Jacques Benoit (born 22 June 1955) is a French painter.Assumpção, Maurício. The Man who painted Niemeyer. Valor Econômico Newspaper, Brazil, 27 April 2012.View on line
Biography Born in Algiers in the French Algeria, Jacques Benoit left for France at the age of seven, after the Algerian independence war. He attended high school at Orléans and Nice, eventually settling in Paris, where he studied Graphic Arts at the Met de Penninghen Art SchoolESAG Met de Penninghen Paris Art School View on line in the early 1970s.
As a young professional, Benoit worked in advertising agencies before taking the position of Creative DirectorEuro Disney. French newspaper Les Echos, n° 16283, December 9th 1992, p 54. View on line at Euro Disney, between 1991 and 1995; followed by another two-year stint as Director of Creative at the Futuroscope Park, between 2000 and 2002.
The new century marked a turning point in Benoit's life, as the painter abandoned his career in advertising to commit himself full-time to the painting activities he had started in the mid-1990s.
Style Since the late 1990s, Benoit's work has been mostly inspired by Modern Architecture, including its Brazilian branch (inaugurated by the architect Lúcio Costa, and developed by his apprentice Oscar Niemeyer).
Pop Music is another strong influence on Benoit's paintings, which encompass figurative, narrative and symbolic trends. As primary influence, the painter quotes the music of Joni Mitchell. But also the music of Elton John, Rickie Lee Jones, Kate Bush, or Patti Smith,(« Horsesvision » : hommage vibrant à l’album Horses de Patti Smith|Published November 9th, 2015 at 6:42 View on line] followed by the jazz music of Miles Davis, Shirley Horn and the Jazz Fusion composer Pat Metheny.
Occasionally Benoit's paintings can also make reference to Stanley Kubrick’s and Alfred Hitchcock’s films.
Influences
The music of Elton John In 1973 Elton John commissioned Jacques Benoit a series of artworks to be used in the promotional material for John's 1974 US & World Tour (tour book,Archives (copyright Jacques Benoit) View on line T-shirtsArchives (copyright Jacques Benoit) View on line and postersArchives (copyright Jacques Benoit) View on line ).
Thirty years later, Benoit contributed to the Elton John AIDS Foundation by offering the singer a paintingPainting The Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes (Jacques Benoit's Archives) View on line especially made for him, inspired by his composition Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes from his 2001 album Songs from the West Coast.
The music of Joni Mitchell PassionateInfluence of Joni Mitchell's poems and music (Jacques Benoit's archives) View on line Assumpção, Maurício. The Man who painted Niemeyer. Valor Econômico Newspaper, Brazil, April 27th, 2012 View on line about the music of the Canadian composer and singer Joni Mitchell, Benoit produced, between 1977 and 1989, a series of works inspired by a selection of fifty poems drawn from her albums from Song to a Seagull (1968) through Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm (1988).
In the 1980s, Benoit and Mitchell met twiceJoni Mitchell's Official Site http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2799&from=search to discuss his works. On April 30, 1983, the painter presented a first selectionFirst selection of paintings (Jacques Benoit's Archives) View on line of his works to Mitchell during her series of concertsJoni Mitchell's 1983 Wild Things World Tour (Joni Mitchell's Archives) View on line in Paris at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Casino de Paris (Joni Mitchell World Tour, Wild Things Tour/1983).
Encouraged by this meeting, Benoit pursued his work, planning to publish a book with Mitchell's lyrics alongside his paintings. In 1987 the painter sent the book's mockupBook mock up (Jacques Benoit's archives) View on line to Box in Wiltshire, England, where Mitchell was then recording her new album Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios.
A second meeting took place in the Real World studio, where Benoit presented Mitchell with a series of new paintings. Altogether, Benoit's production comprises sixtyWorks inspired by Joni Mitchell's œuvre View on line gouaches, engravings (as monotype linocut prints), oil and large-format paintings on paper based on Mitchell’s texts. According to Benoit, it was this Joni Mitchell phase that led him to embrace his career as a professional painter.
The World Trade Center In 2002 Benoit saw on the French TV channel France 3 the 9/11 documentary film about the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York. The film was directed by the then fireman James Hanlon and the French-American filmmakers Jules and Gédéon Naudet.
In the film, James Hanlon suggested an identical reconstruction of the destroyed towers, while the Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani advocated the construction of a 9/11 memorial alongside a brand new development.
Those opposing views inspired Benoit's own visionWorld Trade Center paintings (Jacques Benoit's archives) View on line of the reconstructed towers, exactly as they were, with a memorial inserted into its original design.
In agreement with Gédéon Naudet, Benoit donated a triptych of his proposalWorld Trade Center Tryptych (Jacques Benoit's archives) View on line to James Hanlon at the New York City Fire Department in Manhattan.
The architecture of Oscar Niemeyer
Exhibition: Brasilia. Flesh and Soul (1997, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014) In 1997, Benoit exhibited in Paris his first series of paintings inspired by the city of Brasilia (a place the painter visited for the first time in 1994). The paintings were followed by a new series of works, under the title Brasilia. Flesh and Soul, exhibited in art galleries and at the Maison du Brésil in Paris in 2005,Maison du Brésil 2005 View on line 2007Maison du Brésil 2007 View on line and 2010.Maison du Brésil 2005 View on line "Brasilia. Flesh and Soul" was also presented during the summer of 2014, in the French city of Châlons-en-Champagne,French newspaper "L'Union-L'Ardennais" - Jacques Benoit's exhibition View on lineTranslation of "L'Union-L'Ardennais" article - Jacques Benoit's archives View on line and inaugurated by former State Secretary and current Deputy and Mayor of Châlons, Benoist Apparu.
Brasilia. Travel towards Dawn (2004) In 2003, the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer received Jacques Benoit's proposal for a documentary film about the creation of Brasilia entitled Brasilia. Travel towards Dawn. The architect agreed to meet the artist in 2004Assumpção, Maurício. The Man who painted Niemeyer. Valor Econômico Newspaper, Brazil, 27 April 2012.View on line Meeting Oscar Niemeyer View on line in Rio de Janeiro for a filmed interview, produced and directed by Benoit.
After the interview, Benoit offered the architect a paintingPainting "Brasilia Airport" - Jacques Benoit's archives View on line representing his 1960's project for the Brasília International Airport. Niemeyer's modern airport had never been built"Architect". The Magazine of the American Institute of Architects View on line due to divergences with the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil between 1964 and 1985. As a gesture of courtesy, Oscar Niemeyer offered the painter his sketches made during the interview.
Back in France, the painter made a 13-minute trailerPrologue of Brasilia. Travel towards Dawn View on line out of the three-hour-long rushes he produced in Brazil. In the following years, Benoit met several French production companies who showed interest for the film. The project, however, never reached production stage due to lack of funding.
Exhibition: Three Traces of Oscar (2006) In 2005, the director of the Espace Niemeyer cultural center at the French Communist Party Headquarters, Gérard Fournier,Gérard Fournier. Director of Espace Niemeyer in Paris. French radio station France Bleu View on line visited the Brasilia. Flesh and Soul exhibition at Maison du Brésil. He decided to host Benoit's next exhibition, Three Traces Oscar, in the party's headquarters, designed by Niemeyer himself.
This project involved the creation of a new series of paintings inspired by the three buildings projected by Oscar Niemeyer in the Paris metropolitan area: the headquarters of the French Communist Party in the Place du Colonel Fabien, the headquarters of the Bourse du Travail in Bobigny and the headquarters of the daily L'Humanité in Saint-Denis.
The Three Traces of OscarNewspaper Espaces Latinos, n° 239, January–February 2007 View on line Three Traces of Oscar View on line exhibition opened at the Espace NiemeyerDe l'Art à l'Œuvre View on line in November 2006, closing in March 2007.Radio France International View on lineBrasilBrésil View on line It consisted of 28 large format canvases and a series of monotype linocut prints.Paintings of Three Traces of Oscar View on line Among these works, A Painter’s Dream, a four-piece polyptych that imagined an allegorical meeting between Oscar Niemeyer, Stanley Kubrick and Kate Bush, as well as the painting Clouds, another allegorical meeting, this time bringing Oscar Niemeyer and Joni Mitchell together.
Exhibition: Château d’Ars (2009) In 2009, the mayor of the city of La Chatre in the French region of Indre, Nicolas Forissier, invited Jacques Benoit to exhibit at the Château d'Ars's art galleries for a two-month event that combined different themes exploited by his work - with an emphasis on the canvas that paid tribute to Oscar Niemeyer's architecture.
The exhibition,Château d'Ars exhibition. Newspaper La Nouvelle République (Jacques Benoit's archives) View on line including some samples of a series dedicated to Los Angeles and two canvases paying tribute to George Sand, was eventually called Oscar, Stanley, Joni, Rickie Lee, George, Kate et autres Corps et Âmes hantant les lieux du Monde (literally, Oscar, Stanley, Joni, Rickie Lee, George, Kate and others Bodies & Souls haunting the World’s Places).
50th Anniversary of Brasilia (2010) In 2009 the commission for the 50th Anniversary of Brasilia selectedBrazilian Jubilee Official Commission's certificate of selection (Jacques Benoit's archives) View on line Benoit's works to be included in the official program to be held in the Brazilian capital in the following year. Benoit's exhibition, entitled Brasília. De Carne e Alma (Brasilia. Flesh and Soul)Brasilia. Flesh and Soul in AchaBrasilia View on lineBrasília. De Carne e Alma in Jornal de Brasília View on line and organized in the Rubem Valentim Gallery at the Renato Russo Cultural Center, contained 27 large format paintings on canvas and paper, as well as monotypes by different techniques.
Brasília (2011): At the request of Gérard Fournier, the 50th Anniversary of Brasilia exhibition was presented in Paris, at the Espace Niemeyer during two months in the spring of 2011.Journal Libération, 25 May 2011 View on line Ousecultiver.com, May 2011 View on lineL'Express Magazine, 13 June 2011 View on line
Brasilia. Half a Century of the Capital of Brazil (2013)