{"id":27,"date":"2017-07-01T22:48:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T22:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/?p=27"},"modified":"2026-06-16T07:03:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:03:05","slug":"ardif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/ardif\/","title":{"rendered":"ARDIF"},"content":{"rendered":"

STEAMPUNK BESTIARY, WHEN THE ANIMAL BECOMES A MACHINE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 2017 \u2013 1947 words<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COURSE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you become an artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from high school, my path was rather chaotic: I started with a mathematics degree at university, which I didn't enjoy, and I would draw during class. Following that, I enrolled in an art foundation course, which not only taught me drawing techniques but also introduced me to art history. During this course, I realized that I enjoyed architecture, even though I hadn't initially wanted to study it because, since my father was an architect, I was afraid of inheriting the profession. I rediscovered a creativity and imagination that resonated with me, using drawing as my foundation. Street art certainly interested me, but I hadn't yet found the right artistic language for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from architecture school, I set up a collective with some architect friends called Concrete Balloons<\/em>. We worked on industrial wastelands, visiting old abandoned factories and metalworking plants, developing phantasmagorical visions from these places. My interest in somewhat chaotic structures stems from this period, during which we created an exhibition. \u201cImachinarium\u201d<\/em>. While at first my sketchbooks were mainly intended for travel, one day I drew my first mechanical<\/em>, ...a cat, before continuing throughout the summer. In the fall, I developed a collection with a concept: animals and mechanics, in a kind of urban safari that lent itself well to street art. I thus began pasting up my first small-format pieces in September 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you want to work in the street? Did your architectural training influence this choice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This desire to express myself in the street initially stemmed from my admiration for street art, but also for the New Realists like Villegl\u00e9, who tore down posters and placed them in museums. My architectural training already encouraged me to engage with the city, to shape it and give it a new face. However, as an artist, I could do the same thing in a less regulated and administrative way, with greater freedom. I also wanted to participate in this grand idea of art for all, accessible to passersby regardless of their social class or background. For me, that's what large-scale art should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COLLAGES AND DRAWINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why choose collage?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This choice stems primarily from the fact that my technique is impossible to execute directly on a wall, as it requires far too much time: I would need two to three days per drawing! The distinctive feature of my style lies in the precision of my lines, which originates from industrial design. I am fascinated by these intricate, highly precise mechanisms, which demand time and meticulous attention to detail. The poster reflected this, and the paper cutting process allowed me to add a new dimension to my drawings. Indeed, by cutting out the negative space, the texture of the wall becomes visible, and the poster transforms into a delicate lacework, revealing the underlying mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the poster also has an artistic history: from a tool of propaganda, it became a commercial medium. However, the advertising poster could then be a work of art in itself, and artists like Aristide Bruant created them, whereas today it is a product that has lost its identity. I believe that the poster can once again become an object of art and wish to reclaim this heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collage is an ephemeral technique, even within Street art\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's true that nowadays some authorized murals last for years, but for me, the essence of street art remains its ephemeral nature. One of the art forms that has influenced me the most is land art, which places the artwork on the scale of the landscape. Its ephemeral aspect is deliberately embraced and gives the work its beauty. Street art, in a similar way, places the artwork on the scale of the urban landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What creative process do you follow?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always start with the animal. Initially, the idea was to use Nature's pre-existing composition. Indeed, the success of a drawing often depends on its composition, and an animal is in itself an existing graphic composition. Nature forms very beautiful symmetries, and I build my drawing from them. Most of the time, I use it as is by dividing the animals in half, but I also sometimes "interfere" with them by drawing them in profile, as is the case with the dove or the bee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traces of industrial design can be found in this technique\u2026 <\/strong>   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning technical drawing has influenced my approach, particularly through the use of fine-tipped pens and Rotring markers. I often start with a fairly rough sketch for the composition before drawing the animal itself. These tools allow me to work with textures\u2014feathers, fur, or scales\u2014which then influence the work on the mechanical parts and the objects that compose them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this also explain the choice of black and white?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black and white is a base I really appreciate, although I sometimes enhance it with color because some animals' hues directly evoke something, whether it's the pink of a flamingo or the russet color of a fox. This creates an even sharper contrast with the machine and adds a new element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE ANIMAL AND SYMMETRY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you choose to paint animals? Was it for their playful aspect?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animals have always been part of my visual world, whether through documentaries or zoos. However, I think this idea stems primarily from the desire to draw people into my imagination, the architecture-machine, through a figure they recognize and find relatable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal themes are common in street art: do you think about the idea of a bestiary when producing your creations?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, animal drawing allows me to create a collection for a kind of urban safari. My animals are all linked by a shared imagery, yet each is unique in its design and texture. Furthermore, each animal possesses its own distinctive symbols, recognizable to all. The bestiary is thus both a tribute to zoology and a fascinating graphic exploration, as it's impossible to fully grasp its scope: species, textures, colors, compositions\u2014it's infinite! A lifetime isn't enough to draw every species on Earth. Therefore, I make it a point never to draw the same animal twice, in order to represent as many species as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symmetry also marks the opposition between Man and Animal.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What interests me most about symmetry is the notion of balance. One of the artists who has influenced me the most is Miyazaki with his imagination: in Princess Mononoke<\/em> We find this struggle between human progress, the desire to exploit the earth, and the gods of Nature, the forests, and the princess. Ashitaka, the film's hero, is the neutral element, the mediator of this conflict. In a way, I would like to be the Ashitaka of this dualism between Nature and Technology. If humanity hadn't progressed, we would still be in the Stone Age, but the technology we create must serve humanity, without leading to the overexploitation of nature or the artificialization of our natural heritage. Symmetry, therefore, also represents a kind of balance between these elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You use street names and the natural angles they form to position your collages\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symmetry allows you to play with walls: right angles make you lose sight of the overall picture, while broken angles allow you to mentally separate the two sides while still perceiving the whole. As for the animals, I like to add little nods to other places: for example, I pasted a cat on Rue Bichat, a rhinoceros near the Carreau du Temple, and a fox on Rue du Renard. Of course, I'm missing Rue du Chat-qui-P\u00eache! I also placed the dove on Rue de la Paix, which was my most symbolic drawing because it was killed by machines that transformed into weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This symmetrical game is also ideal for enabling artistic collaborations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, my goal is to mechanize the street art scene. I started with Manyoly because we immediately wanted to do a project together. But Eddie Colla also asked me to mechanize one of his creations, and I'm very keen to work with Codex Urbanus. In these collaborations, my role will be the machine, because that's my world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A STEAMPUNK STYLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does this fascination with the machine relate to Nature? In one of your drawings, the machine is actually coming out of a tree.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love improbable structures and the dreamlike quality they evoke. This taste stems from the creations of Jean Tinguely, but also from the New Realists with Arman's accumulations, Niki de Saint Phalle's vibrant Nanas, and even poster artists. Furthermore, the challenge of finding a balance between architecture and nature fascinates me. Humankind constantly draws inspiration from nature to innovate, reshaping it itself, and new urban developments continually attempt to hybridize these two elements. When one dominates, it breaks down: too many industrial zones cause ecological disasters and landscape destruction, while an overabundance of vegetation on a building can lead to insect infestations or ventilation problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By highlighting the inner workings, your drawings seem to be the heirs of a retro-futurism that is readily associated with the Steampunk movement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's a cultural influence that comes from films I loved, like Star Wars<\/em>, which represents an aged, battered, and underground future. Art, like the city, must have a patina, layers. The technology I design couldn't be Apple, because its mechanism is open and reveals the printed circuits. Technology is first and foremost a mechanism, a production line. It's the same in architecture: I prefer raw concrete to plastered concrete, raw wood to smooth, varnished wood, rusted metal to polished metal. Steampunk intersects the culture of Jules Verne with that of Hayao Miyazaki: the flying machines aren't Concordes! In this respect, the Howl's Moving Castle,<\/em> with its improbable but coherent architecture, is a fantasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This universe also recalls the world of automata, particularly those developed by the Machines de l'\u00cele in Nantes, such as the great elephant.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two months before drawing my first mechanical<\/em>, I visited the Machines of the Isle in Nantes. I think that subconsciously, this visit brought out something that was latent within me. There are, however, differences: the machines are pure automata; you could see their structure if you were to create a skeletal model of the animal. Conversely, I want people to be able to imagine a truly natural element in my drawings, because it is this element that creates the contrast and the dialogue. People often perceive my work pessimistically, as a deviation from progress. Others will tell me that they are robot animals. All points of view are interesting, but for me, they are truly machine architectures inspired by animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you see your work evolving in the world of contemporary street art?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, street art is becoming firmly established in the art market and increasingly institutionalized. Now that it's accepted, it needs to evolve. Personally, I'd love to create large-scale works, knowing they would be destroyed a few months later. A very large-scale piece would change my approach, my message, while also offering me a different kind of visibility. One of the projects I've always found most fantastical is... The Cyclops <\/em>by Tinguely. It's an architectural sculpture that can be explored and visited. For me, it represents the culmination of the union between architecture and street art.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BESTIAIRE STEAMPUNK, QUAND L\u2019ANIMAL DEVIENT MACHINE juillet 2017 – 1947 mots PARCOURS Comment es-tu devenu artiste ? A la sortie du Bac mon parcours a \u00e9t\u00e9 assez chaotique : j\u2019ai d\u2019abord commenc\u00e9 par une Fac de math\u00e9matiques qui ne me plaisait pas, et je dessinais pendant les cours. Suite \u00e0 cela j\u2019ai entrepris une pr\u00e9pa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8,7],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-collage","tag-france"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}