Jean-Max Albert (born 1942) is a French painter, sculptor, writer, and musician. He has published theory, books on artists, and a collection of poems, plays and novels inspired by quantum physics. He perpetuated experiments initiated by

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...

and Edgar Varèse on the transposition of musical structures into formal constructions. Albert has also created environmental sculptures using plants to create architecture.

Early life and education

Albert was born on July 25, 1942, in

Loches Loches () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, central France. It is situated southeast of Tours by road, on the left bank of the river Indre. History Loches (the Roman ''Leucae'') grew up around a monastery founded about 500 by St. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, only child of Louis Georges Albert and Edith Albert (''née'' Garand). His father was an officer in the French Navy and an engineer. Albert practiced painting and music beginning in childhood, and was also interested in carpentry, as his grandmother lived next to a carpentry workshop; when visiting her on vacation, Albert became interested in observing their work, particularly the technical drawings the carpenters used. This was later used as a direct inspiration for his trellis constructions, and his series . Albert studied at the Ecole Régionale des Beaux-Arts d'Angers, then at the Ecole Nationale des

Beaux-Arts de Paris The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Sciences ...

between 1958 and 1962. During that time, Albert was a trumpet player, joining Henri Texier's quintet and participating in the beginnings of the

Free Jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

movement in Europe. Bolide statique III

Career

Both Albert and his second wife, Sara Holt, have collaborated on and carried out various public art projects and exhibitions, becoming friends with artists such as

Meret Oppenheim In Egyptian mythology, Meret (also spelled Mert) was a goddess who was strongly associated with rejoicing, such as singing and dancing. In myth Meret was a token wife occasionally given to Hapy, the god of the Nile. Her name being a reference t ...

, Piotr Kowalski and Joan Mitchell. In 1975, Albert founded the group show in François Horticultural Greenhouses, Magny-in-Vexin. At the invitation of sculptor Mark di Suvero, he travelled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the first of many visits to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, where he collaborated later with the architect Wylde-Oubrerie on the Miller House in Lexington. He also travelled to Europe, North Africa, Middle East. In 1985, Albert joined the Ars Technica Association, connected to the

Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie ("City of Science and Industry", abbreviated la CSI) or simply CSI is the biggest science museum in Europe. Located in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is one of the three dozen French Cultu ...

, uniting philosophers, artists, scientists such as Jean-Marc Levy-Leblond, Piotr Kowalski, Claude Faure,

Piero Gilardi ''For the 19th-century painter and sculptor, see Pier Celestino Gilardi'' Piero Gilardi (born 1942, Turin) is a visual artist. Born in Italy from a Swiss family, he studied at the Liceo Artistico in Turin. In an interview with LeGrace G. Benson, ...

and

Jean-Claude Mocik Jean-Claude Mocik, was born on February 9, 1958, in Livry Gargan. He is a filmmaker, video director, a director and teacher. Chronology After studies of cinema and broadcasting in Paris VIII University, Jean-Claude Mocik worked with Pierre Joli ...

, reflecting on the relationship between art and new technologies. From 1978 to 1986, Albert made his living as a graphic designer for science and technology publications. By his own account, this experience influenced his attention to subject matter in art. With Jean-Claude Mocik, he co-authored the project ''Midi-Pile'' in 1994.

Style and method

Albert works in many different disciplines, media, styles and techniques. He often relates music and visual art, referring to

Edgar Varese Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

, and has collaborated with different composers and musicians as

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...

, Steve Lacy,

Barney Wilen Bernard "Barney" Jean Wilen (4 March 1937 – 25 May 1996) was a French tenor and soprano saxophonist and jazz composer. Life Wilen was born in Nice, France; his father was an American dentist turned inventor, and his mother was French. He bega ...

and François Tusques. A monumental structure like ''Iapetus'' set in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins ...

in 1985 refers to the structure of

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

's " Misterioso", and ''Ligeti''

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

1994, to Ligeti’s "static sonorous surfaces".

Painting

''Mental Image and Representation'' published in 2018, is a study of the relation subject matter/style. This essay is based on a work achieved by the Docteur Jean Philippe (1862-1931) ''l'image mentale, évolution et dissolution'', and Alfred Korzybski's General semantics.

Treillis

In 1973, a conversation that Albert had with the architect

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. W ...

brought a comparison between the relationship of paint and canvas and vegetation on trellis. Albert then visited the tradition of trellis-work, 18th-century utopic architecture and created vegetal architecture in the field of

Land art Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mov ...

and

Environmental Sculpture Environmental sculpture is sculpture that creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually en ...

. It was comparable to the work of

Gordon Matta-Clark Gordon Matta-Clark (born Gordon Roberto Matta-Echaurren; June 22, 1943 – August 27, 1978) was an American artist best known for site-specific artworks he made in the 1970s. He was also a pioneer in the field of socially engaged food art. ...

, or

Nils Udo Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas. People and animals with the given name * Nils Bergström (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player *Nils Björk (1898–1989), ...

, with whom he participated in the Wissenschaftszentrum exhibition in Bonn in 1979. ''Vicenza'' in

Hôtel de Sully The Hôtel de Sully is a Louis XIII style ''hôtel particulier'', or private mansion, located at 62 rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais, IV arrondissement, Paris, France. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, it is nowadays the seat of the Cen ...

, Paris, 1975 (in collaboration with Fougeras Lavergnolle) or the project ''O=C=O'' for the "Parco d' Arte Vivente" in Torino, 2007 are architectural and vegetal sculptures on trellis-work in the field of

Site-specific art Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork. Site-specific art is produced both by commercial artists, and independently, and can ...

Environmental sculpture Environmental sculpture is sculpture that creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually en ...

and

Generative art Generative art refers to art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an artwork that w ...

Calmodulin

Calmodulin is a project dedicated to the vegetation itself, in terms of biological activity. The utopian ''Calmoduline Monument'' is based on the property of a protein, calmodulin, to bond selectively to calcium. Exterior physical constraints (wind, rain, etc.) modify the electric potential of the cellular membranes of a plant and consequently the flux of calcium. However, the calcium controls the expression of the calmoduline gene. The plant can thus, when there is a stimulus, modify its typical growth pattern. The basic principle of this sculpture is that to the extent that they could be picked up and transported, these signals could be enlarged, translated into colors and shapes, and show the plant’s decisions. This permanent show, installed in a public place, would suggest a level of fundamental biological activity.

Sculptures Bachelard (Observation Sculptures)

Albert’s

Sculptures Bachelard ''Sculptures Bachelard'' is an ''In Situ'' work by French artist Jean-Max Albert installed in 1986 in the Parc de la Villette, Paris, France. It is named after the author of ''The Poetics of Space'', Gaston Bachelard Gaston Bachelard (; ; 27 ...

aims to concentrate the surrounding environment in the sculpture. When looking in the Observation Sculpture through its sights (an aperture or circles), the space beyond is (roughly) framed. Combining the different perspectives framed, the little sculpture, usually in bronze, takes shape after the space it is aiming at. An Observation Sculpture proposes a summary of this space concentrated, agglomerated and stuck together in a kind of core, like a geometric model of the site’s character.

Anamorphosis

''Un carré pour un square'', ''Cube fantôme'' and ''Reflet anamorphose'', are three pieces according to

anamorphosis Anamorphosis is a distorted projection requiring the viewer to occupy a specific vantage point, use special devices, or both to view a recognizable image. It is used in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, toys, and film special e ...

principle as described by

Matilde Marcolli Matilde Marcolli is an Italian and American mathematical physicist. She has conducted research work in areas of mathematics and theoretical physics; obtained the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the Sofia Kov ...

: « If the vector space one starts with is the 3-dimensional space, whose vectors have 3-coordinates v = (x₁, x₂, x₃), then, as long as v is nonzero and a real number λ is also nonzero, the vector v = (x₁, x₂, x₃) and the vector λv = (λx₁, λx₂, λx₃) point along the same straight line and we consider them as being the same point of our projective space. » ''Un carré pour un square'' shows the perspective of a square from a specific vantage point. The design is formed by a set of lines of narrow plates of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

imbricated in the walls of the surrounding buildings and in the vestiges of a former construction site. In another example, the specific vantage point is indicated by one of the

set in Paris,

Parc de la Villette The Parc de la Villette is the third-largest park in Paris, in area, located at the northeastern edge of the city in the 19th arrondissement. The park houses one of the largest concentrations of cultural venues in Paris, including the Cité de ...

. In this work, the anamorphosis appears as a reflection of a bronze construction This reflection discreetly shows the inclusion of a circle in a square in a triangle, in reference to the concept plan of the park by the architect

Bernard Tschumi Bernard Tschumi (born 25 January 1944 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Son of the well-known Swiss architect Jean Tschumi and a French mother, Tschumi is a dual French- ...

.''Reflet Anamorphose'' allows, from the specific vantage point, to observe simultaneously the design ''and'' its anamorphosis.

Gallery

File:Photon propagation Synth.jpg,

''Photon Propagation,'' Model, 2013

File:Jma angouleme wk.jpg,

''Iapetus'', Angoulême,1985

File:Lumen Poem 1985.jpg,

''Lumen Poem,'' 1985

File:Sculptures de visées,.jpg,

''Observation Sculptures''
Parc de La Villette, Paris 1986

File:Reflet anamorphose 1.jpg,

''Reflet anamorphose''
Parc de La Villette, Paris 1986

File:Calmoduline Monument.jpg,

''Project for a monument to calmodulin'',1991

File:Free Jazz.jpg,

''Free Jazz'', 1973, acrylic on canvas, 5,30 x 2,75 m.

File:Portrait de la Loire.jpg,

''Portrait de la Loire'', 1988, oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm., Musée de la Loire, France.

File:Signification as factor of order.jpg,

''Signification as factor of order, 2014

Books, poetry, essays

* 1975, '' Soulages'', in

Opus ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

n°57. * 1978, ''Tuteurs Fabuleux'', Éditions Speed, Paris. FRBNF34609833 * ''De l'architecture transparente'', in

n°65 * 1981, ''Lithium Migrants'', Éditions Cheval d’Attaque, Paris. * 1982, ''De l'architecture transparente'', Lotus international n°31. * 1984, ''Les nouveaux voyages du capitaine Cook'', Éditions ACAPA, Angoulême. * 1991,''Vuthemas'', Ars technica n°4. * 1993, ''Space in Profile'', (French and English), Les Éditions de La Villette, Paris. * 1992, ''Mathesis singularis'', Ars technica n°7. * 1994, ''La caméra sans film'', Sens & Tonka Editeurs, Paris. ; * ''Une obscurité infiniment lumineuse'', Alliages n°19. * 2002, ''Jean-Bernard Métais et Sir George H. Darwin'', Temps imparti, Éditions Beaudoin Lebon, Paris. * 2005, ''Le tour du blues en 80 mondes'', Sens & Tonka Editeurs, Paris. * 2009, ''Les Querpéens I'', ''Emma Qun'q'', Les Éditions du Quintelaud, Paris. * 2012, ''Les Querpéens II'', ''Ray Quernöck'', Les Éditions du Quintelaud, Paris. * 2018, ''Mental image and representation'', (French and English), Translation by Helen Arnold, Éditions Mercier & associés, Paris. * 2009, ''Thelonious Monk Architecte'', L'art du jazz, Éditions Le Félin, Paris. * 2018, ''Piotr Kowalski, A contemporary’s Insights'', Far-Sited : California International Sculpture Symposium 1965/2015, University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach. * 2020, ''Quand la Lune écrit'', Alliages n°81.

Public works

* ''Vicenza'', Hotel de Sully, Paris 1977 * ''Attique'', Künstler-Garten, Wissenschaftszentrum, Bonn, Germany, 1979 * ''Iapetus'', Parc de l'école des beaux-arts, Angoulême, 1985, 45°39’15.246’’N0°8’54.834’’E * ''Rayon'', Centre Culturel Français, Damascus, Syria, 1986 * ''Sculptures de visées'', and ''Reflet anamorphose''

, Paris, 1986, 48°53’33.8’’N2°23’26’’E * ''Cube fantôme'', ZI de Goussainville, 1986 * ''Autumn in Peking'', South Pasadena, USA, 1987, 34°6’40’435’’N118°8’33.619’’W * ''Vers l'étoile polaire'', Parc des Maillettes, Melun Sénart, 1987 * ''Un carré pour un square'', Place Frehel, Paris, 1988 * ''Une horloge végétale'', Square Héloïse et Abelard, 24 rue Dunois, Paris, 1988, 48°49’52.745N2°22’13.12’’E * ''Planches'', Terrasse du Musée de la Toile de Jouy, à Jouy-en-Josas, 1990, 48°46’8.591’’N2°9’5.868’’E * ''Ligeti'', Rectorat de Rouen, Rouen, 1994, 49°26’35’’N1°5’4.6’’E * ''Auriga'', Rond-point Montaigne, Angers, 1995, 47°27’59’’N 0°31’30’’W * ''Tombeau de Bartillat'', Etrépilly, 1997, 49°2’18’’N 2°55’53.2’’E

Videos, choreographies

* 2005, ''Le tour du Blues en 80 mondes''. 80 short films with pianist and composer François Tusques. Kaluza ballet

* 1979, ''Carlotta's Smile'', Environment and Choreography with Michala Marcus, Music

Carlos Zingaro Carlos Zíngaro (or Carlos "Zíngaro" Alves, born 15 December 1948 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese violinist and electronic musician active in free improvisation. Biography Zingaro studied classical music at the Lisbon Music Conservatory fr ...

, AR CO, Lisbonne, Portugal, * 1980,''Morgane Amalia'', Choreography with Michala Marcus, 2nd Symposium d'art contemporain d'Angoulême, * 1981, ''A treat'' “Espaces structurés” Videos by Hervé Nisic, choreography by Michala Marcus and Jean-Max Albert, music by

Kent Carter Kent Carter (born June 14, 1939 in Hanover, New Hampshire) is an American jazz bassist. His father, Alan Carter, founded the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. He is also the grandson of American artist, Rockwell Kent. He worked in Steve Lacy's group, ...

. * 2013, ''Kaluza'', 21 pièces pour piano et chorégraphie with Sarah Berges. Dance Mission Theatre, San Francisco,

Exhibitions

Albert participated to a number of various exhibitions including : ''Vers une nouvelle architecture'', Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1978; ''Sculpture Nature'', Centre d'Arts Plastiques Contemporain, Bordeaux, France,1978; ''Künstler-Garten'', Wissenschaftszentrum, Bonn, Germany, 1979; ''A la recherche de l'urbanité'', Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1980; ''Actuele Franse Kunst'', International Cultureel Centrum, Antwerpen, Belgium, 1982; ''Pavillon d'Europe'', Galerie de Séoul, Seoul, Korea, 1982; ''Images et imaginaires d'architecture'', Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1984; ''Inventer 89'', Grande halle du Parc de la Villette, Paris, 1987; ''L'art au défi des technosciences?'' Pavillon Tusquet, Parc de la Villette, Paris, 1992; ''L'art renouvelle la ville'', Musée National des Monuments Français, Paris, 1992; ''Ars Technica'', ExtraMuseum, Turin, Italy, 1992; ''Useless Science'', MoMa, New York, USA, 2000; ''Fragmentations a constructed world'', Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Saint-Brieux, 2007; ''Dalla Land arte alla bioarte'', Parco d'Arte Vivante, Turin, Italy, 2007; ''Tables à Desseins'', La tannerie, Bégard France 2013; ''Du dessin à la sculpture'', Musée Manoli, La Richardais, France, 2014.

Individual shows

AR CO, Lisbonne, Portugal, 1979; ''Lithium Migrants'', Galerie Françoise Palluel, Paris, 1981 and Galerie Richard Foncke, Gand, Belgium, 1981; ''Lumen poème'', CRDC, Rosny-sur-Seine, 1984; Galerie Charles Sablon, Paris, 1987,; Galerie Intersection 11/20, Paris, 1991; Fleeting White Space, Antwerpen, Belgium, 1994,; Galerie Aïda Kebadian, Paris, 2001, 2002, 2010; Galerie Mercier & Associés, Paris, 2018, 2020

Collections

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

; Fond National d’Art Contemporain; Fond Régional d'Art Contemporain de Bretagne; Artothèque, Angers; Fond Régional d'Art Contemporain Poitou-Charente; Musée Paul Delouvrier;''Musée Paul Delouvrier''
/ref> Musée de la Loire,

Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. The commune was formed in 1973 by the merger of the former communes Cosne-sur-Loire and Cours. Geography Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire lies on the right bank of the L ...

Personal life

Albert was married to, and later divorced, Mireille Salen. Their only son, Max-Pol died in 2010. Albert currently lives in Paris, France with his second wife, Sara Holt whom he married in 1983.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Jean-Max 1942 births Living people People from Loches 20th-century French sculptors 20th-century French male artists French male sculptors 21st-century French sculptors 20th-century French painters French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists