Une présentation critique de la démarche de Ludicart par Célio Paillard (Revue L'Autre musique - 2011) |
Les 10 et 11 septembre 2011
avaient lieu les fêtes de la ville de Choisy-le-Roi, dans la banlieue
parisienne... Et, au cœur de ce joyeux foutoir – l’énergie vitale
surmultipliée par la très proche résignation à l’implacable retour au
travail –, près d’une petite pièce d’eau – au milieu de laquelle une
sculpture de Narcisse présentait son cul plus qu’il ne mirait son
reflet –, sous le couvert d’un majestueux saule pleureur, Ludicart avait monté deux installations sonores interactives : les Tableaux sonores (1996) et les Tubulophones (1993). Les premiers formaient un sas d’accès à l’univers de Ludicart : 4 grands cadres évidés de 2 mètres de haut, diffusant du son lorsqu’on les traversait. Les seconds étaient constitués de 8 sculptures disposées en un demi-cercle. Également à l’échelle humaine, ces tubes de plastiques crénelés – protégeant d’ordinaire les échafaudages – étaient peints cette fois dans un camaïeux de bleus vifs, se terminant en lamelles, pour évoquer la ramure d’un arbre, et ceinturés en leur milieu par une double bande métallique, produisant des sons lorsque les visiteurs faisaient contact. CORPS À L’ŒUVRE Et les contacts, justement, étaient très nombreux. Des enfants,
excités par la fête, s’amusaient à cavaler autour des Tableaux et des Tubulophones,
s’étonnant qu’ils produisent des sons lorsqu’ils les traversaient ou
les touchaient. Ils couraient en tous sens, slalomaient entre les
sculptures, tournaient autour, bondissaient de l’une à l’autre, pour
constater que la magie continuait d’opérer, et que des mélopées
différentes étaient jouées. Ils voulaient tout tester, s’invitaient les
uns les autres à prolonger le jeu, en explorant chacun des Tubulophones. Cela donnait lieu à des postures d’équilibre précaire et à des acrobaties cocasses. ACCÈS PAR L’INTERACTIVITÉ Pour éviter la déception due à l’expérimentation ratée de l’œuvre,
lorsque celle-ci ne fonctionne pas ou mal, lorsqu’elle ne remplit pas
ses promesses — ce qui induit parfois un sentiment de culpabilité chez
le spectateur qui se reproche d’être incapable de la manipuler
correctement –, l’interactivité élaborée par Ludicart est très
simple. Pas besoin de s’échiner à suivre un mode d’emploi élaboré ou à
deviner quel est le comportement adéquat, on a envie de traverser les
cadres des Tableaux ou de toucher les bandes métallisées des Tubulophones,
placées à une hauteur convenant aussi bien aux enfants qu’aux adultes.
Que pourrait-on faire d’autre ? D’ailleurs, en cas de doute, il suffit
d’imiter les autres intervenants, ou de se laisser convaincre par
l’auto-suggestion, par exemple en frottant une partie insensible de la
sculpture en prétendant qu’elle produit du son. COMBINATOIRE ET HASARD Et puis, rapidement, on est intéressé par autre chose : les séquences
sonores. Influencée par Cage, Xenakis, la musique sérielle et
électroacoustique, Ludicart élabore ses séquences avec
l’assistance de la combinatoire et du hasard, afin d’introduire
variations et surprises. L’invitation des corps des visiteurs à une
exploration ludique des œuvres est aussi une manière de leur proposer
des formes musicales originales, trop généralement réservées à des
salles de concert prestigieuses ou confidentielles, investies par
quelques initiés qui peuvent se glorifier d’une telle distinction. SITUATIONS D’ÉCOUTE Pour autant, il ne faudrait pas réduire l’approche de Ludicart
à une démarche de vulgarisation. Le didactisme exigerait plus de
sérieux et de contrôle, et ces œuvres sont destinées à être jouées, et
encore, imparfaitement, car elles ne se laissent pas aisément dompter.
Plutôt que des instruments de musique conçus pour un concert ou un
spectacle, les sculptures de Ludicart s’offrent à la
manipulation. Pour faire quoi ? De la musique, du bruit, pour servir de
balises à un jeu, ou d’obstacles de slalom ? Qui sait ? De nombreux
usages pourraient être inventés, autant que de situations d’écoute et de
vie, sous une forme récurrente ou inédite. Ça dépendra de l’inspiration
– mais celle-ci n’en est pas moins orientée par la disposition,
l’aspect et le fonctionnement de ces sculptures. |
A critical presentation of Ludicart's approach By Célio Paillard (Revue L'Autre musique - 2011) |
On
September 10th and 11th, 2011, there were celebrations in the town of
Choisy-le-Roi, in the suburbs of Paris ... And, at the heart of this
joyful mess - the vital energy overmatched by the very resignation to
the implacable Returning
to work - near a small piece of water - in the middle of which a
sculpture of Narcisse presented her ass more than mirroring her
reflection - under the cover of a majestic weeping willow, Ludicart had
mounted two Interactive sound installations: Tables sonores (1996) and Tubulophones (1993). The former formed an access lock to Ludicart's universe: four large hollowed-out frames of 2 meters high, broadcasting sound when crossed. The second consisted of 8 sculptures arranged in a semicircle. Also on a human scale, these crenellated plastic tubes - usually protecting the scaffolding - were painted this time in a shimmering brush, ending in strips, to evoke the crown of a tree, and surrounded in the middle By a double metal band, producing sounds when the visitors made contact. BODY AT WORK And contacts were very numerous. Children, excited by the festival, amused themselves by riding around the Paintings and the Tubulophones, astonished that they produced sounds when they crossed or touched them. They ran in all directions, slalomed between the sculptures, turned around, leaped from one to the other, to see that magic continued to operate, and that different melodies were played. They wanted to test everything, inviting each other to prolong the game, exploring each of the Tubulophones. This gave rise to postures of precarious equilibrium and comical acrobatics. Adults experimented with less exuberance, placing their hands on the two electrodes, their conductive body making contact and triggering sound cascades with different tessitura. Standing side-by-side, static, they seemed at first suspicious in front of these technological totems with the appearance a little tinkered. But the evidence of their functioning and the constancy and infallibility of the response to their gestures was as convincing as it was seductive. ACCESS BY INTERACTIVITY In order to avoid disappointment due to the failed experimentation of the work, when it does not work or wrong, when it does not fulfill its promises - which sometimes leads to a sense of guilt in the spectator, Be unable to handle it correctly - the interactivity developed by Ludicart is very simple. No need to crash into an elaborate manual or to guess what is the right behavior, you want to cross the picture frames or touch the metallic bands of the Tubulophones, placed at a height suitable for children Than adults. What else could we do? Moreover, in case of doubt, it is enough to imitate the other speakers, or to be persuaded by self-suggestion, for example by rubbing an insensitive part of the sculpture by pretending that it produces sound. And this is one of the main qualities of Ludicart's works: although their manipulation is evident, their functioning is based on the magic of science - such as those chemistry experiments where it was clear that potassium nitrate Precipitates in the silver iodide, while the mechanisms of this reaction remain in spite of everything inaccessible to our intelligence. By touching the Tubulophones, it is not thought that the receptive surfaces analyze the magnitude of the contact, that the measured analog signal is converted into binary data which are processed by a computer, and then produce a series of sounds by l A digital synthesizer, a sound card, an amplifier channel and a loudspeaker placed in the center of each sculpture. And even if it is known, the amazement produced by the sound apparition persists. Technology fades behind ease of use. This playful side displayed by the artists' duo (Jean-Robert Sédano and Solveig de Ory) is embodied in seemingly low-tech forms, contrary to the operations of seduction of certain digital works of art, which seem Designed to impress the spectators, but which plunge them most often in perplexity. Not only is it easy to activate the Tubulophones and trigger sounds, but it is also quickly noticed that they last only the contact time and that their height is inversely proportional to the surface applied to the sensors. COMBINATORY AND HAZARD And then, quickly, we are interested in something else: the sound sequences. Influenced by Cage, Xenakis, serial and electroacoustic music, Ludicart elaborates his sequences with the assistance of combinatorics and chance, in order to introduce variations and surprises. The invitation of the visitors' bodies to a playful exploration of works is also a way of offering them original musical forms, too generally reserved for prestigious or confidential concert halls, invested by a few initiates who can boast of such a distinction . However, there is no religion of listening, respect for excessive works: placed in a noisy (public) place, they add a layer of sound and blend into their environment, as if the twelve-tone music was part of the Landscape - which is generally the case in public spaces, where noises, sounds and music overlap and become entwined. LISTENING SITUATIONS Nevertheless, Ludicart's approach to extension should not be reduced. Didacticism demands more seriousness and control, and these works are destined to be played, and still imperfectly, for they can not easily be tamed. Rather than musical instruments designed for a concert or a performance, Ludicart's sculptures offer themselves to manipulation. To do what ? Music, noise, to serve as tags to a game, or slalom obstacles? Who knows ? Many uses could be invented, as well as situations of listening and life, in a recurring or unpublished form. It depends on the inspiration - but it is none the less oriented by the layout, the appearance and the functioning of these sculptures. And it is in this that their installation is judicious in frames artistically little connotated - even connoted as non-artistic or as anti-artistic, like the festivals of Choisy-le-Roi, which one can not imagine To be wrong) that a "trendy" contemporary artist would boast of having honored them with his presence. Ludicart proposes an experiment, is it important to know if it is artistic or if it is simply lived? And what would this distinction change at his discretion? Ludicart's desire not to separate artistic practice from the usual or even "normal" general framework of everyday life is manifested by their presence in public events not specifically artistic, as well as by the economic system they have set in motion Incompatible with the art market and the private - and private - appropriation of their works. These are not sold but rented for the event. This prolongs the life of the works and gives them a margin of improvement, according to the evolution of the technologies and the experience of the show: it is possible to facilitate the manipulation And to optimize its effects. Thus use is privileged to the object, music taking the form of a practice rather than a fetish. |