yann+toma

A number of you Aacorners already know and have worked with Yann (Philippe, Patrick, Stefan)-you will remember him as the man with the halo haircut. Here are some clips from his bio: “Born in 1969, Yann lives and works in Paris as an artist and researcher. As a researcher he heads the research line Art & Flux at CERAP (Sorbonne University - Paris, France). Art&Flux is a critical and theoretical research observatory as well as an experimental laboratory for artistic practice. The Art&Flux research line is a critical and scientific venture focused on artistic expressions linked with economic experience. As an artist, he has developed and runs the fascinating ‘critical company’ (think E-toy): Ouest-Lumière. Yann has been running Ouest-Lumière for some 17 years now; parts of it can be seen at [|www.ouest-lumiere.org] (it has some terrific sound effects). In his words, “Thanks to the recovery of items from the archives of the former electric company Ouest-Lumière in the early 1990’s, Toma discovered his own symbolic language in the form of an industrial infrastructure, which he made into his own territory and materials for his research. Even though Ouest-Lumière currently operates in diverse sectors, this was the first site for an immaterial network, which the artist built with patience, in an underground web founded on the concept of memory. The recovery, just as the artistic renewal of the company, is part of a global movement that combines the concepts of gratuity and responsibility. Today, it represents a powerful influence made up of thousands of people. Above all, Yann Toma presents the Ouest-Lumière company as a symbol of a public logic based on intervention and expansion of its capital. The same essence of his work draws on the territory of memories and of energy.” His artwork can be found in numerous collections, including the Centre Georges Pompidou collection.” If any of you want to become part of his company, I’m sure he would be happy to give you a position. (Daved)