FRANCK SCURTI
WHAT IS PUBLIC SCULPTURE ?
11 February – 6 May 2007

INTERVIEW February 2007 / 2mn18s

© La Compagnie des Vidéastes 02/07

Franck Scurti conceived and composed What is Public Sculpture? using a set of graffitied sculptures that he laid out in the space of “La Rue.” These combined sculptures referencing various 20th-century styles with graffiti exactly replicating samples he found in various cities. What makes this graffiti unusual is that it is actually impressed into the surfaces, as if they had been pushed in by the projection of the paint or pressure of the felt pen. Moreover, such is the interplay between the lines and colours printed on the walls of La Rue and on the surfaces of the sculptures that the effect challenges our assumptions about the pre- eminence of form or mark. The idea here is not to contrast “street art” with “high art”, but, more ironically, to offer the two readings simultaneously. Indeed, the juxtaposition of tags and sculptures is informed by the same movement. They work together to support the form and composition of each sculpture.
While the question of trace or imprint leads us reflect on “the dawn of images,” the idea is also to think about the loss of models in the age of their technological reproducibility. The question of the place of art in the city arises naturally from all this.
At the same time, the fact that we can examine these sculptures in detail – an experience we rarely have with works of public art – leads us to question the notions of author and origin and the role of the signature, which is what the tag is by definition. These are not new questions in art, especially contemporary art, but they are especially acute in the age of Internet.

Interview with Franck Scurti, January 2007
- Did you choose the title What is Public Sculpture? to echo that of Qu’est-ce que la sculpture moderne ? (Exhibition put on at the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1986)
- Absolutely. I like the idea that a question, a problematic, can become an exhibition title.

- You have chosen to bring together works conceived and produced for Le Magasin’s “La Rue” space. Is this a project you were already thinking about before you were invited to Le Magasin ?
- Yes, I’ve been thinking about this idea for nearly a year now. The first sculpture was made for the FIAC in 2006, when it was shown in the Jardin des Tuileries.

- How did you go about making the sculpture and choosing their material ?
- I make models, drawings and plans. I make frequent calls on the craftsmen who produce the works to see how they’re doing and to make corrections when there are problems. I try to be as closely involved in the making process as I can.
I choose the material that matches the genre, the style of the sculpture. For example, the geometrical or minimalist structures will tend to be in aluminium, but for a stature or an abstract work I will think more of resin or concrete. The economic factor also comes into play.

- Did you design the low reliefs and painted walls after you had conceived the sculptures?
- Exactly. It’s a declension of the series that exploits the possible variations between figure and ground. The five sculptures are autonomous, so is the lozenge-shaped low relief. As for the works on the walls, they should be seen as interventions on site – site-specific works, you might say.

Franck Scurti, born 1965 in Lyon, lives and works in Paris.
Training at Ecole d’art de Grenoble and at Ecole d’art de Saint-Etienne.

More information at www.franckscurti.net