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philippe moreau volume 2, 2006, #011
philippe moreau was born in france in the atlantic coast town of nantes. he completed high school and went to university to study law but didn't like it, so he quit and trained to become a truck driver. in between truck driver jobs he started traveling to west africa to sell cars (old peugeots) after driving them across the sahara. he ended getting a job as a driver for an overland company taking backpackers across africa. during a trip he met an australian woman. he arrived in australia on 05 december 1991. 1. how would you explain 'art' - in 19 words or less? i would see it as a journey - the continuation of a physical journey i started in the mid-eighties. on my way, i came across 'art'. i learned how to draw and paint, and my journey took a different form. that is perhaps why the central character of my pictures is always suspended in space not really heading anywhere (i say 'perhaps' because this was never intentional). (okay, so the explanation was way too long - philippe gets 47 extra words because he's french, writing in english . . . so chill). 2. what is the first work of art you ever loved? that has to be a michael leunig drawing i saw in an exhibition in perth back in 1992. in this particular drawing, there was this man who had pulled his heart out. he was waiting for the sun to come and warm it up. the intimacy created by the small size of leunig's artwork was calling me, and once i got there, i had this subtly delivered message, and yet not-so-unfamiliar feeling, a kind of "living is not that easy, is it?" 3. how important is theory to your art? theory is quite important. behind each artwork, there is an intention. creating images involves a process during which decisions are made. i think my art is fairly 'self conscious'. i make images intending to articulate ideas (more or less successfully, of course) rather than expressing or exploring emotions. i watch quite a bit of films and documentaries and read various articles. i also take interest in the work of other artists from various fields. at times, i experiment with the need to write down my thoughts, as it seems that they get all tangled up. it helps to clear my head, and then i can focus better on what i want the image to be about. 4. describe your ideal art workspace. my ideal workspace does not have to be big but it has to have a lot of natural light. it has to have a stereo, as i tend to listen to music while drawing. it needs at least a window that i can open and some sort of door (even symbolic), to delimitate the space. 5. describe your current art workspace. my current workspace is the sunroom of the flat i rent. it is pretty much what i have described above. in fact, it's even better since its window is overlooking the ocean. 6. if you could be placed in suspended animation and safely reanimated at some time in the future with the sole purpose being to see how history treated you / your art, would you do it? hmmm . . . no thanks. i am not really certain i would want to come back after i'm gone. i'd like to think that there must be a million places to see out there. besides, with what we are inflicting on this planet right now, it will be a miracle if there is still anyone left in a hundred years to revive my old body. 7. who are some of your favourite artists (contemporary or canonical)? there are many, but i'll name a few. i like the romantic painters like caspar friedrich for his spectacle of nature; rene magritte for the disturbing situations he creates; george grosz for the rebellion expressed in his paintings and drawings; cathy wilcox for her wicked sense of humour; and michael leunig for the poetic dimension of his drawings. 8. tell us about a gallery (online or physical space) that you think rocks, and why you think it rocks. artsconnect - which was created by teresa charchalis and shane herrmann - is a great site. these guys have rocked the whole place, since art spaces are quite scarce these days. artsconnect offer artists the opportunity to meet, show their work and promote it. 9. would you choose the baked bean jaffle or the caramelised pumpkin and red onion tart with crispy radicchio and hazelnut salad with apple vinaigrette? the choice is radical. i will go for the caramelised pumpkin and red onion tart option, since i cannot go near a plate of baked beans. it's something to do with the texture of that stuff. 10. finish this sentence: "the work of art can / cannot be considered separately to the artist because ________." i'd like to say the work of art cannot be separated from the artist, but artwork and artist are most likely to be disassociated. those who see, like, dislike, appreciate, or appraise all have their interpretation, which is not necessarily matching what the artist intended. check out more of philippe's work at: artsconnect.com.au/artists/cartoonists/phillipemoreau.htm |
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