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<![CDATA[Soltani+LeClercq - Buzz]]>Wed, 28 Aug 2024 19:10:47 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[SCRATCH MY RIJKS: Instant art made from the Rijksmuseum collection postcards by Soltani+LeClercq]]>Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:56:04 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/scratch-my-rijks-instant-art-made-from-the-rijksmuseum-collection-postcards

Scratch My Rijks, ©soltani+Leclercq

Drawing from the scratch technique of Hip Hop where the resulting percussive sound of a stammering record is used to various ends, in “Scratch My Rijks”, a proposal to cover the postcards of Rijksmuseum with scratch off film, the museum is seen as a repertoire of encoded works whose collection is concomitantly revealed through the museum’s primary missions of storing, restoring, and putting on view.
These tasks are emulated in single postcards depicting the museum collection by way of masking, scratching, revealing the
underlying image- thus turning the casual patron at once into an archivist, a restorer, an artist, the viewer- and reconstituting to the kitsch by-product, the postcard, the status of an original. The gold colour of scratch-off film is further used to bridge the high culture of the past with the emerging subversions of present mass culture, on the one hand alluding to the Dutch Golden Age, arguably the momentous cockpit of Rijksmuseum’s collection amply provided for on the museum grounds, and on the other, evocative of glitzy modalities of sweepstakes advertisements and instant win games ubiquitously integrated into
everyday shopping experience, mail, or online browsing.

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]]><![CDATA[Francine LeClercq wins First Award Swiss Original Handmade creative Project international competition]]>Tue, 19 Nov 2019 17:13:07 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/francine-leclercq-wins-first-award-swiss-original-handmade-creative-project-international-competition

Francine LeClercq, Swinkern

Francine LeClercq, Swinkern (detail)

For centuries, the Swiss tradition of Emmentaler AOP cheese production has focused on the art of cheesemaking, on artisan skills and on handmade expertise, all underpinned by a caring attitude towards nature, time, materials, know-how and the vital energy of the environment we live in.
In order to be able to continue to read, refresh and interpret its own values in an innovative, contemporary and disruptive way, Emmentaler Switzerland launched an international competition, to which 450 artists from 55 countries responded.
The award ceremony and the exhibition designed and curated by Massimo Bruto Randone took place at the Overstudio in Milan on November 12, 2019.

The exhibition-event was organized with the support of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the support of Cumulus, the only global association to deal with education and research in the field of art and design.

Panel of Judges:

Andrea Amichetti, Zero Founder
Stefano Aronica, Emmentaler Switzerland — Consortium Emmentaler AOP Int. Chief Marketing & Brand Officer
Giovanna Frova, Switzerland Cheese Marketing Italia Country Manager
Maria Cristina Galli, Accademia di BreraVice Director
Michael Krohn, ZhdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste — Cumulus Association Executive Board Member
Stefano Maffei, Politecnico di Milano — Polifactory Director
Massimo Bruto Randone, CXINE — SosDesign Founder
Antonio Riccardi, SEM Editor — Poet
Toni Thorimbert, Studio Thorimbert Photographer

]]><![CDATA[Interview: Re-membering Notre dame]]>Sun, 01 Sep 2019 07:00:00 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/interview-re-membering-notre-dame

https://www.koozarch.com/interviews/re-membering-notre-dame/

]]><![CDATA[EXHIBITION: No Image 2019, CICA Museum]]>Fri, 30 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/cica-museum-no-image-2019

]]><![CDATA[EXHIBITION: Color 2019, CICA Museum]]>Fri, 09 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/cica-museum-color-2019

]]><![CDATA[The International RIJKSSTUDIO AWARD 2017 competition]]>Fri, 05 May 2017 07:00:00 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/the-international-rijksstudio-award-2017-competition
Francine LeClercq and Ali Soltani win the 2017 RIJKSSTUDIO PUBLIC AWARD

The Glassy Gaze of Delft Blue Eyes
Francine LeClercq +Ali Soltani

For the third time, the Dutch national art museum -The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam invited members of the public to draw inspiration from the Rijksmuseum collection and create their own artwork. On April 21st, the international jury composed of Taco Dibbits (RijksMuseum Director), Irma Boom (Director of Irma Boom Office), Tony Chambers (Editor-in-Chief at Wallpaper), Ingrid Chou (Associate Creative Director, The Museum of Modern Art), Ute Thon (Chief Copy Editor, art - Das Kunstmagazin) and Thomas Widdershoven ( director and designer at Thonik), presented the awards.

Delft Blue Eyes wins the Rijksstudio Public Award
Based on the design of XVII century plaques in the museum collection, our entry DELFT BLUE EYES consists of non- prescriptive contact lenses whose hydrogel surface has been printed with Delft Blue pattern. While drawing on a distinct cultural heritage of Dutch Delftware, the direct juxtaposition of a perceived work and its viewing subject is a nod to Marcel Duschamp’s critic on retinal art through the selective process of “Readymades”. Today, in an era enmeshed by trajectories of prying eyes, the perceiving subject itself is the tentative Readymade the moment it is caught viewing it’s prey, here the enameled tin-glaze of delft under a glassy gaze.

RIJKSSTUDIO AWARD 2017

DELFT BLUE EYES by Francine LeClercq and Ali Soltani

Plaques from a column, De Grieksche A, after Adrianus Kocx, c. 1690 Rijksmuseum collection

]]><![CDATA[The International exhibition of conceptual Art@ CICA Museum]]>Fri, 06 May 2016 19:05:16 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/the-international-exhibition-of-conceptual-art-cica-museumWorks by Ali soltani and Francine LeClercq have been selected for the exhibition CONCEPT: the International Exhibition on Conceptual Art on view May 6-29th 2016 @CICA Museum in South Korea
http://cicamuseum.com/concept-2016-5-6-29/

]]><![CDATA[Building in Iran, in Search of a Lost Paradise]]>Sat, 23 Mar 2013 19:31:41 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/building-in-iran-in-search-of-a-lost-paradiseBuilding in Iran, in Search of a Lost Paradise/ The Banafsheh Apartment Complex-Karaj-Iran
(in Loving Memory of Shokooh Azam Amirshahi)
Ali Soltani, NY, January 2013

Buildings can be thought of memoirs upon which life in passing leaves its trace on its unfilled pages; to build is to anticipate the meeting place of a past, a present, and a yet unwritten future, it is a momentous undertaking, for here the notion of construction refers more pertinently to its role as a scaffold along the outlines of a certain reality where time and space together with a building packed with mechanical and programmatic requisites actively restore, motivate and transform the given situation which in turn acts as a backdrop of new visions and memories.
To insert something into reality therefore, particularly a building into a site, is decisive in the way these memories are spawned, it is always a mindful and delicate act. Moreover, on a highly volatile geopolitical terrain, building in Iran, a tragically misunderstood nation with a vast cultural heritage, and the added restraints of engaging in any sort of business posed by sanctions, to say nothing of its debilitating effects felt only by a hijacked people that beyond its control is ironically falling victim on all fronts, is to put it simply, complicated. Notwithstanding an undeniably attractive endeavour since it also happens to be my birth place , a land that I have not seen since my last visit in the Summer of 1981.
In addition we would have to design and run the construction remotely, some 6000 miles from our small office here in New York City. Needless to say, the role of communication technology in facilitating a much needed daily contact and data exchange has been a key factor, affording us a firm grip on the construction process and in ensuring as much as possible the adherence to design intents and quality of execution.
Our understanding of the site would come in through written correspondences emailed back and forth, photographs, a little reliance on my own memories of life in Iran, and an IP camera installed on site which has allowed us to monitor the construction on the fly.

Situated in Karaj, Iran, 1310 meters above the sea level, on an ochre plateau, at the Eastern most extremity of a residential district development ca. the late Pahlavi era, the site is distinguished by a sharp drop of elevation to its East. An outstanding feature of the site is the stretch of the Alborz mountains that line the horizon from North-West to the East. The climate is arid, trees and plants are sparse and hardly provide any shade. The neighbouring buildings, mostly stone cladded structures, neither exhibit a local tradition of building technique, nor together, are they dense enough to constitute an urban scale or condition. There was no question that building at this particular location would have to be understood in the broader context of place-making, a puzzle piece with a motivating force derived from the specificity of the site, an understanding of its history and local building techniques, and yet through modernity, that is the fundamental character forged by the issues of our time.
On a corner rectangular plot, measuring 20m x 51m, longitudinally aligned on the North-South axis, open on three sides, a person placed on this lot would likely turn towards North to look at the mountains, similarly the building’s main orientation would eye the prominent stretch of this panorama, furthermore in considering the favourable prevailing winds from North and North East, it was decided a 10 meters set back on the East would lead to an open court which in the fashion of a Persian walled compound with a shallow pool, would act as a wind basin, the sagging cold air combined with the evaporative effect of water create a mild draft and act as a natural cooling and olfactory agent. One could assert that the siting was a result of a solidified spatial block chiseled by site factors, alternatively, the sequence of entering one’s residence through a court, a refuge from the agitated perturbance of outdoor activity, is a characteristic feature of Persian architecture, a transient prelude to reconnect with one’s own spirit; courtyards and gardens are regarded as sacred spaces, the word paradise is rooted in the Avestan, Pairidaeza from the compound Pairi: around and Daeza or its diminutive Diz: to form, wall. The court serves as both a communal space, an extension of the indoors where the residents would collectively participate in its care taking, and a solitary space of self reflection.

The program primarily a 10m x 30m x 23m volume, encased within a lattice work of exposed structural steel with deep recesses and staggered terraces is conceived as an extension of the garden with occasional oblique elements i.e. stairs connecting the terraces to echo the random settlements and movements on the mountain; something that to this day I miss greatly about living in Iran, is that getting to places was never about efficiency, rather it was a matter of seizing and prolonging the moment, how often seduced by mulberry or cherry trees, a stream, or haunted by meeting once again some glassy stare that left you stranded in a similar spot, taking a yet unknown path, oblique or upward cutting across properties would lead to a blind alley. This notion of mnemonic aesthetics as opposed to a literal one is I believe necessary in architecture , the idea of a façade like a cover of a book needs to be more than just an adorned surface and more like a door. Apartments face East and are accessed through a single loaded corridor on each floor. The variation in their size and type combined with indentations and random placement of elements such as planters is meant to inflect the overall homogeneity of the building and reflect the individuality of the inhabitants, the building is thus the expression of the life within. In light of the fact that we weren’t well disposed to oversee the construction, the structure, the most uncompromising aspect of construction was chosen as the most expressive aspect of the building, everything else would be resolved in terms of structure, Steel was chosen as the structural system because of weight, cost and efficiency. Cladding was primarily abandoned in favour of infill thermal membranes stretched between posts and beams. Our initial choice of a brick cavity wall infill was replaced with a high density cement wall construction which had good insulation properties faced with suspended ventilated ceramic. This was done because the overall load was much lighter and it yielded far better thermal properties. On its own, Brick is used in its full expressivity as a woven material wrapping the site. The use of brick in Iran has a long trajectory dating back to at least 5000 BC; it has always been a significant feature of local building technique which has been passed on from generation to generation; paradoxically it has had a dimming presence in the current construction scene. It was a natural choice, it is a native material, there are still highly skilled masons that could be brought in to do the task, and a necessary cultural reference as well as a reminder that it is still a pertinent technique hence technology; on the other hand, the intrinsic textile aspect of brick bonding allowed us to achieve a perforated woven screen through a staggered herring stack resulting in a lighter permeable wall that acts as a giant diffuser helping with air flow.
In the face of its dire environmental issues, Iran hasn’t yet implemented a viable sustainable policy. Due to fuel subsidies, up until 5 years ago when we were in planning phase of the building, Iranians enjoyed one of the cheapest energy prices in the world, resulting in a wasteful consumption of fossil fuel energy which in combination with the decline in import and upgrade to more environmental friendly equipment and other factors has had a devastating effect on air quality. According to a recent poll, 4460 deaths have been blamed on air pollution in Tehran alone, last year. Taking into account Iran’s ideal setting for the use of solar energy with one of the highest incoming global radiation, not taking advantage of this resource would be a bleak irresponsibility. The project had to incorporate this aspect and set a precedent at least in the immediate vicinity, the Southern tip of the project takes a tilt towards the Sun at its highest altitude where 12 solar panels on an inclined surface absorb enough solar radiation to supply all heated water needs of the building as well as part of HVAC needs for heating. Furthermore in the semi arid climate of Karaj with only 260 mm of rain annually, rain water is a precious resource. With roughly 300 m2 of surface area inclusive of roof terraces to collect rainwater, we can potentially have a yield of over 60,000 liters of recyclable rain water which will be channeled to an underground tank and recycled for appropriate uses i.e. watering the plants.

In epilogue, this building has been a product of love and the perseverance of its true makers on ground who continue to work tirelessly against weighty obstacles beyond their control to finish it, and that is just a matter time. What will sustain it, is not a question of what gadget it uses, the mode of construction it utilizes is simply a question of available means in a particular time, a building’s success, its timeless aspect, shall be measured by the way it is cared for and how it shapes the life around it, it is agrarian as it ought to cultivate the land. We rest in the hope that the community shall one day reap its harvest.]]><![CDATA[Scarfitecture Guatemala 2011]]>Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:49:27 GMThttp://soltani-leclercq.com/buzz/scarfitecture-guatemala-2011

Initiated by Dita Zakova, Founder and Director, Ecolibri.org and Rhea Alexander, Founder and President, DIGS.com, the project consisted of inviting seven international architects to create an image, texture, or painting to be rendered into woven textiles by artisans of Ecolibri (www.ecolibri.org) at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala using a back-strap loom and sustainable materials, such as naturally dyed threads and reclaimed /recycled materials like unraveled old sweaters. The project aimed to build awareness of the skills and abilities of Guatemalan women artisans.

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