Fred Forest takes visitors on a tour of its archives
Everyone's life produces thoughts, objects and actions that one day materialise and accumulate before our very eyes. This is my case today, as I take you by the hand and, for those who are willing, lead you through part of my archives...
2020 FRED FOREST takes you on a tour of some of its archives, courtesy of Borjan Zarevski
Everyone's life gives rise to a production of thoughts, objects and actions that one day materialize and accumulate before our very eyes. This is my case today, as I take you by the hand and, for those who are willing, lead you into a part of my archives...
One day in September 2020, when the artist had just finished a work session with his editor and close friend Borjan Zarevski, they discussed his practice, in which Borjan has taken a personal interest for several years, and suddenly decided, in a game of improvisation, to try the following experiment. In his studio, Fred stands in front of his three enormous metal cabinets, opens them and, without any preparation, randomly grabs the documents they contain and describes them. Borjan, always quick to grab his video camera, takes over. It's this sequence that we'd like to share with you here. Given the success of this improvisation, we decided to continue it, but unfortunately, given the hazards of life and the busy schedules of the two friends, their wish to pursue this experience would never be fulfilled.
I think that the INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) would have been well advised to give the artist a larger place on its website, if only to extend the generous donation he had honored it with... but no, its current President decided otherwise, and to include him only in a representation that is, to say the least, reduced to a minimum, given the volume and diversity of his donation.
In 2003, multimedia artist Fred FOREST gave INA 435 video and audio recordings, plus 33 boxes of written archives relating to his work and 35 years of artistic creation.
In 2012, he also granted INA a 4-hour heritage interview. All these documents are available at INA's Paris Consultation Center at the BNF.
LONG BIOGRAPHY OF FRED FOREST
Fred Forest has a special place in contemporary art. Both by his personality and by his pioneering practices which mark his work. He is mainly known today for having used one by one most of the communication media that have appeared over the last fifty years. He is co-founder of three artistic movements: those of sociological art, the aesthetics of communication and ethics in art.
He represented France at the 12th São Paulo Biennale (Communication Prize) in 1973, at the 37th Venice Biennale in 1976 and at Documenta 6 in Kassel in 1977.
EXHIBITION AT THE CENTRE POMPIDOU FROM JANUARY 24 TO JULY 22, 2024
means that you will find content in English within the pages, although they are mainly published in French.