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CLAUDE RUTAULT | WHERE LIFE CYCLING MEANS FOLLOWING THE RULES

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CLAUDE RUTAULT “UNTITLED” 2020. FLAUNT AS CHARGE-TAKER; INTERPRETATION BY CREATIVE DIRECTOR JIM J TURNER OF RUTAULT’S “DE-FINITION/METHOD” FROM 1994. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN GALLERY. PHOTO: JIM J TURNER. ![CLAUDE RUTAULT “UNTITLED” 2020. FLAUNT AS CHARGE-TAKER; INTERPRETATION BY CREATIVE DIRECTOR JIM J TURNER OF RUTAULT’S “DE-FINITION/METHOD” FROM 1994. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN GALLERY. PHOTO: JIM J TURNER.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bd71bf8d69c72a8a7949_Flaunt%2BMag%2B-%2BClaude%2BRutault%2B-%2B7.jpeg) CLAUDE RUTAULT “UNTITLED” 2020. FLAUNT AS CHARGE-TAKER; INTERPRETATION BY CREATIVE DIRECTOR JIM J TURNER OF RUTAULT’S “DE-FINITION/METHOD” FROM 1994. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN GALLERY. PHOTO: JIM J TURNER. Since the ‘70s, French conceptual artist Claude Rutault’s “de-finition/methods” have rewritten the narrative of artist as sole architect and generator, alternatively placing agency on galleries, collectors, and institutions as “charge-takers”—the people who actualize the work from a set of criteria decreed by Rutault, interpreted subjectively. Thus, the artist’s “de-finition/methods” operate as eternal works-in-progress, eschewing a normal work’s lifecycle, and extracting ideas of accountability, relativity, and temporality. “I write paintings,” Rutault says. While he has exhibited handily across the pond at hallowed institutions like Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay, MAMCO Genéve, and multiple iterations of Documenta, Rutault’s output in the States has been historically narrower, which makes it all the more momentous that this year, he will oversee his inaugural West Coast solo exhibition at MOCA’s The Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. For this edition’s site-specific art cover, Rutault has kindly decreed his “de-finition/method’ from 1994: small rectangular, round, oval, or square canvases, incompletely framed by geometric shapes of our choosing, and painted the same color (our choosing: a rich springtime marigold!) as the wall on which they are hung. It is _Flaunt_ who is the charge-taker, proud to manifest our 170th cover as birthed from our collective imaginations. Rise, Phoenix! Rise, Rutault! _Allons-y!_  **I know that you are resurrecting a number of site-specific works from the 1990s. Can you speak about how these historic works will be presented in Los Angeles?**  This is an exciting moment for me to reassess some of my historic pieces. On the first floor of the exhibition, I will present works from the 1970s through the 1990s , which includes “de-finition/method: puppets,” (1994) from the Collection Billarant in Paris.  **Your work often plays with space and language. In particular, this new body of work draws inspiration from the natural world. Can you talk more about this connection in your work?**  Pacific Design Center is so expansive that it would be a missed opportunity to present only wall works. Instead, it was a priority to activate the entirety of the space. For this show, I was inspired by nature to create a new work entitled “seasoned painting.” The underlying idea is to present paintings without a distinct subject matter. The work comprises hundreds of canvases, which are of all different shapes, sizes, and painted in a variety of hues, all dispersed across the exhibition space. Each canvas echoes the formal role of the paint stroke. Your eye can either linger on a single point of color, or instead, the entirety of the garden. In particular, the colors reminded me of Monet’s _Water Lilies_.  CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD: “MONOCHROMES” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. EXHIBITION VIEW OF “PICASSO/RUTAULT. GRAND ÉCART” AT MUSÉE PICASSO, PARIS, 2018. © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOT… ![CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD: “MONOCHROMES” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. EXHIBITION VIEW OF “PICASSO/RUTAULT. GRAND ÉCART” AT MUSÉE PICASSO, PARIS, 2018. © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOT…](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bd71bf8d69c72a8a7946_Flaunt%2BMag%2B-%2BClaude%2BRutault%2B-%2B2.jpeg) CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD: “MONOCHROMES” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. EXHIBITION VIEW OF “PICASSO/RUTAULT. GRAND ÉCART” AT MUSÉE PICASSO, PARIS, 2018. © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOTO: CLAIRE DORN. **What place does painting have in an increasingly digitized world?**  I decided long ago to pursue only painting. Many have chosen to follow a less rigorous path. When I teach painters, I notice that my students try many different paths without clear and definitive guiding principles. In the end, I see many who expand their practice into other disciplines.  **Do you consider yourself a conceptual artist or a painter?**  At the end of the day, I am a painter in the traditional sense of the word. However, my work also invents situations where engagement is possible, rather than simply presenting a pictorial plane across space. My work has never fit into a neat category or definition. In a way, it is always in discussion with art history. I began my current practice of “de-finition/method” in 1973 and it is my life’s work to continue evolving and refining this line of inquiry.  CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD “OBSTACLES AND DEFENSES, THEME 53 OF ‘FROM STACK TO STACK” 1989-1990. PAINT ONE CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. ![CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD “OBSTACLES AND DEFENSES, THEME 53 OF ‘FROM STACK TO STACK” 1989-1990. PAINT ONE CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bd71bf8d69c72a8a7943_Flaunt%2BMag%2B-%2BClaude%2BRutault%2B-%2B6.jpeg) CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD “OBSTACLES AND DEFENSES, THEME 53 OF ‘FROM STACK TO STACK” 1989-1990. PAINT ONE CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. **Is there a relationship between eras/zeitgeists and the individuals who actualize the de-finition/methods? Or do you find there is collective constant in the way individuals approach your de-finition/methods?**  Today, the concept of the charge-taker is much more accepted than it was in 1973. In the beginning, my work was sought out for its aesthetic value, first and foremost. During that time, the charge was secondary, although still respected as a rigorous part of my practice. Today, I would say the focus has shifted and the notion of the charge is an integral part of the work.  **What advice would you impart to fledgling artists?**  It is difficult to impart advice without knowing someone. However, one constant is the importance of learning, specifically about the history of art. This should take time, of course. Finally, and perhaps more importantly, is patience. Young artists should take their time and become accustomed to patience. Things will never happen as quickly as they wish, so it’s best to develop a self-sustaining rhythm. Rigorously define your practice and never forget that work must always come first. CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD: “MONOCHROMES” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. EXHIBITION VIEW OF “PICASSO/RUTAULT. GRAND ÉCART” AT MUSÉE PICASSO, PARIS, 2018. © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOT… ![CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD: “MONOCHROMES” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. EXHIBITION VIEW OF “PICASSO/RUTAULT. GRAND ÉCART” AT MUSÉE PICASSO, PARIS, 2018. © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOT…](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bd71bf8d69c72a8a794d_Flaunt%2BMag%2B-%2BClaude%2BRutault%2B-%2B3.jpeg) CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD: “MONOCHROMES” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. EXHIBITION VIEW OF “PICASSO/RUTAULT. GRAND ÉCART” AT MUSÉE PICASSO, PARIS, 2018. © COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOTO: CLAIRE DORN **Which work from your historical output do you feel solicited the most sadness? How about the greatest calm?** It is not my role to assign either calm or sadness to my work, but instead the role of whoever must live with the work. **What is your favorite time of day to work, and why?** I get up to take care of my pets and read in the stillness of the early morning. CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD “PUPPETS” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. © COLLECTION BILLARANT, PARIS; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOTO: ANTOINE CADOT ![CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD “PUPPETS” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. © COLLECTION BILLARANT, PARIS; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOTO: ANTOINE CADOT](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472bd71bf8d69c72a8a793d_Flaunt%2BMag%2B-%2BClaude%2BRutault%2B-%2B5.jpeg) CLAUDE RUTAULT. DE-FINITION/METHOD “PUPPETS” 1994. PAINT ON CANVAS. VARIABLE DIMENSIONS ACCORDING TO THE ACTUALIZATION. © COLLECTION BILLARANT, PARIS; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN. PHOTO: ANTOINE CADOT **West Coast Conceptual art has long gone hand-in-hand with activism and message-making; take the environmentalism from Joe Hawley, Mel Henderson and Alfred Young, or the Latino art collective Asco, which targeted racism through its performances. As you prepare for your show at the Pacific Design Center, how would you hope viewers to absorb your approach to conceptualism?**  It’s always difficult to speak to an experience that is not your own. But there’s an inherent reluctance in my work, as it is temporal and thus evolves. Eventually, many of my works need to be repainted or replaced by bigger or smaller canvases. After work leaves my care, it is no longer my business what happens to it. I don’t see myself as a political artist, necessarily. However, the painting is always dictated by external circumstances and is never truly completed. I see this as a profound act. **Is this the first time you have made a magazine the “charge-taker?” Do you have any stories about other unorthodox charge-takers?** Indeed, it is the first time! I wish I had more experimental charge-takers! There are so many possibilities and avenues of exploration, and people rarely realize this. I would love for someone to contradict my work because, in that way, it would create a new dimension to the work.