WIM DELVOYE WHAT IS A SCANDAL?...

Reflections of artist:

How I see art:

Art encompasses all that has been created by the hand of mankind...........in fact all kinds of “classification” should be banned..........

Why must artists have to create shocking artwork in order to communicate and be listened to?

This question marks the beginning of an interesting meeting with Wim Delvoye at the MAMAC (Modern Art Museum) in Nice; He “epitomises” scandal.

“As artists we do not create outrageous works, rather it is all the different media who hunger after scoops and provide us with a meaningful goal for our work; like artists they too require interpreters.”

As we gaze at all the compositions exhibited, we cannot help but stop at the famous “Tatooed Pigs” drawings full of “sacred and profane art” references which in a lay country like France may challenge one’s good and bad taste but definitely does desecrate religious beliefs. Actually I am truly surprised that no Animal Protection Association has intervened yet, to the best of my knowledge, to stand up for the “jolly” pigs. However, we cannot classify Delvoye as an eccentric and singular artist without taking into consideration the greatness in his work and especially because of the steps he took in identifying himself with Walt Disney marketing.

“I can be likened to a tightrope walker in that my movements are limited to stop me from falling or hurting myself.”

“To end with a glance at the cathedrals: Wim Delvoye forces us to think and to think is to go into the labyrinth, that is to say it brings it to life and casts light. Thinking is similar to the process of getting lost in tunnels which only exist because we have tirelessly burrowed our way through. The artist paves the way for us. HELENE DEPOTTE “

If we had to analyse rationally all of Wim Delvoye’s compositions and his artistic career, we would have to admit that a contemporary artist has to do a course in marketing and communication skills. Nevertheless, when we look around us, when we attend a sale of a Giacometti sculpture for so many euros, I can relate to artists like Wim Delvoye, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirsch etc.

Yes, we artists, in spite of our beautiful idealistic dreams, have to come to terms nowadays with the power of the economy being the biggest art dealer; it blinds us to facts which an artist will never believe in. At all periods in time, whether it has been under the rule of kings, popes or Masonic lodges, this has probably always been the case...............

G.QUARTIERI