Julien Langendorff
Posted: February 4th, 2015 | Author: Adeline Wessang | Filed under: interviews | Tags: collage, Julien Langendorff, Proust questionnaire | No Comments »
Sleepwalking Free (i am the light), collage, acrylic on paper (2014)
The questionnaire you are about to read was quite some achievement: it took nearly six months to release, with many emails and text messages. For two individuals living in the same city, one can say that we took our time to meet.
Julien Langendorff is a French artist who is doing mainly collage. He works with vintage magazines and books he collects at the Salvation Army, thrift shops and occasionally in the street.
The door opens on a friendly face that night when I arrived at his home studio. Some song is playing from the laptop (‘music is very important to me’ he later told me) and the floor is covered with books, magazines and torn papers.
– ‘Is smoking OK?’
– ‘Of course.‘
We spent a few hours discussing art galleries, New York, Kenneth Anger, rock music… He lived in NY on several occasions, confessing that he sometimes misses its typical exuberant energy. He has some friends there too, such as Sonic Youth’s former frontman Thurston Moore for whom Julien directed a music video last year.
We also share the same ‘heroes’ in music or movies and agree to say that the role they play in shaping someone psyche is so important that it is worth all the degrees or studies in the world.
He is currently having a solo show at agnès b.’s librairie gallery in Hong Kong, Tiptoe Through The Other Side, on view until February 28.
Lookin For The Magic, collage, acrylic on paper (2014)
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
To be a piece of dust and just float.
What is your greatest fear?
Going to jail.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Way too neurotic.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
This certain mix of nastiness and stupidity.
Which living person do you most admire?
Alejandro Jodorowsky.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Taking cabs at night when i’m sleepless just to be driven around the city.
What is your current state of mind?
Confused.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Respectability.
On what occasion do you lie?
I’m a very bad liar so i usually try to avoid lies, but i can make up some excuses when i don’t feel like meeting someone and want to stay on my own – my apologies to people i know who might read this.. (though i want to add i’m actually often busy or ill)
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I don’t like most of my facial features.
Kiss #1 (Drink The Silver, Drink The Gold), collage on paper (2014)
Which living person do you most despise?
It would have to be someone i know personally and there are several, so i won’t give them the honor to be named here.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
I like loyal, free-spirited men with a heart of gold and a solid sense of humour.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
I like tough and intelligent women with natural elegancy and one little crooked tooth.
The Loneliest Soul, collage, acrylic on paper (2014)
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
« The problem is, .. » — « Thank you so much » – « A pack of Muratti light please » – « I’m sorry » – « Tomorrow would be better » –
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Every new woman I fall in love with.
When and where were you happiest?
I’m never happy.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I would like to come with something more spiritual, but right now i wish i was better at making a living.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My voice.
spread-een no-ledge (In The Land Of Teenage Christs), collage,acrylic on paper (2014)
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being still around.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A forest haunted by beautiful naked ghosts.
Where would you most like to live?
Anywhere but here.
What is your most treasured possession?
My notebooks and journals.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Losing complete touch with reality.
What is your favorite occupation?
Smoking cigarettes doing nothing. I can be a very contemplative person.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Making things complicated.
Tiptoe Through The Other Side, collage on paper (2014)
What do you most value in your friends?
Caring, loyal and funny friends.
Who are your favorite writers?
William Blake. Aleister Crowley. Edgar Allan Poe. Charles Bukowski. Albert Camus.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Lord Byron’s Manfred.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
My knowledge in history is too little to answer this.
Who are your heroes in real life?
John Cassavetes. William Burroughs. John Waterhouse. Matteah Baim. Patti Smith. Sylvia Plath. Gram Parsons. Jana Hunter.
What are your favorite names?
Rozz. Lux. Uma. Zuma. Eve. Matteah. Jana.
What is it that you most dislike?
Animal exploitation.
What is your greatest regret?
I only have one regret and it’s too personal to share.
How would you like to die?
In my sleep while dreaming about sex.
What is your motto?
I don’t have any.
Spectral Astral Unspo-oken Trial ,collage, acrylic, glitter on paper (2012)
