Démêler les pinceaux
Podcast
Démêler les pinceaux is the podcast of the Musée des Arts Contemporains au Grand-Hornu.
In this podcast, art historians and artists open the doors to the world of contemporary art for us. The series provides the keys to understand and consider major themes from the art world and attempts to delve deeper into the questions raised by the artists. The episodes invite us to look critically, to enable everyone to decipher the evolutions of the art world. Démêler les pinceaux can be found on all listening platforms and on Instagram
@démêlerlespinceaux.
Available on: Spotify, Deezer, Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts ou Podcast Addict
Daniel Turner
Episode 11
In this episode, we take you on a journey through the putting together of an exhibition by American artist Daniel Turner, starting with his search for materials in the Forest Prison in Brussels through to the installation of his works in the exhibition rooms of MACS.
We follow the multi-stage journey of a radiator, a banal object which will have to undergo numerous transformations imposed on it by the artist before becoming the centrepiece of Daniel Turner's exhibition. We also offer you a behind-the-scenes view of the exhibition assembly process. Here it is that everything is decided. Here, like an orchestra conductor, the artist moves incessantly to and fro, constantly testing different solutions, in order to achieve the perfect arrangement of the exhibits that will allow him to share with visitors his intense experience of Forest Prison.
Vinciane Despret
Episode 10
This episode is a recording of the conversation between Vinciane Despret and Denis Gielen about the work of Orla Barry, Irish shepherdess and artist, on the occasion of the exhibition Shaved Rapunzel & la Petite Bergère Punk at the Musée des Arts Contemporains in Grand-Hornu.
During this conversation, Vinciane Despret shares her thoughts on the profession of shepherdess and the special relationships that Orla Barry establishes with her sheep. Invoking in turn Philippe Descola, Bruno Latour, Donna Haraway, Etienne Souriau and Jakob von Uexküll, she questions the links between art and the profession of shepherd, the “becoming with” of breeders and their sheep, as well as on the possibilities that humans have to converse with animals.
Ariane Loze
Episode 9
In this episode, we met Ariane Loze (1988, Belgium).
Simultaneously in front of and behind the camera, Ariane Loze produces videos in which she multiples herself by playing all the characters herself. In this interview, she talks of the origins of her unusual productions, the relationships she maintains with her characters, and the importance of using them as means to examine different viewpoints. She also tells us about combining the work of an artist with life as a mother, and speaks of a certain hypocrisy with which the world of work approaches the concept of well-being.
Alexander Streitberger
Episode 8
This episode features a recording of the lecture given by Alexander Streitberger, Professor at the Université Catholique de Louvain and Director of the Lieven Gevaert Research Centre, on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the work of German photographer Jochen Lempert at the Musée des Arts Contemporains in Grand-Hornu.
Born in 1958 in Moers, Germany, Jochen Lempert first trained as a biologist. In 1979, he co-founded the Schmelzdahin group, which made experimental films exploring the processes of decomposition of celluloid film. From the late 1980s onwards, Jochen Lempert devoted himself to photography. Using very simple means, he pursued a meticulous and poetic practice in which he captured the slightest details of the nature around him in black and white.
In this talk, Alexander Streitberger explores the links between film, photography, biology, the natural sciences and aesthetics in Jochen Lempert's practice.
Lionel Estève
Episode 7
In this episode, we met Lionel Estève (1967, France).
He guides us through his exhibition “Les Saisons” (The Seasons), in the rooms of the Musée des Arts Contemporains at Grand-Hornu. Upon contact with his works, he talks about his relationship with nature and game, and explains to us the importance of the third dimension in his work. Lionel Estève also shares with us his reflections on the notion of beauty and the role of colour in the history of sculpture.
Angel Vergara
Episode 6
An unclassifiable artist with a complex practice, Angel Vergara is back with us for this interview about what has always been present in his work: exchanges from daily life interpreted as poetic acts and the space of the painting which is being produced. He also discusses Straatman, or “street man” in English, an alter ego which he uses to set up his studio in the midst of everyday life.
Georges Didi-Huberman
Episode 5
One year after the release of the first episode, the new season of Démêler les pinceaux is beginning with a special episode. This unpublished, exceptional conference by the philosopher and art historian Georges Didi-Huberman was recorded at the Museum of Contemporary Arts at Grand-Hornu, on the occasion of the museum’s 20th anniversary.
In this conference, he speaks to us about the concept of aura in Walter Benjamin’s philosophy and its possible survival. According to Georges Didi-Huberman, the aura is a crucial phenomenon for our gaze. He considers it here from the angle of its dreamlike, erotic and dialectic qualities.
Luc Tuymans
Episode 4
In this episode, we meet Luc Tuymans (1958, Belgium).
For Démêler les pinceaux, Luc Tuymans revisits Saint-Georges, a painting completed in 2015 which is held by the Museum of Contemporary Arts at Grand-Hornu. Avoiding a literal interpretation of the myth of Saint George, Luc Tuymans provokes a mise en abîme and invites spectators to question their own role when confronted with the work. In this interview, the artist also discusses his relationship with the creation of images, and the place of painting in contemporary art.
Géraldine Tobé
Episode 3
In this episode, we met Géraldine Tobé (1992, RDC).
Géraldine Tobé is the first artist to have designed an exhibition for the Lever House in Brussels, a highly symbolic location in terms of Belgian colonisation of the Congo. In this encounter, she takes a look back at the outstanding moments of her career, her unique technique of smoke painting, and the importance of ancestral traditions in her work.
Laurent Busine
Episode 2
In this episode, we met up with Laurent Busine (1951, Belgium).
Laurent Busine is the founder and honorary director of the Museum of Contemporary Arts at Grand-Hornu. For the 20th anniversary of the museum, he has accepted to curate the anniversary exhibition, Les Fabriques du coeur et leur usage. Whilst explaining the origins of the exhibition and what he would like to convey to the visitors, he offers an insight into the role of curator and the reflections which the works inspire.
Aline Bouvy
Episode 1
In this episode, we meet Aline Bouvy (1974, Belgium).
The multidisciplinary artist originally from Luxembourg, Aline Bouvy developed a complex practice that is critical of the world around us. Shattering the norms and taboos of our society, the artist masters the art of subtle subversion and questions our most intimate representations. Her installations are like theatre sets that exhibit non-normative sexualities, the oppression of gender minorities and the limits of institutional conservatism.
Through her subject and her artistic practice, Aline Bouvy presents to us her objective: freedom.
