Yes, we don’t is a paradoxical affirmation, a suspended ‘No’ that openly assumes its absence of illusion and destination. It is not the resistance of Bartleby who with the famous phrase ‘I would prefer not to’ neutralised reality to upset the norms.Yes, we don’t is more a playful and transgressive attitude, sometimes skirting the absurd, the slogan of a posture in which suspension is affirmed before a decision about possible destinations and measurement of the amplitude of its reception...

Organized by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais In Association with Institute Français de Taipei, Traditional Crafts and Creative Design, National University of Kaohsiung, Department of Computer Simulation & Design, Shih Chien University Kaohsiung campus Special Thanks to H+F Collection

The Art Museum of the Post-Object Era: Beginning from Love at First Sight

Post-1960s, the movement of “conceptual art” has led to a series of trends within the contemporary art. Whether they are in the form of objects, documents, archives, performances, installations, videos, land art or even actions, artistic expressions have continued to evolve in variety and complexity. The artists remain firmly against the traditional artistic styles, attempting to expand the scope of artistic expressions to include notions of philosophy and concept. Within this trend, we are able to detect the huge turning point regarding the definition of art: it has changed from the portrayal of matters into the expression of ideas. In addition, it has also expanded to include not just tangible objects, which occupy a volume of space, but also actions, performances, projects and site-specific creation programs etc., which take place during a period of time. Nowadays, the tangible object (whether it is two-dimensional or three-dimensional, painting or sculpturing) is no longer the only representation of an artwork. Furthermore, the idea that an artwork must remain the solo effort of an artist is also being doubted and may no longer stand. Therefore, the next time we are viewing contemporary art and pondering about its “eccentric” appearance, we should also realize that we are being given the chance to learn and reflect on its underlying concept.

The exhibition Love at First Sight: Contemporary Art Made in France, Collection FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, jointly held by the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts and the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, is an apt representation of the experimental mindset. The exhibition has employed the term “collection” in its title, yet almost none of the works on view has been shipped to Taiwan. In other words, Love at First Sight is first and foremost dedicated to exhibiting the “concept” of the artists. With the help of the Taiwanese locals and resources, the works have been re-created to represent a continuation

Founded and directed by Bruno Caron, the Norac group in 2005 implemented a policy of patronage in contemporary art. Art Norac a non profit making association of the loi 1901 was set up to execute a series of sponorship events.

At the beginning of 2006, an invitation to tender was launched for the creation of an event on the theme of relations between art and business/economy. The targets were non profit making organisations active in the artistic domain and incorporating the necessary skills for the organisation of such an event. The winner was given the opportunity to design and organise the first two editions of the Ateliers de Rennes-the Biennial of Contemporary Art (2008 and 2010). July 2006, the proposal Crossing Values, from the association Art to Be, curated by Raphaële Jeune, was chosen by a selection committee composed principally of professionals from the art world. Since then, Art to Be has been working to implement the project with input from a follow up committee composed of representatives of Art Norac, public sponsors and the art world. In March 2007, the name « Les Ateliers de Rennes – Biennal of Contemporary Art » was born, establishing a bridge between the work place in industry and the work place of the artist.
In January 2010, the Ateliers de Rennes, launched a second competition to select a new artistic project and a new team for the Ateliers de Rennes 2012 and 2014. The choice will be made in september 2010.

Examining the relations between art and business

The Ateliers de Rennes is the first biennal to take as its theme the relations between art and business and more broadly, between art and the economy. Rich in questions and and creative possibilities, this link has always been a synonym for creative tension and power struggles between the sphere that retains the wealth and the artist’s aesthetic, poetic and often critical attitude towards society.

Sponsors, foundations and companies have long participated in artistic creation through the purchase and commissioning of works of art or through the organisation and financement of exhibitions. These last years, some companies have asked artists to intervene directly in the creation of their products, with the objective of acquiring or improving their image.
Economic competitiveness demands a state of permanent creativity, it capitalises on the symbolic production and the ideas of the artist. The artists on the other hand, acquire the means and techniques used by industry to produce and develop their work : new technology, communication, publicity, marketing…

More relevant than ever, the relation between art and economy is also an area of debate and confrontation.: mutually contributive, certainly, but also a place of friction and incompatible objectives. Can art be considered a capital? Can industry integrate the doubt and critical space of art without being tempted to transform them into market values?

In 2008, through Crossing Values, the Ateliers de Rennes, opened up many directions in which these questions could be discussed and suggested as many artistic proposals. This energy carries over into 2010.