“Some of my works are three -dimensional”

In collaboration with the Bayart gallery, in Compiègne, in the Oise, the Saint-Pierre des Minimes space opens for two and a half months to the works of Bernard Pras, a visual artist known for his anamorphic installations. Anamorphosis, a technique for transforming an image, which only becomes recognizable from a specific point of view.

From June 21 to August 31, it was in the old Saint-Pierre des Minimes church, a place steeped in history and completely renovated, that visitors are invited to discover the stunning facilities of the international renowned artist, Bernard Pras.

Thirty works, from the smallest to the most imposing, 2.2 M on 1.6 m for the most imposing, that we will have to look at the magnifying glass, in the literal sense of the term : The only way to discover the ideal point of view to understand the meaning of these installations.

Bernard Pras’ anamorphoses have already toured the world. Sleeping, his installations leave no one indifferent, between poetry, humor and absolute mastery of artistic technique.

“I have traveled in many countries for installation orders : China, Japan, South Korea, South America, Africa. I love this nomad sideindicates Bernard Pras. My principle is as follows : I arrive on site with my camera and my computer and I immediately set myself in search of scraps, downgraded objects, then I reach the construction of my images“.

An iconoclastic approach to say the least, which arouses curiosity and most often, the enthusiasm of its hosts, French or foreign, who end up lending themselves to this treasure hunt : “In France, Emmaüs is my main supplier, but elsewhere, this structure does not exist. So when I find myself abroad, I do the markets, the flea markets. It’s a whole adventure, we penetrate local uses“, Says Bernard Pras.

A very special artistic approach : The French plastic artist composes his ‘in situ’ parts, in the country that welcomes him, with the materials gleaned on site.

And for each territory crossed, Bernard Pras has his anecdote : “In China, I was taken to large warehouses under a highway. It was immense. And I designated all the elements I wanted to do my work. I had the feeling that I was not really listening to me. But not at all, at the end of the long driveway, a van awaited us with everything I had chosen, perfectly excited and attached. I was amazed by so much efficiency !“.

Each thrown object can still have something to say.

Bernard Pras, visual artist

Bottles, cans, scrap bits, old shoes … Bernard Pras fires with all woods and does not set any limits. “”Over the years and the habit, I see the potential of each object. I who am a painter at the base, I use objects, their shapes and their colors, in place of the touches of paint“.

An idea that comes to him by chance, years ago : “A friend threw her children’s old toys. I recovered them and that’s how I started my sculptures with these bits of plastic“, Says Bernard Pras.

A true explorer of our modern waste which, in his hands, takes on a new, almost noble sense. A protean artistic practice, halfway between painting, sculpture and photo. “”Any kid, at 4-5 years old, I observed my grandfather. He was a model for me. He didn’t throw anything, he recovered absolutely everything. At the time, it was use, no mess. In Africa, it’s the same thing, we recycle everything. I feel close to that. I don’t like the idea of ​​overconsumption. We live in a world where we make so many unnecessary things ! It calls me“.

Heterogeneous objects, sometimes absurd, as they seem devoid of any function, transfigured by a master of illusion who is also, and above all, a executioner : “When I am on a project, I can work six hours in a row. I have to make choices and it’s difficult. Finding my subject can take days“, Continues Bernard Pras.

When the time of assembly comes, Bernard Pras turns into handlers, plumber, mechanic, assembler. The elements are glued, screwed. “”I pierce, I weld, this phase is very fun. I also think that it is the secret, this pleasure, the desire to see the finished work. Create to the ultimate point. It’s great“.

But to obtain the anamorphic effect, this composition work requires perfect meticulousness : “I work with a fixed camera that captures the scene, the 3D environment. And from there, I install my elements, I create a real scene. I need a high preparation time upstream, to be sure to be well understood“.

Elements that are dissociated, dispersed on the ground. Sometimes these installations can be huge. “The only limit is the size of my workshop“Explains Bernard Pras.

Bernard Pras, trained in Fine Arts in Toulouse, lives in the Paris region, but he does not hold in place, as his work is appreciated abroad as well as in France.

During the installation of a public procurement in Dordogne, this training painter, whose notoriety allows him today to live from his art, is not interested in celebrity : “You know, I painted for twenty years without selling a single table, but that did not prevent me from continuing“.

Even if the art market is in a sawfall and cultural budgets are rather downward, Bernard Pras adapts to these fluctuations. “”It is true that we are not in a favorable period, but I am used to“He said.

And if success does not let go, despite the economic context, it is probably because the artist deals with universal themes : The icons of music, cooking, cinema. All the archi -known figures of the world of art, sport or spectacle.

“I have a preference for portraits. When I started working with this principle of the icon, I used downgraded images, too, like my scraps. The portrait of che for example, the leader of the Cuban revolution, that everyone knows. I choose worn -out subjects by dint of being famous, worn as an old sock !“.

Famous figures, revisited by the artist, to the point that they take a new relief, surprising : like the famous portrait at the foot of Louis XIV, the Guernica from Picasso, The birth of Venus Weather in Botticelli, Freedom guiding the people de Delacroix.

“I have reinterpreted many paintings in art history, sometimes very old. Some of my works are three -dimensional, but in any case, I make each of them, a photo draw which constitutes a table in its own right“, note Bernard Pras.

And there again, Sun King or not, these anamorphic installations are made of string. “”I remember, for Louis XIV, I was in Belgium. I did shopping in a supermarket. I could take everything I wanted. Bottles, cans, everything! My shopping cart was filled with red and yellow stuff. I will never forget the heads of customers at the checkout“.

A creativity that is both unbridled and very controlled, which makes each exhibition by Bernard Pras, an event, a sensory, global, visual journey of course, but also physical. Because the artist invites us to the movement, around his works, which must be bypassed to understand them and achieve their complexity.

“Even if I use in my installations and my portraits of recovery objects, there is no message, it is not accusation. Me, what I’m looking for is the rapprochement with others. As soon as a play is exhibited, the artist gives way to this other. I even consider that it is the one who looks, with his emotion, who ends the work“Concludes the artist.