Drones d’idées

Sarah Forrest, That now, video HD, 10 minutes, 2013

I discovered the work of Sarah Forrest (1981) through Quinn Latimer, who had organised a show in Glasgow with a title that I really liked: “Mood is Made, Temperature is Taken.” One of Sarah Forrest’s films, that now (2013), uses the voice-over in a singular way. It is a homage to a Scottish filmmaker, Margaret Tait. Speaking of this film, Sarah explains that “I had wanted to write it like a statement of facts, with each line beginning with the word ‘that,’ creating a non-hierarchal text where memory, mood, thoughts, feelings might all be seen as facts.”

J’ai découvert le travail de Sarah Forrest (1981) grâce à Quinn Latimer qui avait organisée à Glasgow une exposition dont le titre me plaisait beaucoup : « Mood is Made, Temperature is Taken ». L’un des films de Sarah Forrest, That now (2013), fait un usage singulier de la voix off et se présente comme un hommage à Margaret Tait, la cinéaste écossaise. À propos de ce film, Sarah explique : « I had wanted to write it like a statement of facts, with each line beginning with the word ‘that’ creating a non hierarchal text where memory, mood, thoughts, feelings might all be seen as facts. » Clara Schulmann

Katinka Bock, Jonathan, 2014 © Katinka Bock

Katinka Bock (1976) vit à Paris. C’est là que l’on s’est rencontrées. Elle m’a demandé d’écrire un texte sur sa prochaine exposition aux Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, Zarba Lonsa. Ses sculptures, installations, films et photographies traitent du lien, de ce qui unit ou désunit des objets. Ses réponses au questionnaire sont multilingues, ce qui n’est pas surprenant : elle ne cesse, dans son travail, de passer les frontières.

Katinka Bock (1976) lives in Paris. That’s where we met. She asked me to write a text about her coming exhibition at the Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, Zarba Lonsa. Her sculptures, installations, films and photographs are about the bond, what connects or disconnects objects. Her answers to the questionnaire are multilingual, which is not surprising: in her work, she is constantly crossing frontiers. Clara Schulmann

Cover of The Problem of Reading.
Los Angeles: Documents Books, 2003

Moyra Davey (1958), lives in New York. I met her in Paris at castillo/corrales. Her text “The Problem of Reading” (2003) made a strong impression on me but I didn’t know at the time that she made films. Notes on Blue (2015), her latest film, describes her daily life. In her apartment, Moyra Davey films herself. Her voice talks about her readings and discoveries, and how these affect her life as a woman and an artist.

Moyra Davey (1958) vit à New York. Je l’ai rencontrée chez castillo/corrales, à Paris. J’avais été très marquée par l’un de ses textes : « The Problem of Reading » (2003), et j’ignorais alors qu’elle faisait aussi des films. Notes on Blue (2015), son dernier film, décrit son quotidien : dans son appartement, Moyra Davey se filme. Sa voix raconte ses lectures et découvertes, et comment celles-ci s’articulent à sa vie de femme et d’artiste. Clara Schulmann

An emotional rentrée with Clara Schulmann

Starting this week, the Drones d’idées blog is hosting a new section, entrusted to a long-standing contributor, art critic Clara Schulmann, who teaches at the École d’Enseignement Supérieur d’Art in Bordeaux. The section is titled “Clara Schulmann’s Questionnaire.” You can find out more by reading the presentation of this very fine project conceived for women artists and concerning what Clara calls “emotional technologies.” Many thanks to Clara for sharing the results of her research with us. Teresa Castro

I recently began a research project on women’s voices. It started when I was intrigued by the female voice-over in film but has gradually moved from voice-over towards broader questions about the way women artists speak through their work. In the field of contemporary art, I was interested in artists whose practice embraces both filmmaking and writing.

This questionnaire aims to find out how these two activities are intertwined. I have a hypothesis in mind: these two activities and their alliances give a special potential to the rise of a singular position. The dialogue between the two describes a mental landscape, an emotional weather. It evokes situations, an economy, and ways of living. These questions are not meant to produce an overview or statistics but to collect impressions and relate experiences, both technical and personal.