User:Cecil Belmond/Mike Bouchet

Mike Bouchet( *1. September. 1970) is a contemporary multimedia artist. He questions social processes and structure s in his work in a variety of forms, including paintings, sculptures, installations, actions, performances and videos. His artistic practice focuses on social and political issues such as ownership, consumerism, capitalism, sex, and also explores his own role as an artist.

Life
Bouchet was born in Castro Valley, California in 1970. He spent his youth in the United States and in post Franco-Spain, where he lived for five years. After his return to the US he studied at the UCLA with Charles Ray, Chris Burden, Paul McCarthy, and others from 1991-1994. From 1991 to 1999 he lived and worked in Los Angeles, from 2000 until 2005 in New York City. Since 2005, Mike Bouchet lives and worked in Frankfort, Germany.

Work
Bouchet is an artist without a defined practice. His studio is fertile ground for performances, sculptures, paintings and dedicated projects, might it be a commune, a travel agency, red bull flavoured gelatin, an artisanal shit-sheetrock factory, tire manufacturing, designing jeans, custom jacuzzis, or producing his own diet cola. He culls material from the surface of the everyday. His interests lie exactly where culture’s do; these interests, no matter how varied, often claim exactly equal cultural value. He presents this egalitarian system back to society by way of juxtaposition, combination and reaction. Bouchet is interested in people’s everyday longings, which seek to be fulfilled in the new religion of mass/produced articles and well as other popular topics such as space tourism, where they hope to find uniqueness as well as a sense of belonging. He transforms these wishes into typical objects of desire, which then often remain unnoticed because the label seems to be the wrong one. He undertakes ambitious projects that result in formal relics: sculpture, video, drawings, photographs, paintings and documents. This is to say that new forms precipitate from Bouchet’s experiments on an array wrested from a popular surface plane. And this set, however uncanny, becomes altered and re-fused over the course of Bouchet’s attempt to consider it. Reallocating the worth of objects forces confrontation with the terms of their use - as well as the degree to which that use is malleable and often arbitrary. Simultaneously, Bouchet investigates social content as well as considers the formal and aesthetic implications in his artwork. Sometimes the peculiar composition of these residual objects overrides their conceptual value. Sometimes the space between the objects and the viewer – the passage by which the object is consumed - becomes an autonomous element unto itself. Bouchet is very much interested in the disposition of artworks whether they remain in his studio, in a crate in storage, in a collector's living room or in a museum behind a Giacometti. This practical interest influences the artist and inspires him to make artwork, which can be backdrops to lifestyle. Pushing the lifespan of the production-consumption exchange to its outermost limits, Bouchet’s artworks might eventually feed back into his project. If an art object is absorbed onto the overlying network, the artist can then re-approach and investigate that work anew. But this meta-cycle is not the goal; instead it would be a side-effect and a reflection of the system of our times.

Installation/Action/Performance

“Commune Futon” 1996

For this body of work, the artist invited various friends and acquaintances to come and live in his studio for three days: January 19 -21, 1996. However, during the event, the participants were then asked to stay as long as they wanted. The artist provided food, marijuana, and bathrobes for approximately 40 people in an attempt to convince them to move into the studio and live in and around a 17 meter long, fully-functioning futon sofa, titled “Commune Futon”.

“Warsaw Travel/Travel Warsaw” 2001

After he had moved to New York in 2001, the artist again made his studio the venue of an art project. For “Warsaw Travel/Travel Warsaw” he turned the space into a fully functional travel office complete with computer terminals and specially designed travel posters and vacation flyers. Air passengers were able to book their flights there, but had to stop over in Warsaw where a photographer took a picture of them. The project was aimed at establishing a new air traffic hub far from the international routes and endowing Warsaw with a new meaning as a junction. Again and again Mike Bouchet relates to economic circulation processes, to phenomena, strategies, and ideas of consumption, marketing, and outsourcing.↵His actions, installations, and sculptures always unfold concise pictures of complex economic and cultural contexts and the desires connected with them.

“New Living”

Bouchet bought a construction kit for a wooden single-family house from Forest Homes in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, made it buoyant, and installed it in the harbor basin of the Arsenale in Venice. For Bouchet, the “Sir Walter Scott” home, which is typical in US suburbs, stands for the dream of independence and individuality, yet also represents a commercial illusion of sorts, a borderline film set where one lays out the realization of the imagined freedom and autonomy.

"Almost Every City In The World 2005"

The video and book, is a list of almost every city, town, village, or named living location in the world. The list has approximately 2, 900,000 entries. The video displays the alphabetically listed names in a continuous scroll, similar to a credit list at the end of a film, and has a total running time of over 500 hours. The soundtrack to the video is a one hundred hour long track of film credit scores, which loops more than five times during the projection. The book is a printed version of this list. It has over 33,000 pages. Printed on A4 paper, its spine measures over 2 meters wide.

"Reaction Time 2007"

In 1998 the artist rented his own small exhibition space above the Circus of Books bookstore on Sunset Blvd, in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. For one of many pieces he staged there, he locked himself into a closet for 24 hours and watched movies, with a video camera zoomed in on his face. A monitor on the floor just outside the door displayed the image coming from the video camera, and played the sound from the movies he was watching. He left the door to the space and the door to the building open, with a sign displaying his name on the street. The viewer entered to find the image of Bouchet‘s face being screened to the soundtrack of the movie he was watching, while the artist himself remained hidden behind a padlocked door. Nearly ten years later Bouchet remade this action in the Circus Gallery, located quite literally in the center of Hollywood, California. In the traditional sense of a Hollywood „remake“ or „made for drama“ presentation, Bouchet hired a look-a-like actor to repeat his original action, in this new, but identically titled work.

Sculptures

"Top Cruise" 2005

Consisting of 1,000 unique hand painted ceramic busts of Tom Cruise, cast from an original bust of↵the actor made by the artist. Historically, busts of political leaders were distributed all over the↵empire to inform the population of who was currently in charge. These busts also represented the↵personality aspects that the organization wanted to convey. Bouchet feels this strategy is represented↵today in the large portraits of actors that are sent all over the world on Hollywood movie posters.

"Jacuzzis" 1998

Jacuzzis are first built from cardboard and then coated with fiberglass and painted. The shapes and↵sizes of the Jacuzzis are derived from crude sketches of shapes designed to hold a human form,↵though often in eccentric or uncomfortable positions. They function as small scale architectural↵forms, in which the person can imagine onesself literally floating. Though these Jacuzzis are sculptural,↵they can hold water and be outfitted to function like any commercial jet-water whirlpool. The↵first „Jacuzzis“ were made in 1998, and Bouchet continues to design and produce them for various↵celebrities around the world.

"Guggenheim Toilet 2006"

A fully functioning ceramic toilet that is modeled after Frank Lloyd Wright’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum located at 1071 Fifth Avenue in New York City

"SpaceBags/Next 2006"

This artwork consisted of two components- A sculpture and a Play. The exhibition took place in an abandoned storefront in Hamburg, Germany. The Sculpture titled “SpaceBags” consists of 500 white vinyl bags. The bags are 1 meter diameter spheres, sewn from thick white pleather with a zipper that runs top to bottom and handles sewn onto either end. The bags are modeled after the NASA “Johnson Personal Rescue Enclosures”, and are designed to hold a human being curled up inside with an oxygen cannister. The bags are to be used in the event of air loss on the space shuttle, as there are too few actual space suits to accomodate the entire crew. The sculpture was exhibited mostly in the form of stacked boxes, and the particular room was painted yellow, blackened windows and had a large floor-to-ceiling mirror all along one wall in an attempt to double the volume of the sculpture The play is based on the transcribed dialogue of an episode of the television program “Next”. The actors rehearsed and performed the lines of the popular MTV dating program in the bags. Weightlifters acted as the stagehands, carrying the actors (in bags) to and from their designated stage positions. The stage consisted of two mattreses taped together in the middle of the room, and a row of seats off to the side of the room. The play was performed for an invited public audience.

Paintings

"My Cola Lite 2004"

"“I want to produce my own diet cola. I will make my own diet cola formula, and then I would like to '''produce and bottle enough cola to fill a sea shipping container. I would like to bottle the cola in large bottles. They will be printed with labeling that I will design. The sea container will also be painted like the cola logo. I will leave the sea container in the exhibition space for half the time of the show, and then ship the sea container to a destination in China. Once My Cola Light reaches China, it will be available for people there to drink for free.”"

The final artwork resulted in a sculpture composed of 2000 one liter bottles of diet cola and a 5 meter long painted shipping container. the artist produced the cola with no sweetener or sugar, hence the “Lite” or diet moniker. The artist wanted the cola to be black, like oil, and had the cola produced with the maximum amount of caramel coloring possible. The resulting “Black American Water” is also used as a pigment for paintings. The paintings, more properly referred to as stainings, are created by staining white cotton with this cola.

"Canburger"

The central element of the CANBURGER exhibition, are the 10,000 canned burgers which the artist produced for this sculpture. Working with a meat canning company in Germany, Bouchet has developed a hamburger in a can, with a shelf life of two years. The hamburger is sandwiched between two buns, has tomato catsup and mustard already on it, and has a pull top lid for easy opening. In the month of December, 2007, Bouchet placed a stand offering free samples of the CANBURGER at the Enfant Rouge Marche in Paris. This public market was created under Louis XIV and is the oldest public market in Paris. The CANBURGER is a starting point for a larger investigation into some of the more manifest issues involved in one of the worlds most popular food items. Ever the “Internationalist”, Bouchet has also generated sculptures and large paintings for this body of work that touch upon some of the more deep-seated issues surrounding food production and consumption in today’s world, from fast-food restaurants to canned military rations and survivalist movements. While the large scale photo-realistic paintings of hamburgers take fetishistic food photography to its grotesque limits, the bronze hamburger sculpture (and shiny metallic hamburger cans) also take the current trend for what can be called “spectacular materiality” to its uncomfortable extreme.

"Tapestry Cartoons"

The tapestry cartoon oil paintings, produced by professional painters, are enlarged copies of collages made by the artist. Bouchet makes these collages using original feature film posters.

Videos

"Peter Jennings Film Festival 2006"

A collection of 103 videos, which is also titled “Films for Readers” collection. The script of each movie scrolls like the credits usually viewed at the end of a film. Thus, the entire film can be read.

"16 x 9 Action Film 2007"

This feature length video projection is composed of 144 “Action” films playing simultaneously. All the films are arranged in a rectangular grid, 16 films across and 9 films down, and the audio is likewise collaged from all 144 films playing together. The length of the composition is dictated by the length of the film with the longest running time, which is 144 minutes. The video has been composited at 2K resolution and has been mastered onto D-5 HD tape stock for playback at 35mm film projection resolution. The HD edit masters are timecoded and tailed for projection standards, and the audio is Dolby stereo. The high resolution allows for crisp projections up to 60ft wide.

Exhibitions
Biennals


 * Manifesta 11 (2016), Zurich, Switzerland https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/kunstschau-manifesta-11-in-zuerich-im-woertlichen-sinne-atemberaubend-1.3031574


 * 30th São Paulo Biennial (2012), Brasil https://www.artandonly.com/artists/mike-bouchet/


 * 53rd Biennale di Venezia (2009), Venice, Italy https://kunstaspekte.art/event/53-biennale-venedig-2009-event


 * 2nd Moscow Biennial (2007), Russia https://gesusxxx.com/specialprojects/moscow-biennale-ii/


 * 4th Berlin Biennia (2006)l, Berlin, Germany https://www.berlinbiennale.de/de/biennalen/15/von-musen-und-menschen


 * 1st Ghent Quadrennial (2001), S.M.A.K., Gent, Belgium https://smak.be/en/exhibition/7870

Solo Exhibitions


 * Googleheim Bilboa (2019), in collaboration with Paul McCarthy, The Box Gallery, Los Angeles Double Upper Decker, in collaboration with Paul McCarthy, Marlborough Contemporary, London, England


 * Energy Log (2018), Gallery Sofie Van De Velde, Belgium More Zero, Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, Germany https://parisakind.de/past-exhibitions/2018/mikebouchet/


 * Private Idano (2017 ), Sariev Contemporary, Plovdiv, Bulgaria http://www.sariev-gallery.com/exhibitions/private-idano#info
 * "Tender" (2017), Marlborough Contemporary, New York, USA https://www.marlboroughgallery.com/exhibitions/mike-bouchet-tender


 * "Bounty" (2016 ), Peres Projects, Berlin, Germany Push, Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, Germany MR2, Alaia Exhibitions, Paris, France https://peresprojects.com/artists/mike-bouchet/
 * "Y ask Y" (2015 ), Kostyal, Stockholm, Sweden https://www.kostyal.com/exhibitions/y-ask-y/
 * "Power Lunch" (2014), Peres Projects, Berlin, Germany https://www.artsy.net/show/peres-projects-mike-bouchet-power-lunch
 * "Double Deck" (2014), in collaboration with Paul McCarthy, Marlborough Gallery Monaco, Monaco https://www.marlboroughgallery.com/exhibitions/double-deck-mike-bouchet-and-paul-mccarthy
 * "Powered A-Hole Spanish Donkey Sport Dick Drink Donkey Dong Dongs Sunscreen Model" (2014), in collaboration with Paul McCarthy, Portikus, Frankfurt, Germany https://www.portikus.de/en/exhibitions/187_powered_a_hole_spanish_donkey_sport_dick_drink_donkey_dong_dongs_sunscreen_model
 * "Flood"(2013), Marlborough Contemporary, London, England https://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/mike-bouchet-flood-marlborough-chelsea


 * "Simulated Personal Rescue Enclosures" (2012), Hotel Gallery, London, UK The Untitled Video, Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, [./Germany_https://sofievandevelde.be/artists/mike-bouchet Germany https://sofievandevelde.be/artists/mike-bouchet ]


 * HARD ON (2010 ), Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, Germany New Living, COBRA Museum, Amstelveen, Netherlands Neues Wohnen, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany Retreat, BAWAG Contemporary, Vienna, Austria


 * Diet Cola Works (2010), The Box, Los Angeles, California, USA http://www.sariev-gallery.com/exhibitions/private-idano#info


 * The New New Age Film Festival(2009 ), Autocenter, Berlin, Germany http://www.autocenter-art.de/exhibitions/program/


 * Sell and Destroy (2009)- Redrawing the Bottom Line, Frieze Projects, London, UK http://ec2-79-125-124-178.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com/fairs/Frieze/2009/4.pdf


 * CANBURGER, Galerie Georges-Phillippe & Nathalie Vallois, Paris, France 16x9 Action Film, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France http://www.artnet.com/artists/mike-bouchet/biography
 * Almost Every City in the World (2007), Galerie Vallois, Paris, France https://sofievandevelde.be/artists/mike-bouchet
 * Shitrock Crate and Tapestry Cartoons, The Box, Los Angeles, California, USA 16x9 Action Film, MOCA Los Angeles, California, USA http://www.artnet.de/künstler/mike-bouchet/biografie
 * Recent Jacuzzis(2006), Galerie Michael Neff, Frankfurt, Germany https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/kultur/ausstellung-zerklueftete-wohlfuehllandschaften-1302416/mike-bouchet-recent-jacuzzis-1308453.html


 * Top, Back and Bottom of Mind Awareness, Maccarone, Inc. (2005), New York, USA New Jacuzzis, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria https://www.marlboroughgallery.com/uploads/15600156/1559745771552/MIKE_BOUCHET_CV_5_20_19_new_format.pdf
 * Carpe Denim, Galerie Michael Neff (2004), Frankfurt, Germany https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/berlin-wird-immer-mehr-berlin/548122.html


 * Overhead Baggage Treatment (2003), Maccarone, Inc., New York, USA http://maccarone.net/exhibitions/


 * Business on Sunset, (1999) BOSS Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA https://www.artsy.net/art-los-angeles-contemporary-2019/browse/artist/mike-bouchet