Design & Decoration S04 ep4 : Francois Laffanour, Downtown Gallery, [????]

Interview with Francois Laffanour

For more than thirty years, FrançoisLaffanour has been recognized as one of the very earliest visionary champions of Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Le Corbusier. At a very early stage, his intuition steered him towards Ron Arad, to whom his gallery has already dedicated two solo shows, in 2005 and then in 2008. In tandem, he collaborated on his public exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou in 2008, as well as at the MoMA in 2009."

 

6:36
When I started, you know, it was thirty years ago, we, I usually go to America and the places
where we usually found the best thing or the thing exciting were always downtown. So we had
friends downtown, we had shops downtown, we had hotels downtown, so everything was more
exciting downtown.16:55

17:01
Lot of people in France, they didn't speak English, so you can't imagine, how complicated was
for them to say Downtown. We had Dovtown, Ductown, Dumton.
17:11

17:18
Originally I was studying in the university, I met some people who introduced me to something
which is nothing with this, but which was for me a way to look at art. They explained to me that
the only way to look at art and also the only way to be yourself is to really to believe in
something that you feel, to try to find the link between that something that you can admire in
the museums and something that you can live on your own life everyday and that was exactly
what I discovered when I found the first piece of Jean Prouve, I didn't know it was Jean Prouve
furniture but it was something that I felt interested in, but there was a whole invention behind
this. People really trying to be inventive, to be modern, to be totally different with also the
culture of dressing. 18:17

18:31
Jean Prouve started in 1925. Charlotte Perriand was also showing in 1925/28. Imagine those
people were so young and they were trying to look for something very modern, but also which
could be in the future considered like classic and I think that is what I appreciate in their work.
18:52

19:01
Charlotte Perriand was very friend with technology. They were in relation with Sonia Delaunay,
Andre Block, Jean Prouve was more influenced by the context of his city, he was from Nancy,
it was famous for the Art Nouvel like Daum, Gallais, Majorelle.
19:22

19:32
At this period, in the industry, modernism was totally considered differently. The people were
really considering industry like something, which give hope, which give possibility of
development, possibility of freedom, so Charlotte Perriand was excited by Cars, technology
and also to find solution for a better life for a mass of people which was totally the opposite
before, so it was very linked to the social movement.
20:08

20:15
The Book cases I have in my back, simple thing, it's made with ply metal and it's made with
very simple wood, but what is interesting,it's first, it's called Clouds. The inspiration of the artist
Charlotte Perriand did that , also you have the very simple technology, ply metal, which cost
nothing, yes we do nothing, but the whole thing altogether it's kind of a piece of sculptor, is that
we are trying to make something beautiful, interesting, which is in relation with art, for
everybody.
20:48

20:56
If you look at the many, many artist, in the 60's, all this is always linked with that kind of thing
and also to poetry, but to call a book-case cloud, something which is made in 1954. It's a unique
piece.
21:13

21:21
The highlight is that black table, 1953, what I love in that table that's, first of all,it's in the
Principe of construction of Jean Prouve. It's a little piece of architecture, you have the frame of
the feet, it’s like exactly what you can find in the construction, usually made for his building.
The top is made from Formica, which is a very simple material at this time, very resistant, but
the whole thing all together you don’t know which period it is from.
21:52

22:03
The first example I had very strong, is when I found the bookcase behind you. This bookcase
was made, for the Maison du Mexique designed by Charlotte Perriand, realized by the workshop
of Jean Prouve and somewhere design with Sonya Delany who use to work on this. So you have
Sonia Delaunay in every museum and you have this piece of furniture and you don't ? There is
something wrong.
22:30

22:39
We have done,me and several others, you know we work on this. We have done a good job for
the family, because we have really, both of these things and saved them because most of them
were going to be destroyed, to be sold ,were like in a thrift shop.
22:58

23:08
The way, the inspiration, the color, the little detail, for me, are very French. But usually the
German are little more straight and a little bit less decorative. I think Jean Prouve or Charlotte
Perriard always used little details, colors, structure with some very refined detail, which make
something a little bit different, like only a piece of design, piece of something else and I think
that's the reason why it's also something very remarkable. When you know piece of furniture of
Jean Prouve, you can recognize most of them, because there is always the same kind of
inspiration.
23:50

24:00
The first time I came in Paris, for example, in the University, pushed the door and saw six
hundred chairs by Jean Prouve, eighty tables like this like if you enter in a candy store. That
kind of experience was really exciting to see so many pieces altogether and which is incredible
that thirty years after I don't have any now.
24:28

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Francois Laffanour, Downtown Gallery, ???