scene, because what is a French scene, because nationalism is violent to those who, like myself, are stuck in between places with no hope of legitimately belonging. âDonât be so Derrideanâ someone from the back row replies, âan art scene is a context that unifies a set of material tendencies and conceptual questions. These are produced by art, and film, and music schools, and by what is speakable in language in a given place. They are produced by transmission between generations, a kind of filial line of ideas made tangible within a given radius.â But Glissant taught us that filiation justifies conquest, and Derrida taught us that that which is unspeakable structures language, and French art schools did not train Zineb Sedira, who has been chosen to represent France at Venice next year. âYou see my difficultyâ I say to the young man in the back row.
This list is made up of people who, like myself, belong and do not belong in several places. The selection also reflects a long-term focus of my curatorial practice to establish a dialogue with those who have some relationship to Algeria. This focus comes from my understanding that Algeria remains unspeakable in France, along with everything that happened there. It also comes from my conviction that society is constituted by those who articulate the unspeakable and whose belonging is unstable; those whom society cannot (should not) integrate, not fully, because integration would imply an acceptance of the violence of nationalism. This selection acknowledges the invisible centrality of Algeriaâs place in French art and culture, without resolving the impossible contradiction of that fact.
A selection of four artists is a small number to substantiate such a position, I realize. But artwork doesnât really substantiate theory. Artwork sits next to theory and evolves according to its own logic, sometimes contradicting its framing discourse. It is the possibility of contradiction that allows for any real dialogue, and so perhaps you, dear reader, will take this as an invitation.
[…]
Carole Douillardâs work meticulously tracks the body as it oscillates between the conventions that frame it and its being. Sleeping, watching, holding, loitering, walking; Douillard is interested in what the body knows and how it takes up the space of a given public space.
Idir opens with a shot of large seaside square in Algiers called El Kettani at the base of the Bab El Oued neighborhood. The cityâs outer neighborhoods blanket the swell of mountainous landscape in the background crowned by Notre Dame dâAfrique. In the center of the frame, a young man named Idir walks deliberately toward the camera in worn tennis shoes and a grey shirt that matches the sky. Idir is a young AlgĂ©rois, just one among the many others on the street and the seaside, except that he is swinging his slim hips in a determined and methodical way. A handful of curious people watch him, arms casually slung across the back of benches. An older man shuffles past him in the background of the frame, hands clasped loosely behind his considerable midsection. They watch him because he is alone, focused on his own movement as he traces the perimeter of the square with his gestures.
Idir is inspired by Bruce Naumanâs now canonical minimalist performance piece, Walking in an exaggerated manner around the perimeter of a square from 1967. In Naumanâs version, the square is taped onto the floor of his studio. Naumanâs intention was to demonstrate that the conditions of the space in which a gesture takes place determines its semiotic value. Walkingâif done systematically in the artistâs studioâis art.
Transposed to Algiers, this understanding of art and its conditions of production becomes profoundly uncomfortable. The gorgeous rigor of Babette Mangolteâs camerawork for Douillardâs piece keeps the work from collapsing into it the city, but it does not neutralize the sense that Idirâs gestures are at odds with the conventions of the space in which they are performed. This kind of walking is so ordinary and yet so categorically not done here, alone, in this way that includes no one else and seeks no union.
Inexquisite frame after exquisite frame, Idir visibly concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other, tracing the perimeter of a public space in which the wave upon wave of limitations on the body have been imposed and ebbed away.
Natasha Marie Llorens, 2020
Le regard que je porte sur la scĂšne artistique française se prĂ©sente comme une superposition dâannĂ©es dâincomprĂ©hension. La dĂ©finition dâune scĂšne, dâune scĂšne française, le nationalisme frappent en effet violemment les personnes qui, comme moi, se trouvent coincĂ©es entre plusieurs lieux, sans espoir dâappartenance lĂ©gitime. « Ne soyez pas si derridienne, ai-je pu entendre au dernier rang. Une scĂšne artistique reprĂ©sente un contexte qui unifie un ensemble de tendances matĂ©rielles et de questions conceptuelles. Celles-ci sont produites par les Ă©coles dâart, de cinĂ©ma et de musique et par ce qui est dicible dans le langage Ă un endroit donnĂ©. Elles sont produites par la transmission de gĂ©nĂ©ration en gĂ©nĂ©ration, une sorte de lignĂ©e dâidĂ©es qui se concrĂ©tisent au sein dâun pĂ©rimĂštre spĂ©cifique. » Edouard Glissant nous a toutefois enseignĂ© que la filiation justifie la conquĂȘte, alors que Derrida nous a appris que lâindicible structurait le langage, et les Ă©coles dâart françaises nâont pas formĂ© Zineb Sedira, qui a Ă©tĂ© choisi pour reprĂ©senter la France Ă Venise lâan prochain. « Vous comprenez mon problĂšme », ai-je rĂ©pondu au jeune homme du dernier rang.
Cette liste est constituĂ©e de personnes qui, comme moi, se sentent Ă la fois lĂ©gitimes et illĂ©gitimes Ă diffĂ©rents endroits. Une telle sĂ©lection reflĂšte Ă©galement un objectif sur le long terme de mon activitĂ© de commissaire dâexposition visant Ă Ă©tablir un dialogue avec quiconque entretient des liens avec lâAlgĂ©rie. Je poursuis cette quĂȘte dans la mesure oĂč je comprends que lâAlgĂ©rie, ainsi que tous les Ă©vĂ©nements qui sây sont produits demeurent indicibles en France. Elle me vient Ă©galement de ma conviction selon laquelle la sociĂ©tĂ© est façonnĂ©e par celles et ceux qui articulent lâindicible et dont lâappartenance est instable, celles et ceux que la sociĂ©tĂ© ne peut (ne doit) pas intĂ©grer, pas entiĂšrement, car lâintĂ©gration impliquerait une acceptation de la violence du nationalisme. Cette sĂ©lection reconnaĂźt la place centrale invisible que lâAlgĂ©rie occupe dans la culture et lâart français, sans pouvoir rĂ©soudre lâimpossible contradiction de ce fait.
Je me rends compte quâavoir choisi quatre artistes est un peu limitĂ© pour justifier une telle position. Mais lâĆuvre dâart ne vient pas vraiment Ă©tayer la thĂ©orie. Elle se tient Ă cĂŽtĂ© de cette derniĂšre et Ă©volue selon sa propre logique, quitte Ă parfois contredire le discours qui lâencadre. Cette possibilitĂ© de contradiction permet dâentamer un vrai dialogue que vous, chers lecteurs, prendrez peut-ĂȘtre pour une invitation.
[…]
LâĆuvre de Carole Douillard suit mĂ©ticuleusement les mouvements du corps, lequel oscille entre les conventions qui lâencadrent et sa propre essence. Dormir, voir, tenir, flĂąner, marcher : lâartiste sâintĂ©resse Ă ce que lâorganisme sait faire et Ă la façon dont il occupe lâespace dans un lieu public.
Idir sâouvre sur une grande esplanade carrĂ©e au bord de mer Ă Alger nommĂ©e El Kettani, au pied du quartier de Bab El Oued. Les abords extĂ©rieurs de la capitale recouvrent les ondulations du paysage montagneux Ă lâarriĂšre-plan, lequel est surplombĂ© par Notre Dame dâAfrique. Au centre du cadre, un jeune homme prĂ©nommĂ© Idir marche volontairement en direction de la camĂ©ra. Il porte des tennis usĂ©es et une chemise grise assortie Ă la couleur du ciel. Cet AlgĂ©rois compte parmi ses nombreux pairs Ă frĂ©quenter les rues et le bord de mer, Ă lâexception prĂšs quâil balance ses hanches Ă©troites de façon bien dĂ©terminĂ©e et calculĂ©e. Une poignĂ©e de curieux le regardent, les bras pendant nonchalamment sur le dossier des bancs. Un homme plus ĂągĂ© passe Ă cĂŽtĂ© de lui en traĂźnant des pieds Ă lâarriĂšre-plan du cadre, les mains jointes lĂąchement derriĂšre son abdomen imposant. On lâobserve parce quâil est seul, concentrĂ© sur ses propres mouvements tandis quâil parcourt le pĂ©rimĂštre du carrĂ© avec ses propres gestes.
Idir tire son inspiration de la performance minimaliste dĂ©sormais canonique Walking in an exaggerated manner around the perimeter of a square rĂ©alisĂ©e par Bruce Nauman en 1967. Dans cette version, le carrĂ© est collĂ© au sol du studio du vidĂ©aste amĂ©ricain. Ce dernier avait lâintention de prouver que les conditions de lâespace dans lesquelles sâexĂ©cutait un geste dĂ©terminaient sa valeur sĂ©miotique. La marche, si elle est effectuĂ©e de maniĂšre systĂ©matique dans le studio de lâartiste, est une Ćuvre dâart.
Quand on les transpose Ă Alger, cette vision de lâart et ses conditions de production prennent une tournure trĂšs gĂȘnante. Les prises de vue ultra rigoureuses de Babette Mangolte empĂȘchent lâĆuvre de Carole Douillard de sâeffonder sur la ville, mais ne neutralisent en rien lâimpression de dĂ©calage entre les gestes dâIdir et les conventions de lâespace dans lequel ils sont exĂ©cutĂ©s. Ce genre de marche si ordinaire nâa pourtant ici rien dâune pratique solitaire, qui nâinclut personne dâautre ni ne recherche lâunion.
Au fil des superbes sĂ©quences, Idir sâefforce visiblement de mettre un pied devant lâautre pour reproduire le pĂ©rimĂštre dâun espace public oĂč se sont imposĂ©es, avant de dĂ©cliner, des vagues successives de restrictions du corps.
Natasha Marie Llorens, 2020
Traduit de l’anglais par Elsa Maggion
French-Algerian artist, born in 1971 in Nantes (France) from a Kabylian mother and a French father, Carole Douillard is graduated from the School of Beaux-Arts, Nantes, France, in 1997 (Master of Fine Arts) and from University of Language, Human and Social Sciences, Besançon, France (DU in Art, dance and performance) in 2012. Sheâs associate artist at the « Laboratory of Gesture », runned by the pragmatist philosopher Barbara Formis at Paris 1 - University PanthĂ©on Sorbonne.
Artist and performer, Carole Douillard uses her presence or that of the interpreters as sculpture for minimal interventions in space. Situated on the edge of the spectacular, while taking care to avoid it, her work calls for a redefinition of the spectator, the space of performance and the power struggle between the contemplated object and the person contemplating it.
Her recent works have been presented at T2G, théùtre de Genevilliers, CCAM Ă Las Palmas (Iles Canaries), at Lace Art Center, in Los Angeles, at the Oslo Biennale (2019-2021), in Brussels (A performance Affair, 2018, Wiels, 2016), at the Biennale de Lyon (Mondes Flottants, 2017) and Michel Rein gallery, Fondation dâentreprise Ricard, Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Dance Museum (Rennes), Centre Pompidou, Paris (France), at the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo (Madrid, Spain).
In 2019 she had a research grant from the French Institute for a residency in California where she lived for several months. The residency (Los Angeles & San Francisco) revolved around the work of writer Susan Sontag and around the history of feminist gesture and performance in Southern California from the 1960s to the present day (archives partly preserved at Getty Museum, LA). She has since worked, in particular, to constitute a repertoire of gestures in the field of visual arts.
In 2018, she realised a performance film (Idir) with the american filmmaker Babette Mangolte which consists on a politic and poetic reenactment in Algiersâs street of an historic Bruce Naumanâs performance from1967 (Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter of a Square). Idir has been shown in 2019-2020 at the MusĂ©e dâarts of Nantes (France) and at Lace (Los Angeles). It is now part of The MusĂ©e CarrĂ© dâArts de NĂźmes (France) and Kadist Foundation (Paris & San Francisco).
A first copy of her performance The viewers was acquired in 2014 by the Centre National des Arts Plastiques (France) the second one is, since 2020, part of Oslo City Collection (Norway).
In 2012-2013, she was artist researcher within the cooperative of research at the Ecole SupĂ©rieure dâArt of Clermont MĂ©tropole (High School of Fine Arts).
Alive, her first monograph was published in march 2016, its authors are Chantal Pontbriand, Janig Bégoc and David Zerbib (Ed. by Christian Alandete/Cabin agency - Les Presses du Réel, Fr).
She is the co-founder of Economie Solidaire de lâArt.
She also regulary teaches performance art in European and north Africa universities and art schools since 15 years.
NĂ©e en 1971 Ă Nantes (F) dâune mĂšre algĂ©rienne et dâun pĂšre français
Artiste plasticienne et performer, Carole Douillard utilise sa prĂ©sence ou celle dâinterprĂštes comme sculpture pour des interventions minimales dans lâespace dâexposition. Se situant au bord du spectaculaire tout en prenant soin de lâĂ©viter, son travail appelle une redĂ©finition du spectateur, de lâespace de la performance et de la relation de pouvoir qui sâinstaure entre lâobjet contemplĂ© et celui qui le contemple. Son travail se complĂšte souvent de documents, films, rĂ©cits et photographies. Depuis quelques annĂ©es, elle sâinteresse particuliĂšrement Ă la question des archives, de la conservation, dans le temps, de la mĂ©moire et des gestes.
Ses rĂ©cents travaux ont Ă©tĂ© prĂ©sentĂ©s au T2G, théùtre de Genevilliers et au CCAM Ă Las Palmas (Iles Canaries). En 2019 et 2020 elle a exposĂ© centre dâart Lace, Ă Los Angeles, Ă la biennale dâOslo (2019-2021), Ă Bruxelles (A performance Affair, 2018, Wiels, 2016), Ă la Biennale de Lyon (Mondes Flottants, 2017), Ă la galerie Michel Rein, Ă la Fondation dâentreprise Ricard, au Palais de Tokyo, au Mac Val, Ă la Ferme du Buisson, au MusĂ©e de la Danse (Rennes), au Centre Pompidou, au Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo (Madrid)…
En 2019 elle a Ă©tĂ© laurĂ©ate de la bourse Sur mesure de lâInstitut Français pour une recherche en Californie oĂč elle a rĂ©sidĂ© plusieurs mois. La rĂ©sidence sâest articulĂ©e autour du travail de lâĂ©crivaine Susan Sontag, de lâhistoire du geste et de la performance fĂ©misiste en Californie du sud des annĂ©es 1960 Ă nos jours. Elle sâemploie depuis, notamment, Ă constituer un rĂ©pertoire des gestes dans le champ des arts visuels.
En 2020, La ville dâOslo a acquis le second exemplaire de sa performance The Viewers (premier exemplaire produit et acquis par le CNAP en 2014). Le Cnap Ă Ă©galment acquis la sĂ©rie de photographies Dog Life, To Hold, produite en collaboration avec la galerie Michel Rein (Paris) pour la biennale de Lyon en 2017. Le Frac MĂ©ca - Nouvelle Acquitaine a quant Ă lui fait entrer en collection le protocole de la performance The Waiting Room.
Le film Idir, rĂ©alisĂ© en 2018 en collaboration avec Babette Mangolte (vidĂ©aste et cinĂ©aste, Ćil de la performance New Yorkaise des annĂ©es 1960 et 1970) rĂ©cemment exposĂ© au MusĂ©e des Arts de Nantes et Ă Lace, Los Angeles, a rejoint la collection du CarrĂ© dâArt, MusĂ©e dâart contemporain de Nimes et de la fondation Kadist (Paris & San Franciso). Ce film de 30 minutes qui consiste en la reprise de lâarchive vidĂ©o dâune performance historique de Bruce Nauman (1967) dans les rues dâAlger, remet en jeu lâondulation du corps de lâartiste Ă travers celui dâun jeune homme algĂ©rois, coincĂ© dans son pays.
Membre, depuis janvier 2016, de lâInstitut ACTE, CNRS - UniversitĂ© Paris 1 PanthĂ©on Sorbonne, Ă©quipe Espas (EsthĂ©tique de la performance et des arts du spectacle/ Aesthetic of performance art), elle est Ă©galement membre fondatrice du groupe de rĂ©flexion Economie Solidaire de lâArt avec Pierre Belouin, P-Nicolas Ledoux, GrĂ©gory JĂ©rome et Guillaume Aubry.
Alive, sa premiĂšre monographie parue aux Ă©ditions Cabin Agency en 2016 est diffusĂ©e par Les Presses du RĂ©el. Elle rassemble des essais de Janig BĂ©goc, David Zerbib et Christian Alandete ainsi quâun entretien avec Chantal Pontbriand.
Natasha Marie Llorens is a Franco-American independent curator and writer. Recent curatorial projects include Waiting for Omar Gatlato: A Survey of Contemporary Art from Algeria and Its Diaspora at the Wallach Art Gallery and The Wall at the End of the Rainbow at the Jan van Eyck Academie. Llorens also edited the first English-language anthology of writing on Algerian and Franco-Algerian aesthetics and art history, co-published by Sternberg Press. She is in residence at the Jan van Eyck Academie and a core tutor in History & Theory at Piet Zwart.
Natasha Marie Llorens est une commissaire dâexposition indĂ©pendante et une Ă©crivaine franco-amĂ©ricaine. Ses projets rĂ©cents dans son domaine incluent Waiting for Omar Gatlato: A Survey of Contemporary Art from Algeria and Its Diaspora Ă la Wallach Art Gallery et The Wall at the End of the Rainbow Ă la Jan van Eyck Academie. Elle a Ă©galement rĂ©digĂ© le premier ouvrage dâanthologie en anglais sur les esthĂ©tiques et lâhistoire de lâart algĂ©riennes et franco-algĂ©riennes, copubliĂ© par Sternberg Press. Actuellement en rĂ©sidence Ă la Jan van Eyck Academie, elle enseigne Ă©galement lâhistoire et la thĂ©orie au Piet Zwart Institute.
The paintings from the series âLâAir de Rienâ and âSurfacesâ are evocations of a fluid world. It seems as if paint and support have briefly solidified before the paint continues to drip, curve and flow. For Robbe, fluidity represents freedom. He doesnât want to control the creative process but prefers letting things run their course and to leave things to drift. Not one sketch precedes these paintings. It arises in the here and now by anticipating what happens with the material.
