The LIVES Centre is collaborating with the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne to organise an exhibition bringing together 7 authors of art brut. From 10 June to 27 November 2022, the works of these Swiss artists or artists who have lived in Switzerland will be exhibited in Lausanne. The creators of the exhibition LIVES. Art Brut and Life Journey have in common that they have produced all or most of their works at an advanced age. Following an upheaval in their lives, a change of social status or a change of location, they have taken the freedom to create, without any technical or theoretical knowledge. Their artistic practice bears witness to a daily and assiduous work that has been going on for several years for some and several decades for others. Paintings, photographs, writings, sculptures, assemblages and drawings reveal the singular aesthetic universes they have elaborated.
Five researchers from the LIVES Centre also shed light on these life paths and their artistic production. Tania Zittoun, psychologist at the University of Neuchâtel, questions the very activity of creation in a career. Michel Oris, demographer at the University of Geneva, analyses the links between the lives of the seven authors, born between 1882 and 1936. Marc Perrenoud, sociologist at the University of Lausanne, examines what defines an artist. Koorosh Massoudi, psychologist at the University of Lausanne, perceives avant-garde paths in artists. Finally, Dario Spini, a social psychologist at the University of Lausanne and director of the LIVES Centre, focuses on the life of Eugenio Santoro and his ability to transcend the difficulties that littered his career. All the contributions of the researchers can be found in the exhibition book "LIVES. Art Brut et Parcours de vie", published by Antipodes, on sale at the Museum.
The artists, all from the collection of the Musée de l'Art Brut, are Eugénie Nogarède (1882-1951), Gaston Teuscher (1903-1986), Anna Kahmann (1905-1995), Benjamin Bonjour (1917-2000), Hans Krüsi (1920-1995), Eugenio Santoro (1920-2006) and Madeleine Lanz (1936-2014). This partnership has made it possible to devise an exhibition project that takes into account the general context of their creative process and the social characteristics on which the notion of Art Brut is partly based.
Further information on the exhibition "LIVES. Art Brut and Life courses"
In the context of this exhibition, a free public lecture will be given by Michel Oris and Dario Spini on Sunday 2 October 2022 at 2pm. The event will be followed by a coffee break and a guided tour (fee payable). Registration on the Musée de l'Art Brut website.