The artists and producers from bicoastal U.S. directing collective Brand New School are very proud to detail the recent collaboration of director Ludovic Schorno with celebrated American artist Barbara Kruger (www.barbarakruger.com). The resulting fine art installation formed a key element in the Louis Vuitton Cultural Space in Paris, where.Kruger’s bold statements and evocative imagery were part of a group show entitled “Ecriture Silencieuses,” or “Silent Writings.” The show debuted in March and ran through late August.
“I was simply delighted to have the chance to work with Barbara Kruger,” said Schorno. “I’ve been an admirer of her work for a long time, and this was a chance to step out of the commercial mindset for a little bit. Basically, the Louis Vuitton Cultural Space is a building near the Champs-Elysees which is now being repurposed as a gallery. Louis Vuitton commissioned many artists to create pieces for this show, and each artist chose a specific space within the gallery. Barbara’s space is a very tall rotunda within the space, and we had to conform her ideas to that specific architecture. It was a fascinating challenge and a wonderful collaboration.”
Kruger’s works use a combination of insightful text and evocative imagery to convey often unsettling messages, specifically concerning “how we are to one another.” She has said in the past that she works "with pictures and words because they have the ability to determine who we are and who we aren’t.” Brand New School’s documentary video on the project is available online here.
Silent Writings Installation from Barbara Kruger from Brand New School on Vimeo.
“Barbara came to us with an extremely clear vision of what she wanted,” Schorno explained. "Our collaboration grew out of the fact that Barbara needed help with certain technical aspects of her idea. As the project evolved, however, she realized that we had a keen sense of how her idea could best be conveyed.”
Drawing its inspiration from short aphorisms from several famous writers, Kruger’s installation makes use of the rotunda’s cyclical effect and immense wall space, to heighten the effect of the insightful words. For instance, a quotation from Mary McCarthy, asserts that "In violence we forget who we are." Projected in huge white letters on a brightly colored wall, the word "violence" suddenly explodes into shards. The word then reassembles itself and "we forget who" slowly disappears, leaving only, "in violence we are." After a moment, a loud thump is heard throughout the space and an image of a protester in Northern Ireland is superimposed over the text, further emphasizing McCarthy’s message.
Another sentence reads, "Speech is civilization itself. The word, even the most contradictory word, promotes contact. It is silence that isolates." Using the round architecture of the rotunda, the passage itself travels along the walls to surround and embrace the viewer. Still another aphorism, this time from Voltaire, warns, "Those who make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." The two assertions gradually grow to dominate the wall, before colliding violently with one another. An image of a person screaming then superimposes itself on the scene.
“Barbara is understandably very precise about her typography and her imagery,” Schorno continued. “Some images come from pulp magazines, others from newspapers, and other media outlets. Her highly evocative technique is to divert commercial imagery towards a juxtaposition with poetic, insightful sentences that she either writes or borrows. In this case, the impact could not be stronger or more visceral. The text and images are 14 feet wide and 35 feet high, and they literally surround the audience.”
As the project and relationship evolved, Kruger and Schorno began meeting on a weekly basis just to talk about the potential and possibilities of the piece. Those meetings sometimes lasted for as long as four hours.
“It was a great collaboration,” Schorno concluded. “Once we got to know each other, Barbara could tell that we got where.she was coming from. From that point on, she was incredibly generous with her feedback and appreciation. We aspire to do more of this kind of work, because we feel it has a different relevance.”
More information on “Silent Writings” and the Louis Vuitton Cultural Space is available online at www.louisvuitton.com/espaceculturel.
Project Credits
Artist: Barbara Kruger
Fabricator: Brand New School
Production & Post Production: Brand New School, Bicoastal, USA
Art Director: Ludovic Schorno
Animator: Richard Trix Taylor
3d Pre-Vis: John Sadler
Post Production Producer: Darren Jaffe
About Brand New School
With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Brand New School is a bicoastal directing collective working in all fields of commercial art. Ever evolving, the studio continues to cultivate a sense of wonder and exploration. For its artists and clients alike, BNS represents an opportunity to play at work, to conduct experiments in image-making, and to feed the inspiration that drives the industry. For more information, please visit www.BrandNewSchool.com.
