Interview | Interview - Jean-Pierre Bordaz

Jean-Pierre Bordaz: What's great about Mircea Cantor is his own way of developing the concept of the exhibition without overloading it, as can be seen at MACRO in Rome, Crédac in Ivry and even here in Espace 315 at the Pompidou Center. With him you are right from the start in front of works that have really found their place, that transform and complete the space. I believe that Mircea Cantor has succeeded in combining film with other types of image, and it seems to me that this artist, as I have also written, is full of subtlety because he creates works that refer to the history of art as such, but also to the history of modern and contemporary art, but not only from a purely formal point of view. In his proposals there is always an escape route, an unspoken element, through which they may just as well be inscribed in a social perspective or a consciousness of the times, although the latter are not expressed directly.

How did Mircea Cantor convince the jury? There are, in the choice he made, certain aspects that operate as much subjectively as objectively. The fact that Mircea Cantor was chosen for the Marcel Duchamp Prize is no different from many other cases of artists in the contemporary art world who appear or come into the spotlight at some point. In such cases, it is the consideration that one approach is more convincing or more fruitful than another that prevails. As far as I am concerned, I think that, despite the very good artists nominated for the Duchamp Prize in 2011, the choice of Mircea Cantor was self-evident precisely because, in my opinion, he is endowed with an enormous capacity to delimit space, which is very specific to him, and because he is able to indirectly evoke the ideas or positions he takes in relation to today's society.

A.N.: We understand that the artist doesn't want to change the course of things, but is simply present, observes with lucidity and discernment, and then creates; his works give the impression at first sight of an incredible simplicity of means, but this simplicity is in fact a masterful mastery of complexity, because they open up and nourish an infinite universe of responses and interpretations. Mircea Cantor has even been described as an alchemist. Can you tell us more about this representation of the artist?

J.P.-B.: Artists are generally neither ideologues nor alchemists. But at the same time, they make use of all the elements at their disposal. Beneath the apparent simplicity of form and the natural correctness of proportion, Mircea Cantor offers, as you say, a much more complex reading of his works than appearances would have us believe. The language he develops and the themes he tackles do not belong only to the velvety world of images and artistic conventions, but address society and the human condition in equal measure. He shares with contemporary artists the desire to create unique and specific works that do not belong to the system of objects. It is a great responsibility to invent a form built on the imaginary, on the aura, as Walter Benjamin said, in order to achieve authenticity and uniqueness. For Cantor, the composite image, the three-dimensional work and performance are not just another side of modernity; stripped of any formalist spirit, they are a necessary element in the development of his work. They are vectors that situate in the space of "elsewhere" and "beyond". This is why some have been tempted to believe in the existence of an alchemical will, a desire for transformation through the very matter and elements that come from nature (water, fire, air and, by extension, the breath) and through the places through which the artist travels.

A.N.: Is Mircea Cantor's work universal? What are the features that make it universal?

J.P.-B.: The idea of universal, of universality, is more appropriate in his case than in the case of other artists because Mircea Cantor, born in Mittle Europe, has chosen to be at the crossroads of many different cultures, historical, classical and living. His approach to the West, as to other continents, is a rich one; a faithful image of today's artists, the way he understands and renders the world is nourished by his many travels and journeys.

Jean-Pierre Bordaz: What is great about Mircea Cantor is this way of developing the concept of the exhibition, he doesn't overload it, as we could see it at the MACRO in Rome, at the Crédac in Ivry and as we see it here, in the Espace 315 of the Pompidou Center. From the outset we are confronted with works that have really found their place, that transform and magnify the space. I find that Mircea Cantor has managed to create a successful hybridization between videos and other images, I find that this artist, as I have written, is full of subtlety because he makes works that refer to the history of art in general, and to the history of modern and contemporary art, but not from a purely formal point of view. There is always an escapism, an unspoken something in his proposals that can at the same time be inscribed in a social datum, in an awareness of time, although it is not expressed directly. Why did Mircea Cantor convince the jury? There is both a subjective and an objective aspect to this choice: this choice for the Marcel Duchamp Prize is the same as for many contemporary artists who appear or attract attention at a given moment. One approach is considered to be more convincing, more promising than another. For my part, I consider that despite the very good artists proposed in this 2011 Duchamp Prize, the choice of Mircea Cantor was a natural choice because I found that he had an enormous capacity to delimit his own space, and because he was also able to evoke in an indirect way his ideas, his positions on today's society.

A.N.: We understand that the artist does not wish to change the course of things, but that he is there, he observes, he is lucid, he discerns and then he creates, and his works leave at first sight the impression of an incredible simplicity of means, but in fact this simplicity is a true mastery of complexity, because they open up and nourish an infinite world of answers and interpretations. Mircea Cantor has even been referred to as an alchemist. Can you tell us a little more about this representation of the artist?

J.P.-B. Artists are generally neither ideologues nor alchemists. Mircea Cantor, under the apparent simplicity of his forms and by the natural correctness of his proposals, offers, as you say, a much more complex reading of his works than it seems. The language he develops and the themes he tackles do not belong only to the subdued world of images and the conventions of art, but also address society and the human condition. With contemporary artists he shares this desire to create unique and specific pieces that do not belong to the system of objects. It is a considerable responsibility to invent a form that relies on the imaginary, on the aura as Walter Benjamin advocated, to achieve authenticity and uniqueness. The recomposed image, the three-dimensional work and performance in Cantor's work are not just a given of modernity, stripped of any formalist spirit, they are a necessary element in the development of his work. They are vectors for situating oneself elsewhere and beyond, and it is here that one could think that there is an alchemist's will, a will to transformation, through the very matter and elements that come from nature (water, fire, air and by extension breath) and from places that the artist travels through.

A.N.: Is Mircea Cantor's work universal? What are the features that make it universal?

J.P.-B.: The idea of the universal, of universality is much more accurate for him than for other artists because Mircea Cantor, born in Mittle Europa, has chosen to be at the crossroads of different cultures, historical, classical and living. His approach to the West as well as to other continents is rich; like today's artists, his apprehension of the world is nourished by his many travels and journeys.