Djan Silveberg
Encyclopedia
Djan Silveberg is a French
visual artist, born 1969 in Chambery
(France
).
He uses various forms of artistic expressions in a playful and humoristic approach for his works, mixed with an underlying recurring ‘narrative
poetry
’.
He lives and works in France
and Luxembourg
.
(in Lyon
and Grenoble
, with notably Jean-Marie Pirot-Arcabas
), England
(Canterbury
) and Italy
(Rome
), Djan Silveberg started his artistic career by participating in a first photography
exhibition on Ireland
in 1992. Then in 1994 with ‘Quelques Vers de Rome – MXMXCIV’ he started to combine pictures (black-and-white photos) and words (poetry
), laying down the bases of his ‘narrative poetry’ approach. In 1995 and 1996, ‘Quelques Vers de Rome – MXMXCIV’ was presented as a personal exhibition
in La Ravoire
, Chambery
, La Motte Servolex and finally in Lyon
during the G7 Summit. ‘Quelques Vers de Rome – MXMXCIV’ was published by Odes & Chimeres editions in 1997.
Between 1996 and 2001 Djan Silveberg developed his artistic approach by painting
under the pseudonym of Violette de Villard-Valmar, with notably the ‘cow’ series, while pursuing his works on pictures and words as Djan Silveberg. The two major pieces of work of that time are ‘The Sigmae Folio’ with drawings and poems in English, and ‘Chants d’Amour et de Liberté’ from which several extracts were published in the Art & Poesie revue
.
In 2009, Djan Silveberg gave a new impulse to his artistic career by using new ways of expression such as sculpting, with various projects developed over the years:
Two main recurring elements build up the artistic work of Djan Silveberg through the various forms of expressions he uses:
The ‘narrative poetry’, which comes from the literary world, is the expression of feelings through his works that can be tracked down as a kind of story-telling. The critical point of view of meaning and values. The quest for oneself
and the other. This narrative poetry not only comes from words but also images and forms.
A discrete, sometimes cutting or dark kind of humour
is the second aspect of Djan Silveberg’s artistic approach. Some of his works also play on words or symbols, with historical or literary references, even sometimes messages to decipher
. He likes to generate amusing or rejection
reactions, especially to trigger the will to come aboard his world.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
visual artist, born 1969 in Chambery
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
).
He uses various forms of artistic expressions in a playful and humoristic approach for his works, mixed with an underlying recurring ‘narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
’.
He lives and works in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
Biography
After his studies in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, with notably Jean-Marie Pirot-Arcabas
Arcabas
Jean-Marie Pirot known as Arcabas, a name given by his pupils, is a French contemporary sacred artist.He studied in the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts of Paris and taught in the École des Beaux-Arts of Grenoble...
), England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
) and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
), Djan Silveberg started his artistic career by participating in a first photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
exhibition on Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1992. Then in 1994 with ‘Quelques Vers de Rome – MXMXCIV’ he started to combine pictures (black-and-white photos) and words (poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
), laying down the bases of his ‘narrative poetry’ approach. In 1995 and 1996, ‘Quelques Vers de Rome – MXMXCIV’ was presented as a personal exhibition
Exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
in La Ravoire
La Ravoire
La Ravoire is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-External links:*...
, Chambery
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, La Motte Servolex and finally in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
during the G7 Summit. ‘Quelques Vers de Rome – MXMXCIV’ was published by Odes & Chimeres editions in 1997.
Between 1996 and 2001 Djan Silveberg developed his artistic approach by painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
under the pseudonym of Violette de Villard-Valmar, with notably the ‘cow’ series, while pursuing his works on pictures and words as Djan Silveberg. The two major pieces of work of that time are ‘The Sigmae Folio’ with drawings and poems in English, and ‘Chants d’Amour et de Liberté’ from which several extracts were published in the Art & Poesie revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
.
In 2009, Djan Silveberg gave a new impulse to his artistic career by using new ways of expression such as sculpting, with various projects developed over the years:
- Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (latinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
phrase meaning ‘Thus passes the glory of the world’) belongs to the VanitasVanitasIn the arts, vanitas is a type of symbolic work of art especially associated with Northern European still life painting in Flanders and the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, though also common in other places and periods. The word is Latin, meaning "emptiness" and loosely translated...
tradition. Reflection on the vanity of life and glory of famous people who became living myths while alive. - Willy Rabbit’s Adventures in Cityland, parodying Alice in Wonderland, tells the story of an orange rabbit called Willy who, after having fallen down a hole while running after a small girl, discovers the cities and buildings created by men. Series of in situIn situIn situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
photos taken in big cities and famous sites with the rabbit character, imitating the traditional touristic views but taken from 15 centimeters off the ground. - Impressions consists of big size paint impressions on canvas of street furnitures (e.g. public benches).
- Hypermodern Times : Under this title taken from sociologists, Djan Silveberg develops humorous and critical works that reflect the beginning of 21st century, with all its excesses and society’s specificities.
Characteristics of his work
Playful, humour and narrative poetryTwo main recurring elements build up the artistic work of Djan Silveberg through the various forms of expressions he uses:
The ‘narrative poetry’, which comes from the literary world, is the expression of feelings through his works that can be tracked down as a kind of story-telling. The critical point of view of meaning and values. The quest for oneself
Oneself
Oneself is an American hip hop artist based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A former member of the legendary Rusty Ps, began his career in 1995.Oneself was influenced by jazz, reggae, funk and punk rock, he says he has gathered inspiration from each genre and incorporates it into his music...
and the other. This narrative poetry not only comes from words but also images and forms.
A discrete, sometimes cutting or dark kind of humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
is the second aspect of Djan Silveberg’s artistic approach. Some of his works also play on words or symbols, with historical or literary references, even sometimes messages to decipher
DECIPHER
DECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of array comparative genomic hybridization data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities, including microdeletions and duplications, from over 6000 patients and maps them to the human genome using the Ensembl...
. He likes to generate amusing or rejection
Rejection
The word "rejection" was first used in 1415. The original meaning was "to throw" or "to throw back".Rejection may mean:* Social rejection, in psychology, an interpersonal situation that occurs when a person or group of people exclude an individual from a social relationship* Transplant rejection,...
reactions, especially to trigger the will to come aboard his world.