Les Flâneurs met up with the founders of the Chez Jack art collective based on a chimerical, unconventional world that is Jack’s. Chez Jack’s compelling installations and photography will be exhibited this month at the Centre Culturel Auguste Dobel.
Vernissage and Happening this Friday, June 4th make for an awesome event.
Les Flâneurs: First of all, who is Jack?
Anthony: To be honest, I don’t really know. I just know that he doesn’t have the life of an ice-skater and that he doesn’t work at Météo France…
Jonathan: Jack is no one in particular. It started off as the name of a place we used to live in 3 years ago. Instead of saying “tonight there’s a party at Anthony’s, Jonathan’s, and Phillipe’s Place,” we would just say “Party Chez Jack tonight”. Then we moved to another apartment with different people but we still called the new place “Chez Jack”. Chez Jack wasn’t associated with just one place anymore, or identified by specific people. Chez Jack became an “état d’esprit…” / a state of mind.
LF: When Chez Jack speaks of having certain “sensibilités’”? What does that mean? What is Chez Jack sensitive towards?
Anthony: You could say that Chez Jack is sensitive towards a lot of things: the absurd, the mysterious, estafettes*, romance, Alain Turban…What counts is that this sensitivity ties us together. It’s like a language that we have in common that allows us to share, create, and move forward.
Jonathan: We each have our own mindsets, but we have the common desire to live together in a poetic world – in a world that’s a bit more mysterious, more incoherent, more colorful. Chez Jack tends to transform the commonplace into a work of art.
LF: Who can take part of Chez Jack?
Jonathan: Anyone. Chez Jack is based on chance encounters. The key is to have an open mind.
Anthony: We know that specific characteristics make certain people get along and others not. These characteristics are probably subconscious or in any case difficult to pinpoint. We don’t deny their existence but we don’t really want to think much on them either. When really asking ourselves this question, we use a system we’ve developed, which involves measuring one’s skull and height. According to our calculations, Benjamin, our black toy baby is much more capable of being part of Chez Jack than a Batman figurine…
LF: On your site it says that Chez Jack’s network is made of permanent ties. What are the factors that make these ties?
Jonathan: We mean that, even if you just stayed in our apartment for 3 days, and we had a good time together, you’re a part of Chez Jack…even if you live 8000 km away. People traveling from all over the world have taken part in Chez Jack. We don’t hear from them so often anymore for the most part.
Anthony: Certain people seem to live in a permanent Chez Jack, when others return, leave, pass through, fly over, disembark…
Aude: Who says that?
LF: Chez Jack has a certain 60s / new wave / nostalgic / retro feel. Where do you think that comes from?
Jonathan: I think it’s just a general trend. It’s in ‘l’air du temps’. We didn’t particularly think of this aspect, but the retro feel has been everywhere for a while now. Like a lot of people, outdated things fascinate us. Eventually, we all end up being overtaken; maybe this fascination is a way to anticipate [what's coming next], to reassure ourselves.
Anthony: It might come from the fact that we’re constantly looking for ways of living that aren’t merely imposed upon us and that correspond to us [as individuals]. So we go back and look for images from past eras that appeal to us and have been on our minds – eras in which people lived differently.
LF: Hats seem to be an important type of Chez Jack object. What do they mean? Are they signs of some kind of ranking or positioning between Chez Jack members?
Jonathan: Hats are a way to change your mood. If you’re feeling blasé and angry, just put on your “I love jesus” cap and you’ll look way better.
Anthony: At Chez Jack, wearing a hat can be a way to let go of everyday life. It’s like a mask or a costume, an object that helps each person decide who he or she really wants to be at that precise moment.
Aude: The fear that our ideas will escape.
LF: What is the difference between a regular object and a Chez Jack object?
Jonathan: Chez Jack objects are just everyday life objects that have a special meaning to us because of the different experiences we’ve had with them. We share a collective memory around these objects, because at one point or another, these objects were part of a story linked to our imagination – a place we go from time to time.
Anthony: They’re loaded with shared recollections, which make them of inestimable worth. They speak to us, remind us of things, and inspire us…
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Come discover the universe of Chez Jack, at its moment of exposure.
Special opening and installation Friday June 4th, 2010, from 6-10pm.
Chez Jack at Centre Culturel Auguste Dobel
9 rue Philidor
75020 Paris
Métro: Maraîchers
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* Van for the French police force.
