{"id":3972,"date":"2022-01-14T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/etienne-tilman-2009\/"},"modified":"2022-04-27T12:33:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T10:33:39","slug":"etienne-tilman-2009","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/etienne-tilman-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"Etienne Tilman (2009)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Etienne Tilman 2009, Art critic and exhibition curator<\/em><\/p>\n<p>MONOLITH<\/p>\n<p>Slate monoliths have emerged here and there on the Golf Course of Anjou. These human-sized stones were placed there by the sculptor Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype. The aim of her artistic approach was not only to scatter sculptures all over the golf course simply to embellish it but also to disclose the nature under the ground, concealed by the lawn.  Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype became a sculptor because she was fascinated by matter at a very early stage. In fact, slate was not really a choice. As a child, she was already familiar with the slate quarries in the region where her grandmother lived in the Ardennes. Later, she moved to Anjou, a region of ch\u00e2teaux with roofs covered in slate from the local quarries.By extracting these minerals from the ground, miners played an important role in building historic castles such as the Ch\u00e2teau de Plessi-Bour\u00e9.    Before showing an interest in the finished product, Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype focused on the block, and its structure, colour and features. For the installation at the Anjou Golf Course, she respected the materials in the simplest and most obvious manner: choosing human-sized blocks and arranging them in such a way as to reveal their matter from different angles. As viewers move along the course, they discover sculptures of different shapes, their position (standing or lying down) creating a specific dialogue, depending on whether the d\u00e9cor of the stone is a field, the edge of a wood or an apple orchard. Repetition and the passage from one work to another forces attention on what she shows the most: its matter.  <\/p>\n<p>SPLIT SCULPTURE<\/p>\n<p>Although the size of a golf course permits this radical, and even minimalist, attitude \u2013 because in this dream setting the material in its simplest apparel is sufficient \u2013 Marie-Jo\u00eblle de la Poype is just as interested in its structure. The most distinctive feature of this mineral is its faculty for division into a series of more or less numerous strata, which are more or less fine, to the point of having the thickness of a common slate. These different layers are sometimes clearly visible, as revealed in the photos of slag heaps that are an integral part of the work of Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype. Some blocks, on the other hand, are more secretive about their age, and their different layers are less visible. But the fissility of the material nevertheless remains its main characteristic. Rather than using this faculty of the stone to show only a multitude of plates, as in the case of roofers, Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype tends to see in it a way of naturally dividing the block, as if it contained a series of guides allowing for numerous possibilities of division.   Among these choices, she decided to split the volume into two, three or several pieces. Each piece remains thick to retain the interest of its volume. Each one has two nearly flat faces that can be readjusted perfectly. If the split is clean and does not produce any fragment, she shows a flat and even surface made of small asperities and reliefs that capture the light and make this surface noticeable.    Every piece of the divided block is then arranged in such as way that an element is never far away from the one it was originally stuck to. It is therefore possible to see the connecting surfaces of the different stones. Each part becomes the echo of the other, and separating them without creating too much of a distance between them introduces a tension between the modules and enables us to merge the elements mentally so that the original block can be reconstructed in our mind. Each element is an inescapable reminder of the unique and initial stone of the work. Just as in the theories of fractals, every part is the \u201cmemory\u201d of a whole and the whole is a memory of a geological layer, which in turn is a memory of the world, of the history of the earth. These minerals are much older than us and they project us into a past that is frequently much more ancient than the human race.  <\/p>\n<p>M\u00c9MOIRE \u2013 MEMENTOS<\/p>\n<p>Ce travail, \u00e0 l\u2019apparence tr\u00e8s formelle voire formaliste, fait aussi r\u00e9f\u00e9rence \u00e0 la petite et \u00e0 la tr\u00e8s grande histoire. Il \u00e9voque d\u2019une part le travail des carriers, des mineur, des couvreurs qui ont int\u00e9gr\u00e9 par exemple les toits de pierres dans le paysage Angevin. Mais il \u00e9voque \u00e9galement la nuit des temps, l\u00e0 d\u2019o\u00f9 viennent ces min\u00e9raux, qui d\u2019abord sous forme de v\u00e9g\u00e9taux tel le bois, ont \u00e9t\u00e9 compress\u00e9s par le poids des \u00e9l\u00e9ments et du temps pour finir par se p\u00e9trifier. La m\u00e9moire et les confins temporels de la terre sont une partie int\u00e9grante du travail de Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype. En effet, en plus de s\u2019int\u00e9resser \u00e0 la pierre, son travail comporte un autre mat\u00e9riau qui au premier abord, trompe sur sa texture et son identit\u00e9 ; je veux parler ici de l\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9ment principal du projet propos\u00e9 pour le Mus\u00e9e de la Chasse et de la Nature \u00e0 Paris. Il s\u2019agit d\u2019un \u00e9l\u00e9ment oblongue dress\u00e9 au bord d\u2019un miroir noir et profond. Cette sculpture \u00e9lanc\u00e9e fait d\u2019abord penser \u00e0 une esp\u00e8ce de totem ,en bois peut-\u00eatre p\u00e9trifi\u00e9 ? En fait cet \u00e9l\u00e9ment \u00e9trange n\u2019est ni min\u00e9ral ni v\u00e9g\u00e9tal, puisqu\u2019il s\u2019agit d\u2019un bronze r\u00e9alis\u00e9 \u00e0 partir d\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9ments sculpt\u00e9s en os de c\u00e9tac\u00e9s . Sa forme et sa grandeur ne nous permettent pas d\u2019imaginer qu\u2019il s\u2019agisse d\u2019une partie d\u2019un animal, et pourtant \u2026 Les os de baleines trouv\u00e9s sur les rives du monde constituent en fait le premier mat\u00e9riau qui ait fascin\u00e9 Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype. Contrairement aux min\u00e9raux, les os font r\u00e9f\u00e9rence \u00e0 la vie et les squelettes de ces grands mammif\u00e8res marins \u00e9voquent le voyage et le temps. Concernant la r\u00e9f\u00e9rence au temps il est \u00e9tonnant que ces restes de baleines ne font pas partie du \u00ab vocabulaire \u00bb des mani\u00e9ristes de la fin du 16i\u00e8me si\u00e8cle. En effet si parmi les motifs utilis\u00e9s par les artistes, les os, dont le cr\u00e2ne humain est la vedette, sont largement repr\u00e9sent\u00e9s, les animaux y sont aussi l\u00e9gions. Ils ont \u00e9t\u00e9 choisis par rapport \u00e0 leur aspect avant et apr\u00e8s la mort, l\u2019image \u00e9tant intrins\u00e8quement diff\u00e9rente selon qu\u2019il s\u2019agisse d\u2019une carapace de tortue, d\u2019un coquillage, ou de la t\u00eate cornue d\u2019un bouc,\u2026 SI l\u2019artiste du 17i\u00e8me fait prendre conscience de la fugacit\u00e9 de la vie humaine en la repr\u00e9sentant par une volute de fum\u00e9e ou une for\u00eat de s\u00e9quoias., les baleines fascinent les hommes pour cette m\u00eame raison de notion de temps. Mais cet animal aux multiples \u00e9nigmes est un t\u00e9moin proche parce qu\u2019il s\u2019agit d\u2019un mammif\u00e8re, et aussi parce qu\u2019il incarne le trait d\u2019union entre nous, humain et mammif\u00e8res, dont l\u2019existence sur terre n\u2019exc\u00e8de pas x millions d\u2019ann\u00e9es dans l\u2019histoire de la terre. Il eut pu s\u2019agir d\u2019un autre animal, comme l\u2019iguanodon par exemple. De plus il \u00e9tait assez ais\u00e9 de mettre mati\u00e8re organique et min\u00e9ral en rapport puisque en Belgique un nombre impressionnant de squelettes presque complets a \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9couvert dans un gisement de charbon ; plus facile encore par rapport \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9poque antediluvienne, les fossiles pouvaient constituer un mat\u00e9riau de premier choix. Mais l\u2019avantage cons\u00e9quent des baleines par rapport \u00e0 ces animaux disparus r\u00e9side dans le fait qu\u2019elles existent toujours! Une cassure dans l\u2019histoire cr\u00e9e un trouble majeur dans le pass\u00e9 du monde ; ce trou de m\u00e9moire est concr\u00e9tis\u00e9 par ce que les scientifiques appellent la couche \u00ab K \u00bb. Cette couche g\u00e9ologique tr\u00e8s remarquable sous toutes les latitudes t\u00e9moigne d\u2019une \u00e9poque o\u00f9 la cro\u00fbte terrestre fut des si\u00e8cles durant pratiquement d\u00e9serte, \u00e0 en juger par la pauvret\u00e9 des informations que d\u00e9livre cette strate de l\u2019histoire. La baleine est donc notre plus proche t\u00e9moin du pass\u00e9 le plus lointain. Ces mammif\u00e8res marins ont en eux la m\u00e9moire de la vie dans ce qu\u2019elle a de plus \u00e9nigmatiques. Selon les th\u00e9ories de nombreux scientifiques, la vie trouverait ses d\u00e9buts dans ce que l\u2019on appelle \u00ab l\u2019oc\u00e9an primaire \u00bb. De l\u2019eau, seraient sortis les animaux pour devenir terrestres et leurs squelettes se seraient transform\u00e9s. En ce qui concerne les baleines, elles auraient suivi la m\u00eame \u00e9volution mais avec la particularit\u00e9 d\u2019\u00eatre retourn\u00e9es \u00e0 l\u2019oc\u00e9an primaire. Ce qui expliquerait pourquoi elles sont des mammif\u00e8res et pourquoi la structure du squelette des nageoires ressemble \u00e0 des mains humaines ! Quoi qu\u2019il en soit, et d\u2019un point de vue purement formel, les os de baleine sont les seuls mat\u00e9riaux organiques qui puissent le mieux \u00eatre mis en relation avec la pierre, par leur grandeur et leur structure. En ce qui concerne le projet propos\u00e9 pour le Mus\u00e9e de la Chasse et de la Nature , l\u2019os choisi est grand et filiforme et seule une observation plus rapproch\u00e9e permet de comprendre qu\u2019il s\u2019ag\u00eet d\u2019une image de mati\u00e8re organique. De loin, l\u2019on voit une sculpture abstraite int\u00e9gr\u00e9e \u00e0 l\u2019architecture et dont dont le reflet dans le miroir aqueux donne une image virtuelle o\u00f9 architecture et sculpture apparaissent parfaitement int\u00e9gr\u00e9s. Une fois \u00e0 proximit\u00e9 de la sculpture, les d\u00e9tails de la surface ainsi que sa patine questionnent imm\u00e9diatement sur sa provenance et nous plongent dans un pass\u00e9 aussi profond que le reflet du noir miroir dans laquelle ce noble t\u00e9moin du pass\u00e9 se mire.<\/p>\n<p>METTALIC ALLOY<\/p>\n<p>Stone and bone have an aspect that is similar yet different. The subtle relief and grainy patches result in a certain resemblance but the texture makes the mineral matter diametrically remote from the organic matter.  Since the volume and surface are the most important visible parameters sculpture, Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype decided to combine everything in a common material, and to achieve this, she turned to another major class of matter existing on the earth: metal. To unite the two elements into a single and unique material, she came up with the idea of making an imprint to bring out a positive image, in three dimensions, in the bronze. These sculptures are therefore an non-interpreted image of reality.   The subject serves as an earthly witness, while the bronze retains its relief and volume, the two elements thus blending into the material. The original bone and stone are no longer identifiable, and in consequence, one enters into another world of sculpture: cast metal.  Stone, bone and metal are in this way inter-related through their formal and global resemblance and the intrinsic differences can only be discerned in the details. MASTERY Whether it is a mineral or organic project, Marie-Jo\u00eblle de la Poype masters the simple and monumental aspect of her sculptural challenge like a phylogenetic voyage that she inevitably makes us undertake by confronting us with her work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Etienne Tilman 2009, Art critic and exhibition curator MONOLITH Slate monoliths have emerged here and there on the Golf Course of Anjou. These human-sized stones were placed there by the sculptor Marie-No\u00eblle de la Poype. The aim of her artistic approach was not only to scatter sculptures all over the golf course simply to embellish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3972","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3972"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25522,"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3972\/revisions\/25522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marienoelledelapoype.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}