Fotokino

For many of us, Paul Cox is an inspiring divinity in the contemporary graphic arts field, regularly refreshing parts of the discipline. His poster series (for the Opéra de Nancy, the Théâtre Dijon Bourgogne, the Théâtre du Nord…), his children books and artist’s publications have left a mark on the landscape of graphic creation in the past twenty years. But when Paul Cox works as a graphic designer, he does so in the manner of Schwitters or Rodtchenko, endlessly experimenting, going back and forth from one artistic area to another.Not only has he designed costumes and sets for the stage, mostly in collaboration with choreographer Benjamin Millepied (Casse-Noisette, Petrouchka…), but he has also conceived several participative installations, from the memorable Jeu de construction (Centre Pompidou, 2005), to the recent Plans (Frac Bourgogne, 2013), by way of Exposition à faire soi-même (Centquatre, 2008).

This was the third time we showed Paul Cox’s work. In 2005, Projection consisted of a hundred drawings creating the story-board of an animated abstract film. In August 2013,  Flâneries (Wanderings) presented a series of 250 drawings reconstituting the 360° panorama of a scenery near Marseilles.

With Aire de jeu (Playground), Paul Cox had the opportunity to play on the polysemy of the title : the playground he set up at the Studio was both a recreational space for children to occupy, and a scenic space where dancers and comedians could play their parts. Designed as a theatrical set, this multi-layered scenery could be moved and rearranged by each visitor, thus undergoing a transformation every day. Playing games as a work method, again, but also at the bottom of the relationship between artist and spectator. In this playground, Paul Cox gathered graphic arts and scenography, to the delight of his many admirers.

Prolonging the exhibition on paper, Paul Cox has conceived a book that can be transformed into a miniature theatre set, Petit théâtre alphabétique!