Event | Conference Fri 25 Feb 2022
18:30 – 19:30

Talk on the theme of sound poetry and how it is archived, with Eric Mangion and Anne Le Troter.

In conjunction with the “Arles se livre” Festival, the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles presents an event on the theme of sound poetry and how it is archived.

Sound poetry, while generally situated outside the field of books, relies on the use of the voice, which is transmitted to the listener either directly or by radiophonic or other technological means. It originated in the first quarter of the 20th century with the phonetic poetry of Georgian artist Ilia Zdanevitch (1894-1975) and the visual poetry or parole in libert of Filippo Marinetti (1923-1944), among others. Closely linked with the Dada movement, it developed more broadly in the 1950s, bringing together poets such as Bernard Heidsieck (1928-2014), Henri Chopin (1922-2008) and François Dufrêne (1930-1985). It also gave rise to other work centred on the breath, such as the “megapneumes” of artist Gil J. Wolman (1929-1995) included in the current exhibition “Breathing One’s Breath”.

The nature of this poetry raises many questions. Given that the recording of performances or actions by sound poets varies,
how can we think about its transmission?
How can it be archived?
Who rejects the printed word and why?
What do young artists do with such a powerful yet unstable legacy?

These issues will be addressed by a round table made up of  Eric Mangion, Director of the Centre d’art de la Villa Arson (Nice) and curator of the exhibition “La Voix libérée – Poésie sonore” at the Palais de Tokyo in 2019, and Anne Le Troter, an artist whose practice explores the mechanics of language and speech through sound. It will be moderated by Julia Marchand, Associate Curator of the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles.