Defragmentation 66 @ South First Fridays

Defragmentation 66
66 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Installation viewable from the sidewalk. The videos are running from 10 am to 10 pm every day. The show runs until August 27.

Defragmentation 66 is part of South First Fridays art walk this Friday in San Jose.
August 5, 2011. from 7pm to 11pm, free and open to the public.
Detailed program here.

Phantom Gallery
408.271.5151 
Phantom Galleries is produced by Two Fish Design, in partnership with the
San Jose Downtown Association and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

An Interview With The Billboard Art Project

Recently I was interviewed by the Billboard Art Project about my participation in one of the most interesting projects I've had the opportunity to participate to.

An Interview with Michele Guieu
by The Billboard Art Project on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 8:12am

Approaching a digital billboard as an artistic medium presents a myriad of opportunities to interact with both the surrounding landscape and unsuspecting passersby. In her submissions to the Nashville and Savannah Billboard Art Projects, Michele Guieu started with the fundamental idea that the canvas is also a sign and then created work that addresses how the viewer interacts with the sign.

Born in southern France, Michele is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs de Paris, where she studied graphic design and multimedia. She was a graphic designer for years before moving to the U.S., working as a graphic designer for prominent nonprofit organizations, museums and corporate companies. She now spends most of her time in her studio devoted to her art. Michele lives with her family in Sunnyvale, California, and took a moment to talk about her artwork and the Billboard Art Project.

Billboard Art Project: We understand that your background is not exclusively that of an artist. When did you make the transition from graphic design to art, and what prompted it?

Michele Guieu: After a few years of being a graphic designer, I needed to work on something else other than projects for clients. I began a personal series of paintings and drawings in 1991. My graphic design work and my art work were separated in my head and in the facts: I was doing computer work for the graphic design, and I was using traditional media when I was working for myself. In 2005, after moving to the US and taking a break for a few years (I have two children), I finally (f)used all the techniques I’d learned in art school and afterward into my art work. I was no longer torn between being a graphic designer and a fine artist. I was an artist using traditional and nontraditional media.

BAP: What experiences and lessons did you take as a graphic designer that cross over to your work as an artist?

MG: Right after I graduated from art school, I had the unique opportunity to work with the most daring group of French graphic designers, Grapus. With them, I deepened my knowledge of how to work on images and subjects that matter. I endlessly manipulated images, trying and trying again different solutions. There are many possibilities to “frame” an image, to move around each element, to play with the proportions - and therefore to change the meaning. Everything has a meaning; you have to know what you are doing with space, colors, signs, text.

BAP: When you first heard about the Billboard Art Project, what was the initial appeal?

MG: I saw the call for the BAP Nashville on the “San Diego Artists - Resources, Opportunities & Online Community” Facebook page. I thought it was a great opportunity to work in a new medium, and I was interested by the scale. I always have been fascinated by billboards, but they are almost inaccessible - to work on/with - for individual artists. I visited the BAP website, and it looked like an inclusive and generous project, with a broad variety of artists from very different horizons and places.

BAP: Did the project speak to you as both an artist and a graphic designer?

MG: Absolutely. Although the first series I submitted is an adaptation of a series of paintings I had created previously for an installation in a gallery, I almost immediately thought I could create something special for the BAP, a series of images in direct relation to the context of the town, the street, the highway, using the graphic language of the road signs.

BAP: In your submissions, you have approached the signs in a number of different ways. Defragmentation is a series of images you adapted from some of your previous work to be shown on the billboard. Can you tell us a little about how you originally created those images?

MG: “Defragmentation” is an installation (mural, paintings, video) I had shown at Project X Art in Solana Beach last December. It comprises a series of approximately 70 paintings. Each painting is the interpretation of a photo I've taken. I take photos on an everyday basis: landscapes, people, people in landscapes, details of natural elements.


Defragmentation - Nashville, April 2011

BAP: Some of those images seem to have an almost X-ray-like quality to them where ghostly images of metal objects float in the background. What processes do you employ to get this effect?

MG: Through filters in Photoshop, I strip my photos of most of their details to obtain a black and white image, which I crop. With this image in hand, I then work a background, in relation to the structure of the image, directly on the canvas. It is a layering process of acrylic paint and spray paint with the use of stencils: objects like old brushes, and all sorts of kitchen utensils I find at the thrift store. They come in all sorts of shapes which are quite interesting once stenciled. Once the background is done, I project the image I previously worked on, and then paint it - it becomes the dark layer of the painting. For “Defragmentation,” I worked with shades of silver and a very dark blue.

BAP: How do you feel the images in Defragmentation translated to the billboard format?

MG: I think the adaptation worked very well. The images are mostly an evocation of vast natural spaces which echo the symbol of the American urban and road space the billboards represent. It also worked well because the format of the paintings was almost the same proportion as the billboard: narrow and long. I did not have to crop much. I’ve got a few photos of the “Defragmentation” series on the billboard, in the context of the town. Luckily they were taken at dusk. There is a beautiful effect between the dark blue and silvery painting playing with the color of the darkening sky. Also, the painting's silvery background is enhanced by the billboard LED technology. The silver shimmers beautifully when lit.


Signs - Nashville.

BAP: In another series of images, "Signs," you play with a variety of colors and symbols, mostly arrows and some images of clip art. As the title suggests, these images relate more directly to the medium as a sign. When you saw the documentation from the project in Nashville, what were your thoughts?

MG: After adapting the series “Defragmentation,” I developed a series in direct relation to the medium, but with a slight twist: the billboard as a (faux) road sign, not as an advertisement. The billboard was working in direct relation with the space it was displayed in. I saw only a few photos in context. The photos from the images using only the arrows worked very well. I could not go to Nashville to see the display and take photos, so I was thrilled when I received the photos you sent me. It was rather magical - I sent to you a series of jpegs to be displayed on a billboard and I received photos of the images on the billboard in the context of the town! I think part of the interesting aspect of the project is the documentation. In that sense, in Nashville, I got lucky: the series of arrows was displayed right next to a highway with other road signs around, and there was a sense of strangeness and playfulness - it was perfect! The series adds to the confusion already existing with the abundance of signs. A scene from “Brazil” came to my mind: “My complication had a little complication.”


Signs - Savannah.

BAP: You submitted a progression of similar images to the Savannah show. Did you feel they had the same contextual impact?

MG: For Savannah, I created a new series of faux road signs with only arrows. I wanted to focus on what worked well, because I had seen the documentation of the Nashville show and I could now adjust my designs in response. Unfortunately, the surroundings of the billboard in Savannah were less interesting - for my images - than in Nashville. I can really measure the impact of the context on the content of the images: depending on the context, the images get stronger or lose their strength. That's when I starting thinking that it would be great to get a photo of the billboard - in its context - before I start working on the images. And this time, for the Duluth show, we do have an image, which is very interesting! The best thing, of course, would be to go see the billboards and their surroundings. I hope to do so for the San Bernardino show, as it’s a 5 hour drive from where I live.


Miles To - Savannah.

BAP: You also had another submission in the Savannah show that played with the fact that these images were indeed being displayed on a sign. Could you talk a little bit on what you did with this particular series?

MG: I wanted to develop another series of faux road signs. The proportions of the billboard are very close to those of the green signs on roads/highways indicating the mileage. As I was thinking about how to use them, another idea came along and gave me the content I needed: I was listening to the news, as I often do when I am working, and the names of towns in the Middle East and Africa were referenced often in the programs. Also, the Savannah show would take place not long after the beginning of the Arab spring. I decided to make a series of road signs indicating the mileage from Savannah to a series of towns situated in the Middle East and in Africa. The mileage on my faux road signs is the exact one between Savannah and each town I chose. To calculate the distances, I found a helpful website. With this series, like with the series of arrows, the approach is simple and poetry plays an important role. There is, of course, also a political aspect. To see the names of the towns on an American road sign makes the towns feel closer, maybe more real to the viewer. The jpegs in themselves are not very interesting. What is very interesting is to see the images in the context of an American town, such as Savannah. Fortunately, close to where the billboard was standing, there is the name of a street that is undoubtedly American.

BAP: What is your personal take on the United States’ regional involvement in the cities you listed?

MG: I am thinking more in terms of the question, "What is the significance of those names repeated over and over in the media?" The average American citizen does not have much knowledge about what is really going on. All of these towns are far away. When you live in Europe, these towns are much closer, and people travel to Africa or the Middle East. Living now in the US, I really measure the “distance” between here and anywhere else in the world, especially the Middle East and Africa. The series is timely and puts these towns on the “American map.”I also like the idea of surprising the viewer. And that is not easy, given the number of billboards everywhere with thousands of well-thought-out messages (which does not necessarily mean they are interesting – but they are made to catch the viewers attention).

BAP: Have political musings worked their way into your art in the past?

MG: When I started working on my art again in 2005, one of my first paintings was a large portrait of a Muslim woman. I then painted a series of portraits of American soldiers, portraits of women abducted in two different conflicts, and quite a few pieces directly related to the Iraq war. But the core of my work is about personal and daily experiences: places, landscapes, family and friends.

I lived my teenage years in Senegal, Africa, where I was put in front of the reality of the world at a young age. In my art school, I worked closely with a group of politically engaged professors, and later, with the group Grapus, which was also politically engaged. So the political background has always been there, but I find peace and an endless inspiration in nature. I was 11 when I went for the first time to the Sahara, and I still remember it vividly. I always traveled to see beautiful landscapes and I still do. I first came to the US to visit the Southwest and the National Parks of the West. Now that I am an American citizen, I vote and I try to make sense of the complicated world I live in. It’s there in my work. But lots of other things are in there, too!


Words - Nashville.

BAP: Going back to Nashville, there was one other piece entitled "Hello" that spoke to passersby. What was your intent with the messages in "Hello," and how did the background images work with the piece?

MG: “Hello” was part of a series of signs including “Hey,” “You,” and “How Are You?,” all direct messages addressed to the viewer. The few photos I’ve got are interesting because they are taken at night in a deserted parking lot. The effect is strange; it’s as if the billboard is speaking into the void.

BAP: Having participated in two shows, and having the intention of participating in others, do you see the roll of digital billboards as an artistic medium developing past a few random shows?

MG: I am definitely interested in exploring the possibilities of using an LED billboard space, in developing different series in different contexts. The fast pace (a few seconds per image) is a limitation. If nobody takes a picture, there is no documentation and it is gone! For me, documentation is key in this project. That is why I think it would be great to see the same series in a different context. If you show the jpegs, they will look the same. But if you show the images in different contexts, the meaning would be different each time. When a billboard is placed in a different context, it tells a different story, and that is what interests me.

BAP: How do art installations on billboards differ from other public art?

MG: The Billboard Art Project offers one very interesting way to work on billboards. There is a certain format: each event is a projection of several series of images by a group of artists on LED billboards, with a certain pace and time frame, a different town each time. The artists have only to create their images and the rest is taken care of. It would be different to create a single unique image for a billboard - printed or handmade. It would be another approach. I would think about it differently. The Billboard Art Project is a public, incorporeal, ephemeral and nomadic project. Four wonderful qualities I am more and more interested in. Public art is obviously public, but not necessarily incorporeal, ephemeral and nomadic!

To see some of Michele's images, visit her Savannah and Nashville albums in the photo section.
Savannah
Nashville



The interview on the Billboard Art Project website here.

Two videos part of the installation "Defragmentation 66"

Defragmentation 66
66 South First Street, San Jose, CA.
On view from the sidewalk until August 28, 2011.
The videos are on every day from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm.

PhantomGalleries
408.271.5151
Phantom Galleries is produced by Two Fish Design, in partnership with the San Jose Downtown Association and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

Defragmentation 66 @ 66 South First Street, San Jose

The installation "Defragmentation 66" will be on view through August from the sidewalk - unless the store is rented before then! The videos are on from 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM.



It is a completely different configuration than the installation I presented at Project X Art and it was really interesting to play with the elements in a different space. I added one layer in the background: the dark blue-anthracite, given the fact that the surface was smaller and the "defragmentation" effect needed to be reinforced.

Many times during the week of the installation (I could only worked in the mornings), I changed some details in the design of the two layers of colors in the background, to adjust the lines with the paintings. I would change a line, go outside, check it out, come back in and eventually change it again. It was like solving a puzzle.



It is a nice experience, and I thank the Phantom Galleries in San Jose for the opportunity to participate in this exciting program. It is good for the community, for the people who walk downtown to see art in otherwise empty places.

Because there is nobody inside the space, I need to go from time to time to check if everything works OK: the 3 video monitors work with timers.



Phantom Galleries
408.271.5151
Phantom Galleries is produced by Two Fish Design, in partnership with the
San Jose Downtown Association and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

Defragmentation: Rearranging Bits and Pieces of Memory" at Project X Art.

Defragmentation 66 @ 66 South First Street in San Jose / SOUTH FIRST FRIDAYS

Working on the installation

I am very excited to participate in the South First Fridays this Friday in San Jose with my first installation in the area. I am installing Defragmentation 66 in a store front, 66 South First Street. 66 South First Street is part of the Phantom Galleries program in San Jose. The installation (mural, paintings and videos) will be on view from the street for 3 months.

About Defragmentation 66 “Defragmentation 66” is an adaptation of the last installation I’ve made in San Diego: “Defragmentation: Rearranging Bits and Pieces of Memory”. It is an ongoing project and the occasion to reflect on bits and pieces of my memories, as I am recalling/documenting them.

The project originated when I was about to leave San Diego after living there for 6 years. I thought about the different times I’ve left a place in my life.

Defragmentation 66 is the first installation I am showing in San Jose since I’ve moved and it represents a link between the two towns – and beyond. The installation is on a smaller scale but uses some essential elements featured in the first version of the show: an ensemble of paintings, a painted background and videos.

The videos in “Defragmentation 66” are new memories and were taken here, in the bay area. The address number where the show is held, 66, is an interesting symbol in my life: the first time I came to the US, that’s the road I traveled on.

Phantom Galleries
408.271.5151
Phantom Galleries is produced by Two Fish Design, in partnership with the
San Jose Downtown Association and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

This Friday, In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS monthly art walk, South FIRST FRIDAYS presents the 4th Annual SubZERO Festival. Friday June 3, 2011 from 6pm-midnight SoFA district in downtown San Jose (on South First Street between San Carlos & Reed Streets)

South First Fridays
6pm ’til midnight — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public

Books / Projects / Flowers / Devastation / Kids

Nice memories of my last stay in San Diego (when I was installing "Defragmentation"): at Janine's, a beautiful wall of familiar books!

After finishing my series "Alice", I wonder which book I will work on/with next.

I have lots books in France that I did not take when I moved to the U.S. I do not buy books anymore, or very few. I enjoy going to the public library very often, at least twice a week. I borrow as many books as the family wants without having to think where to put them once we've read them. I've changed. I like more and more the idea of sharing books and not necessarily having them forever.

Just finished a proposition for a call concerning an Art and Environment prize with a friend. Whatever happens, it was great to work on it together, very interesting collaboration!



I cannot believe the devastation in the world right now. Impossible not to think about it. And then what to do? Thinking about it and being helpless. Seeing what I am enjoying each day as something pretty silly while there is so much suffering. I see amazing flowers when I run in the morning and at the same time I am thinking about I've just heard on the radio - pretty much all about devastation.







The kids are drawing like crazy. We do not have TV but how could they not know? They talk in class about the news, which is good I think. They ask questions at home, we talk.
They draw monsters. They play all sorts of battles.
It's their age too, I suppose.

Just finished two series of images for the Billboard Art Project, one is directly related to what is happening in the Arab world right now. The other series is the continuation of the exploration of the road signs, using arrows. I loved working on both series, and I cannot wait to see the "result" in the streets of Savannah, Georgia. I will not be there, hopefully the event will be as well documented as the previous one in Nashville.

Work in Progress and one page of the series "Alice"

Working the series simultaneously (detail), layer by layer.





One page of the series "Alice", drawings on book pages, 2011.

Work in Progress

The Billboard Art Project - Photos from Nashville

From the series "Defragmentation"

Received new photos posted by Claire Accardo in Facebook about The Billboard Art Project in Nashville (April 2nd, 2011). Really like to see the billboards in the context of the town at night!


From the Series "Hello"






All photos Claire Accardo

I am working on a new series for Savannah, GA, which will take place: Saturday, May 14th, 2011, from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Artists’ submissions will run on a billboard located across the street from Oglethorpe Mall on Hodgson Memorial Drive for a period of 24 hours.

Since I moved From San Diego

"Defragmentation: Rearranging Bits and Pieces
of Memory" (detail) solo show @ Project X Art

Childhood, womanhood, memories, travels, signs...
Installation, paintings, drawings, video, jpegs, photos, digital prints...
Exploration, exploration - I am enjoying the path!
There are no frontier and no boxes.

Sometimes I miss San Diego - the good conversations. I can still have some on the phone! But of course seeing people is the best. And sometimes I am not missing it. Being here gives me another perspective and although the majority of the projects I worked on since I've left were San Diego based, I am working on developing a new network here. It takes time, I just have to be patient - which I am not very much!

I love working on my videos, I really started to do that here, when I was working on my exhibition "Defragmentation". Taking video classes (even if I was not on campus very often and I am doing almost everything online) is awesome!


The Billboard Art Project in Nashville
60 images for the series "Signs".


Using "Defragmentation"
60 images for the Billboard Art Project

I am trying to work on something new each time I participate in a show. Except for the series of paintings "Defragmentation" that I used a second time for the Billboard Art Project. The temptation was too big to reinterpret the images and to see them in another context, outdoor, in public, on large scale, and on top of it: lit!


Timeline (part of the installation "Defragmentation)




Celebrating Womanhood @ The Front


What Women Want @ The Lyceum Theatre


The Fort - Children building a Fort for Fairies


Behind The Glass - I just re-edited that video
(I removed a piece of music at the end)

The Billboard Art Project in Nashville, April 2: Images II

All photos: Kerry Woo

Here are some photos of the billboards taken in Nashville by Kerry Woo - this time with my "Defragmentation" series. I really like the way this ephemeral event was documented by The Billboard Art Project. Now it's gone. I've got photos of the whole series of images that were shown on the billboards.

There is something really interesting going on between the sky getting darker, the structure of the billboard itself, the shimmering silver and the black of the images blending in the structure of the billboard.

This series of photos does not provide the context of the town, the signs, all the visual and very interesting "noise" around the billboard, which works beautifully for my series "Signs" (which totally plays with the surroundings). If the surroundings were documented in the photos, then I think the same series of images could be used in different cities, because the context changing, then the photos would show different perspectives, different juxtapositions. That would enrich a series each time it would be shown in a different place.



















The Billboard Art Project

The Billboard Art Project in Nashville, April 2: Images

All Photos: The Billboard Art Project

The Billboard Art Project posted some photos on Facebook of the billboards in Nashville this week-end. I could not be there and I was thrilled to see the images "live" in town. I created the series "Signs" specially for the occasion. I wish I could have been there, It's really interesting to see the images play with the surrounding road signs.

I created 60 images for the series "Signs". The series was shown complete, each image was up on the billboard for 10 seconds. The complete set of "Signs" can be seen here.

I also adapted the series of paintings "Defragmentation" from my last installation. It was projected a dusk, with apparently very nice effects: "It looks like the black pigmentation is bleeding in from the night sky!" writes the BAP. The series can be seen here.











The Billboard Art Project