88.5° Arc x 8
Bernar Venet is a French Conceptual artist known for his curved, mathematically precise metal sculptures, and for his material exploration of coal, asphalt, and tar. “My work is self-generated. Nothing around me serves as a particular inspiration,” Venet said of his art. “I work, and I make discoveries while remaining open-minded to anything that might present a new possibility in the context of my work; this framework looks to enlarge its scope as a result of new formal and conceptual discoveries.” Born on April 20, 1941 in Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, the painter and sculptor studied at La Villa Thiole in Nice in 1958 for a year before pursuing a career as an artist. Friends with Arman, Jean Tinguely, Donald Judd, and Sol LeWitt, Venet worked within Minimalist and Conceptualist modes during the 1960s and 1970s.
video

SIKKA MAGNUM
File Festival
Sikka is a sculptural video installation constructed from 360 used DVDs. This multi-thematic piece was inspired by “sikka”, the gold coins sewn to clothing dating back to Babylonic times that eventually became the shiny plastic objects we know today as sequins. By projecting the contents of the DVDs back onto their surfaces the artist continues to investigate both new uses for discarded objects as well as his interest in combining the phantasmagorical properties of cinema with its physical elements. In this case, film segments were selected from each of the DVDs for their color, shape and movement value, forming a digital palette from which the final projected loops were constructed. The accompanying self-generated soundtrack is the resulting “accidental composition” created by layering the soundtracks from the actual segments being projected. The final effect is that of an audio-visual mosaic. Historically, sikka were worn to remind onlookers of the wealth and power of those wearing them while also evoking the light of the divine. Similarly, the surfaces of the DVDs flash back at us images born from the glamorous world of Hollywood where image is converted to a kind of currency.