Perfectly Strange, 1997 |
2 photomatons (160 x 70 x 180 cm) installed simultaneously in 2 different locations, computer equipment, Internet
Display inaugurated on April 8, 1997 by a Paris-Tokyo connection: Centre National de la Photographie, Paris; ICC, Tokyo
Other distributions: Center Culturel Français, Beirut, Lebanon; Muthesius Hochschule, Kiel, Germany; City of Strasbourg, France; Kunstmuseum, Thun, Switzerland; Fotohof, Salzburg, Austria
Production: Icono, ICC Tokyo, Aide individuelle à la création DRAC Ile-de-France, Fondation Arabe de l’image (Beyrouth), Institut Français (Beyrouth)
Commissariat: Regis Durand, Hubertus von Amelunxen, ICC Tokyo, Icono, Claire Schnyder
"One of the clichés of sociological reflection is to say that the creator must be a model of flexibility and nomadism. Perfectly Strange offers another vision of the "connectionist" artist. In this project, the process involved again takes precedence over the idea of a finished product or a work to be exhibited. Two booths allowing to obtain a photographic portrait are installed in two different places (for example in the National Center of Photography in Paris and in a foundation in Tokyo). When the user takes part in the game and sits in the "suitcase box", he or she receives the portrait of another person, located somewhere in the world. The passport photos are sent through the Internet and randomly reach the different users. Depending on the geographical location of the protagonists (a vacant lot, a museum, a foundation, a train station... in Paris, Tokyo, Lubeck, Strasbourg, Kiel, Beirut, Tyre, Beiteddine, Thun, Salzburg), the perception of the work changes. It can be simply enjoyable (receiving a beautiful portrait), reflective (reflecting on one's identity) or political (for example when the two booths are located in Lebanon)." [...]- Carole Boulbès, Nous ne sommes pas des spécialistes (extract), Catalogue Jan Kopp : Techniques Rappolder, Isthme éditions, Paris, 2005
Display inaugurated on April 8, 1997 by a Paris-Tokyo connection: Centre National de la Photographie, Paris; ICC, Tokyo
Other distributions: Center Culturel Français, Beirut, Lebanon; Muthesius Hochschule, Kiel, Germany; City of Strasbourg, France; Kunstmuseum, Thun, Switzerland; Fotohof, Salzburg, Austria
Production: Icono, ICC Tokyo, Aide individuelle à la création DRAC Ile-de-France, Fondation Arabe de l’image (Beyrouth), Institut Français (Beyrouth)
Commissariat: Regis Durand, Hubertus von Amelunxen, ICC Tokyo, Icono, Claire Schnyder
"One of the clichés of sociological reflection is to say that the creator must be a model of flexibility and nomadism. Perfectly Strange offers another vision of the "connectionist" artist. In this project, the process involved again takes precedence over the idea of a finished product or a work to be exhibited. Two booths allowing to obtain a photographic portrait are installed in two different places (for example in the National Center of Photography in Paris and in a foundation in Tokyo). When the user takes part in the game and sits in the "suitcase box", he or she receives the portrait of another person, located somewhere in the world. The passport photos are sent through the Internet and randomly reach the different users. Depending on the geographical location of the protagonists (a vacant lot, a museum, a foundation, a train station... in Paris, Tokyo, Lubeck, Strasbourg, Kiel, Beirut, Tyre, Beiteddine, Thun, Salzburg), the perception of the work changes. It can be simply enjoyable (receiving a beautiful portrait), reflective (reflecting on one's identity) or political (for example when the two booths are located in Lebanon)." [...]- Carole Boulbès, Nous ne sommes pas des spécialistes (extract), Catalogue Jan Kopp : Techniques Rappolder, Isthme éditions, Paris, 2005
| Article : Les portraits volés de la valise de Jan Kopp, by Annick Rivoire, Libération, 2 novembre 1998 |
ICC, Tokyo, Japon, 1998
