PRINTCatalogue Note:
Arman was born in Nice in France, where he attended the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice in 1947. He then transferred to École du Louvre for archaeology and Oriental Arts. Originally, Arman was born as Armand Pierre Fernandez, with a “d” at the end, however, the exhibition team at Galerie Iris Clert accidently omitted the “d” from his name at his solo exhibition in 1958, the name of Arman was kept in use ever since then. Arman is widely known for his “Assemblage” art, where he assembled a group of objects and turning them into a work of art. The magnitude of his work has brought a greater impact that the mistaken being made in his name was quickly overlooked and the name of Ar man spread widely.
In the uprising New Realism movement of the 1960, members of New Realist group advocated a return to “reality,” and they believed by taking parts from the living world, then incorporate these into the work is the way to represent New Realism. As a result, there was an extensive use of collage and assemblage as their artistic expressions, notably Arman. For Arman, a thousand copies of the same object or a thousand pieces of the same object ar e essentially the same in intrinsic values. Ar man typically favors the use of musical instruments as his primary material, he claims that violins are great performance props for artists as they have multiple facets to be explored.
“Fluctuat nec Mergitur” is a pendant made of 18K gold, with a shape of a boat sailing away in the sea. If examined closely, it is actually a violin being dissected and then r eassembled as a boat with delicate formations. Who else could think of as many diversified creations as Arman could with a dissected violin? This delicate piece of pendant is small in size, its detailing in craftsmanship is evident in the use of contours of the violin as the expression of sea waves. Additionally, the base of a violin ought to sustain the weight of itself, yet, when placed upside down, the base of violin now becomes light as a f lag, sailing against the wind.
In the uprising New Realism movement of the 1960, members of New Realist group advocated a return to “reality,” and they believed by taking parts from the living world, then incorporate these into the work is the way to represent New Realism. As a result, there was an extensive use of collage and assemblage as their artistic expressions, notably Arman. For Arman, a thousand copies of the same object or a thousand pieces of the same object ar e essentially the same in intrinsic values. Ar man typically favors the use of musical instruments as his primary material, he claims that violins are great performance props for artists as they have multiple facets to be explored.
“Fluctuat nec Mergitur” is a pendant made of 18K gold, with a shape of a boat sailing away in the sea. If examined closely, it is actually a violin being dissected and then r eassembled as a boat with delicate formations. Who else could think of as many diversified creations as Arman could with a dissected violin? This delicate piece of pendant is small in size, its detailing in craftsmanship is evident in the use of contours of the violin as the expression of sea waves. Additionally, the base of a violin ought to sustain the weight of itself, yet, when placed upside down, the base of violin now becomes light as a f lag, sailing against the wind.