Thinking Work and Working Thought
A photographic study by the artist Charlotte Moth of The Worker's Respite statue (1903) by Jean-Jules Pendariès (acquired by the City of Paris at the 1907 Salon).
During : Biennale de Belleville www.labiennaledebelleville.fr Journées du Patrimoine 2012 journeesdupatrimoine.culture.fr
Location: Maison des Métallos, Esplanade Roger Linet, Paris 11e Salle Henri et Cécile Rol-Tanguy, 14-17 September 2012, 2-8pm
maisondesmetallos.org
The idea behind this project was to project new light on Jean-Jules Pendariès, a fascinating sculptor from the French southwestern region of the Tarn who was born 150 years ago. The Worker's Respite has been this square's mascot since 1926. Thus, this public statue is not exactly “hidden” patrimony – proof came to bare for instance during the summer when it was once again covered in new graffiti. It presence is very familiar in the quartier. But it was nameless. Research in various archives revealed a wealth of information and connections : such as the fact that, before the Worker, this was the location for a sculpture in full motion called Torrent (1906) by Louis Auguste Joseph Bertrand; that Pendariès has work in the Paris town hall for the 18th arrondissement and in a number of French public institutions; that this “Miner” has a pendant, a “Farmer” placed in the Quartier des Gratte-Ciel in Villeurbanne; that Pendariès knew Jean Jaurès; that Auguste Rodin visited his workshop and admired his work; that Jean-Pierre Timbaud was an apprentice in the Rudier Foundry in the Marais where Rodin like to have his bronzes made; that Pendariès would have like The Worker's Respite to face the rue d'Angoulême (now Timbaud)...
Charlotte Moth's work – Penser le travail et Travailler la pensée (Thinking Work and Working Thought, 2012) – is a photographic study of this marble sculpture of a worker taking a moment to rest which has often over the years lost his pickaxe. She explains that, for her, “without his tool, The Worker's Respite takes on a completely different character. His posture has developed a certain incongruity, a certain gravity since he is no longer leaning on something. The pose becomes abstract, like a miming act. Is he leaning on a displaced object? Is he gazing? Is he thinking?” These observations bring him conceptually closer to the Thinker by Rodin and Moth's photographs emphasise this dialogue. Toying with the familiarity between these two images, locally on the one part and universally on the other, a series of posters is distributed around Belleville and presented in its entirety at the Maison des Métallos opposite the Worker's Respite. These fragmented perspectives perpetuate the myth of the association between these sculptures, while insisting on the unique and exceptional aspects of the Worker, his history, his site and current condition.
Exhibition curator: Caroline Hancock
THANKS This project is a co-production between the Biennale de Belleville and the Maison des Métallos. It received precious help from the Pendariès family; the Centre Culturel de Carmaux, Tarn; the Direction des affaires culturelles de la Ville de Paris; the Institut de l’Histoire Sociale de la CGT Métallurgistes; the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Gaillac; and the Musée Rodin, Paris.
Below
Charlotte Moth, Penser le travail et Travailler la pensée, (Thinking Work and Working Thought) 2012 Photographic installation, posters.
Courtesy of the artist and galerie Marcelle Alix, Paris
Poster intallation Paris 2012:
