Biographie

1970

Le Parc moved his studio from Paris to Cachan, outside the city. He traveled to Puerto Rico for the first San Juan Biennial of Latin American Printmaking; there, a collective statement was made supporting the Latin American peoples’ struggles for liberation. Live reading of the statement on Puerto Rican TV.
 
Le Parc traveled to Cuba for the Havana International Colloquium on the subject “The Social Function of Art in Contemporary Society.” Discovery of and contact with the Cuban Revolutionary situation; discussions with intellectuals and artists on a new attitude. Personal text by Le Parc on his conclusions following the colloquium. Friendship with Mariano Rodríguez.
 
Collective creation of Amerique latine non officielle in Paris, a massive demonstration of counter-information through a visual tour, debates, encounters, a collective statement on Latin America.
 
Development of game-surveys and themes concerning color. Text: “Color 1959.”
Avec Martha et Romero Brest, Porto Rico 1970 Avec Martha et Romero Brest, Porto Rico 1970

1971

Open-air collective experience in Milan with Morellet, Stein, Davide Boriani, Gianni Colombo, and Gabriele de Vecchi. Text in response to questions from Enzo Mari. Third game-survey. Le Parc took part in organizing a group of Latin American artists in Paris : meetings, discussions, projects. Struggle in the cultural ambit. Collective work : Journal d’une Veuve de Mineur (Diary of a Miner’s Widow). Artists’ mobilization, the creation of FAP (Front des arts plastiques).

Avec Stein, Morellet, Boriani, Colombo, Milan, 1971 Avec Stein, Morellet, Boriani, Colombo, Milan, 1971
Julio Le Parc, Jeu-enquête Frappez les gradés, 1971Julio Le Parc, Jeu-enquête Frappez les gradés, 1971

1972

Large Le Parc retrospective in the Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, with several galleries, among them a game-gallery and viewer-participation gallery; also surveys, game-surveys, creation of an experience conceived jointly with Gerard Fromanger and Merri Jolivet on the subject of postcards. Publication, on the occasion of this exhibit, of an important catalogue in which the various experiences were analyzed and accompanied by major texts and other contributions.
 
Campaign with FAP against an exhibition at the Pompidou: mobilization of artists, rallies, texts, statements, etc. Le Parc refused to take part in this exhibit, either individually or as former member of GRAV.
 
Le Parc called into question an invitation to do an important solo retrospective in Paris; he prepared a text analyzing the exhibit and called a meeting in the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, where, accepting the result of a coin toss, he rejected the invitation. With the group Denuncia, a collective creation: Sala Oscura de Tortura.
 
Le Parc attended the Primer Encuentro de Plástica Latinoamericana (First Meeting of Latin American Visual Arts) in Havana, sponsored by the Casa de las Américas: analysis, discussions, agreements, exhibit, statements, call to action.
Martha et les enfants, Carboneras, 1972 Martha et les enfants, Carboneras, 1972
Avec Martinez, Carboneras, 1972 Avec Martinez, Carboneras, 1972

1973

Le Parc traveled to Argentina, discovering a nation full of hope that believed it had found the road to its liberation. There, he had contact with the world of culture, engaged in discussions, artist mobilization, projects.
 
Solo exhibit in New York, which Le Parc did not personally attend, since the US government denied him a visa. He did attend the 2nd Encuentro de Plástica Latinoamericana, again at the Casa las Américas in Havana, where a balance was tallied between creative realizations and possibilities. A collective statement accompanied an exhibit in the Museum of Fine Arts, in which the participants dedicated a day to the memory of Salvador Allende, with each artist doing a painting in public. Le Parc, as professor of the Art School, formed a team with students, and they did several collective projects, especially one on the subject of work.
Avec Jorge Enrique Adoum, 1973 Avec Jorge Enrique Adoum, 1973
Avec Marcos et Netto, La Havane, 1973 Avec Marcos et Netto, La Havane, 1973
Avec Mercedes Sosa, Martha et Juan Pons, 1973 Avec Mercedes Sosa, Martha et Juan Pons, 1973
Avec son frère et Juancito, San Luis, 1973 Avec son frère et Juancito, San Luis, 1973

1974

Development of projects representing solidarity with the people of Chile : Viva Chile. Collective works with art students. Creation of a mural in the new Renault Building based on themes of color-waves and La Longue Marche (The Long March).
 
Development of experiences with color based on the 14 colors: waves, virtual volumes, and La Longue Marche. Personal text on FAP.
 
First approach to the series Modulations.

1975

Le Parc joined the Painter’s Anti-Fascist Collective, contributing with analyses and taking stands. He also took part in the collective artwork Un mundo a destruir—un mundo a construir (World to Destroy—A World to Build).
 
He traveled to Venice. Formation of the International Brigade of Anti-Fascist Painters : discussions, analyses, agreements, and creation of a collective artwork in the port of Venice and, later, others in Athens and Paris. Development of works with the general title Modulations, using airbrush and particularly with variations of gray in black and white.
 
A mobilization of artists is begun around the new Centre Georges Pompidou.

1976

Collective artwork by the International Anti-Fascist Brigade in Paris. Large standard produced by the Anti-Fascist Painters Collective for the May 1 parade on the issue of the new Pompidou Centre. The mobilization of artists to confront the problem posed by the appearance of this new art center continued. Discussions, rallies, demands, etc. Dialogue-text with Maurice Matieu in the publication 16 rue de Lille. Personal text in 16 rue de Lille’s second issue. Le Parc prepared and produced the layout for a book to be published in La Coruña, Spain, including a great deal of information on his researches, his stands on issues, his texts, his collective works.

Avec Joaquin Ibarola, Bilbao 1976 Avec Joaquin Ibarola, Bilbao 1976

1977

Mobilization of artists continued vis-à-vis the existence of the Centre Beaubourg. Meeting of 1,000 artists in Creteil, outside Paris. Collective artwork by the International Anti-Fascist Brigade at the Royan Festival.
 
Preparation and creation of SNAP (Sindicato Nacional de Artistas Plásticos), associated with the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail).
 
Development and perfecting of a system of publication based on Pochoirs (Sketches) and airbrush.
 
Development of themes for publication of the family of Modulations.
 
Preparation of a solo exhibit in Madrid.
Carmen Waugh, Julio Cortázar, Alberto et Catherine Portera et Antonio Saura, Madrid, 1977 Carmen Waugh, Julio Cortázar, Alberto et Catherine Portera et Antonio Saura, Madrid, 1977
Julio Cortázar et Carmen Waugh, Madrid, 1977 Julio Cortázar et Carmen Waugh, Madrid, 1977

1978

In the framework of his retrospective in Madrid: public survey for donating an artwork ; roundtable with participation by the Association of Spanish Artists; text by Le Parc : “El artista en su contexto social actual” (The Artist and His Current Social Context). In his retrospectives at the Bilbao Museum and the Miró Foundation in Barcelona: exchanges, discussions, and reflections with art students and artists.
 
A book on Le Parc was published by Guadalimar in Madrid.
 
In Aix-en-Provence, Le Parc gave a lecture-debate in the local Art School and coordinated a group of students for a collective artwork comprised of an intervention in the street, with the participation of the public.
 
Creation, with the International Brigade of Anti-Fascist Painters, of a street mural in Villeparisis, in the Île-de-France. Le Parc took part in the Primer Encuentro Iberoamericano de Críticos de Arte y Artistas Plásticos (First Latin American Meeting of Art Critics and Artists) in Caracas. He was enriched by the exchanges, confrontations, and contributions to the issue of Latin American art. Le Parc gave a lecture titled “Questions.”
 
Creation, with the International Anti-Fascist Brigade, of a mural in homage to the struggle of the Nicaraguan people.
 
The BBC, in London, produced a film on Le Parc and his work. On that occasion, Le Parc developed the idea of visualizing the artist’s various sorts of problems with respect to society by creating a series of scenes with cut-out decorations and characters, creating an audio-visual presentation using slides and a film mock-up.
Avec Mercedes, Martha et Saura, Venezuela, 1978 Avec Mercedes, Martha et Saura, Venezuela, 1978

Pages