THE MAGICAL WORDS OF JEAN-YVES LAUTREDOU!
"As young children, we were all 'artists', but then education and culture formatted us and a house had to look like a house, classical music being the only 'real' music, etc... How lucky we were to have rebelled and kept that childlike soul capable of inventing 'magical' worlds out of nothing!
1/ What does art mean to you?
- Art allows us to explore and discover what we are not aware of, to penetrate our intimate, invisible and unknown spaces.
- Art has a duty to build a bridge between the present and the future, and to soothe our anxieties through the love that radiates from it.
- Art allows me to visualise my parallel world, the colourful poetry of the human being without language barriers. It is the most formidable means of communication because it is universal.
2/ What inspires you?
- If it's not "Life", I don't see it!
- For my part, I wouldn't talk about inspiration, but rather about the search for a form of inner rest that leads to the need to paint.
3/ When you create, where does it take you? Where does your mind travel?
- I arrive totally "empty" in front of the canvas to capture my unknown self and accept without restriction that it takes possession of the brushes. "I see when I paint, but I paint blind".
- I enter the space of the canvas with carefree abandon, letting myself be guided by the intense joy of creation, and very quickly immerse myself in a soothing jumble of colours - it's an almost schizophrenic sensation, but a delicious one!
- I welcome the painting, it flows through me, is experienced by my body and my mind, then stratifies within me and becomes part of who I am. The heady rush of creation only ends when my "visible self" returns.
The end result is of little importance to me, only the moment of creation.
4/ Do you think there is a link between the visual arts, music and health?
- Of course, the visual arts, music, etc... are the nourishment of the soul; there can be no healthy body without a healthy, well-nourished mind!
– Since the dawn of time, art has been a way of conversing with the gods. It is necessary because life is not enough!
5/ You may have already answered this question, but how do you feel when you paint?
- In a state of exalted schizophrenia and then in a state of rest and lightness.
- I'm totally disconnected from the present and the world around me.
6/ Do you identify with your subjects, and if so, at what level?
– You cannot identify with something you discover. I feel like an archaeologist conducting an internal excavation. It belongs to me and is inside me, but I do not identify with my painting... it's ambiguous!
7/ When do you do your best work?
- Through painting I achieve 'inner rest' (which saves me going to psychologists!!!!),
– I wait for the moment when my mind really needs it. What's more, there's no such thing as a good or bad painting, only finished or unfinished paintings. And to take it even further, a good painting is a painting that's been sold!
8/ Does painting help you to «connect» with your higher self?
- With the various 'extreme sports' that I have, or do, the answer is yes.
- Painting gives me the impression of entering the infinitely small or large, a sort of step into the fourth dimension.
Jean-Yves, merci encore, thank you once again, you have shared so much, it is truly an honour and a privilege to have worked with you. Until our paths cross again, be blessed!
