Arman Pierre Fernandez "ARMAN",
French/American (1929 - 2005)
The French Armand Pierre
Fernandez, born in 1928, is one of the most important international object
artists and a co-founder and member of the Nouveau Réalisme. He studied at the
Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice from 1946 to 1949 and then
continued his studies for two years at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. An acquaintance with Yves Klein led to
the idea of organising joint happenings and events, which the two artists
realised in 1953. Armand's neo-dadaist 'Cachets' (stamp prints) of 1955, and
later the 'Allures' (prints made with objects dipped into paint) and the
'Coupés' (cut-up objects) followed by the 'Colères' (objects which were smashed
and then mounted) were still influenced by Kurt Schwitters. When the last
letter of his name was accidentally forgotten on a catalogue cover in 1958, he
decided to keep this spelling.
In 1957, Arman became interested in common objects as works of art. First he
did what came to be called his "allures d"objet" (object
impressions) where he would dip an object into paint and press it on canvas;
thereby leaving the object's shadow or impression. Then he figured the object
itselt was worth paying attention to and he started to "treat" them
in his own way. Arman's way of treating objects is very special: his intention
is to remove the material function of an object so that as a work of art its
only possible function is to "teed the mind" and not serve a material
purpose anymore. What better way could he find to achieve that result than by
breaking, slicing or even burning objects such as a violin, telephone,
typewriter or even a whole car. He also makes objects useless by accumulating
them (2,000 wrist watches in a plexiglass box are fun to watch but not very
functional unless you like to "pick your time")
The artist discovered his famous 'Poubelles', Plexiglas cases with rubbish cast
in resin, at the beginning of the 1960s. From the 'Poubelles' Arman developed
the so-called 'Accumulations', a number of the same objects assembled in show
cases. These arrangements consist mainly of objects of every-day life, with
which the artist ironically questions the one-sided waste character of mass
products. Arman began working on the 'Combustiones' (burnt objects) during a
stay in New York
in 1963. He accepted a teaching post in Los Angeles
in 1967 and taught at the University
of California until 1968.
From 1975 onwards Arman spent seven years working on a monumental sculpture
made of 60 cars which he called 'Long Term Parking'.
From the mid-1960s Arman made numerous visits to New
York, and he soon came to regard the USA as his second home, taking
American citizenship in 1972. The stocks of new objects that he discovered
there directed him towards new and more abstract accumulations. These
culminated in 1967–8 in the Renault Accumulations(e.g. Renault
Accumulation No. 106, 1967; see 1986 exh. cat., p. 221), highly sculptural
works made from separate pieces supplied by the Renault car factory, and in
large-scale commissioned monuments such as Long Term Parking (h. 18
m, 1982–3; Jouy-en-Josas, Fond. Cartier Mus.), a gigantic tower consisting of
60 cars embedded in concrete. In his later work he also recast some of his
earlier Ragesand Combustions in bronze, and in another
series, Armed Objects, he used concrete as a base in which to fix the
object, somewhat in the way he had previously used transparent plastic. He
broadened his imagery to include tools while remaining faithful above all to
objects symbolizing the excesses of the consumer society. Arman was also an
avid collector of objects, artefacts and works of art, including watches,
radios, cars, European pistols, African carved sculpture (especially Kota guardian figures)
and Japanese armour.
The interesting fact is that once emotionally detached from the circumstances
associated with a broken violin, one-can grow to appreciate its abstract
beauty; and, in a sense, Arman is literally teaching you that things you never
thought could be regarded as attractive can indeed turn out to be very
aesthetic.
Because of this achievement, Arman has come to full worldwide recognition.
Each year for the past eight years Arman has tigured among the top 15
artists in the list of "Top 100" artists of world-renown. Some of his
original works ot art are selling for up to $100, 000. His prints and posters
have been used to promote international music festivals, i.e., Luxumberg-1978.
Arman has had over 30
one-man shows in museums all over the world, many TV interviews, and
innumerable articles about his work.
Together with Klein, Tinguely, Raysse and César, Arman is one of the most
important artists of the Nouveau Réalisme. Since the 1950s he has been honoured
with numerous international exhibitions and has presented works twice at the
documenta 3 and 6 in Kassel.