Pierre Huyghe

La déraison, 2014

Concrete, marble, heating system, water, and plants
36 ¼ x 97 ¾ x 51 in.

© Pierre Huyghe

Pierre Huyghe, La déraison, 2014, Nasher Prize

On first glance, the large sculpture La déraison appears to be a more conventional work of art: a concrete cast of a figure from a monument by Jean-Baptiste Belloc erected on the outskirts of Paris in 1931 for the Exposition Coloniale Internationale and showing an allegorical figure of France above personifications of her various colonies, all in the form of female figures. The reclining, now headless, female figure in La déraison represented Africa. The monument was taken down in 1961, but parts of it remained, exposed to the elements and subject to the passing of time. Huyghe treated the surface of his cast so that it resembles the natural deterioration that overtook the original sculpture in its outdoor environment, with pockets of real moss growing over the figure, making it a sort of living landscape—an impression intensified for those permitted to touch the sculpture: Huyghe added an interior heating device to the cast, so that, despite appearing to be a long-forgotten statue, it pulses with the warmth of a living creature.

Exhibition:

March 1 - April 30, 2017

2017 Nasher Prize Laureate Pierre Huyghe has profoundly expanded the parameters of sculpture through artworks encompassing a variety of materials and disciplines, bringing cinema, music, and dance into contact with science and philosophy and incorporating time-based elements as diverse as microclimates, ice, rituals, parades, robotics, computer programs, games, dogs, bees, or microorganisms. As part of the celebrations surrounding Nasher Prize, the Nasher Sculpture Center presents two important works by the artist: an active marine ecosystem and a living sculpture.