Thierry Geoffroy
Encyclopedia
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Conceptual
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
artist specialized in format art
Format art
An art format is constituted on the basis of a formula: the format contains a number of invariable elements that create the framework for the participants and factors that change every time the art format is mounted. Besides the variables within the structure of the art format, the relation between...
.
Biography
Thierry Geoffroy has worked with format artFormat art
An art format is constituted on the basis of a formula: the format contains a number of invariable elements that create the framework for the participants and factors that change every time the art format is mounted. Besides the variables within the structure of the art format, the relation between...
since 1989 when he wrote a manifest
Manifest
Manifest has different meanings. It may refer to the following:Arts* Manifest , the Melbourne Anime FestivalBusiness* Manifest Limited, the UK marketing companyComputing...
on 5 types of moving exhibitions(Manifeste – Les differents Types de moving Exhibitions). Since then he has worked on several other formats, his most famous being Emergency Room
Emergency Room (art)
Emergency Room is an art format by Thierry Geoffroy for artists with desire to engage in the current debate. It is an exhibition space where artists are invited to contribute with art works that are produced in the very present and respond to ongoing social issues.In order to exhibit, an artist has...
, which has toured internationally and has been shown at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
MoMA PS1 is one of the largest and oldest institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art. It is located in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
The format art
Format art
An art format is constituted on the basis of a formula: the format contains a number of invariable elements that create the framework for the participants and factors that change every time the art format is mounted. Besides the variables within the structure of the art format, the relation between...
of Thierry Geoffroy is created to be actualized in multiple locations, every time adding new knowledge to the format. The method is inspired by the TV program format
TV program format
A TV format describes the overall concept, premise and branding of a copyrighted television program.The format is licensed by TV networks, so that they may produce a version of the show tailored to their nationality and audience. Formats are a major part of the international television market...
: Art institutions wanting to use an art format must purchase a license and agree to use the original title, the architectural concept and the methods. As in TV vast documentation is always created with video and photo material as central elements.
Thierry Geoffroy's formats always involve many participants - often several hundreds - and is occupied with social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
: conflicts, collaboration, etc.
Besides a long and norm-challenging, often humouristic, unusual and immense art production Thierry Geoffroy has also made several productions for Danish national television DR2
DR2
DR2 is a Danish television station. It is part of Danmarks Radio, the public service broadcasting company of Denmark.It was launched in 1996 as a satellite-/cable-only channel. This was highly controversial at the time, as it was considered close to a breach of public service principles that the...
. Among these the programs "Capitain" (1999), ”Immigranten” (2001), “Photographe“ (2002) and "Protest Underwear" (2005). The choice of media is frequently changing and is usually concerned with the contemporary. News papers, radio, fashion industry, telephones, internet domains
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
, parties, music festivals, performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
, myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
are among the elements of the artists crossmedia
Crossmedia
Cross Media is a media property, service, story or experience distributed across media platforms using a variety of media forms...
praxis.
Central to the philosophy of Thierry Geoffroy seems to be the concern that contemporary artists have an obligation to confront current thematics – “emergencies”. This is especially evident in Emergency Room
Emergency Room (art)
Emergency Room is an art format by Thierry Geoffroy for artists with desire to engage in the current debate. It is an exhibition space where artists are invited to contribute with art works that are produced in the very present and respond to ongoing social issues.In order to exhibit, an artist has...
and the Awareness Muscle
Awareness Muscle
thumb|Awareness Muscle by Thierry Geoffroy in Blackwood Gallery, TorontoAwareness Muscle is an art format by Thierry Geoffroy.The art format Awareness Muscle has been activated in Copenhagen and the Blackwood Gallery, Toronto....
format which goal is to train the collective “muscle of awareness”.
Parallel to the artists conceptual work with format art
Format art
An art format is constituted on the basis of a formula: the format contains a number of invariable elements that create the framework for the participants and factors that change every time the art format is mounted. Besides the variables within the structure of the art format, the relation between...
he has also worked with subjects such as immigration, multiculturalism, colonialism, tourism, hypocrisy and the role of the artist.
In 2010 Geoffroy was an artist of Manifesta 8, Murcia, Spain.
Manifests
- Manifeste Moving Exhibition, Katalog, Brandts Klædefabrik, Odense, Denmark, 1989
- Sport Art Manifeste, Katalog, Brandts Klædefabrik, Odense, Denmark, 1991
- Sport Art Manifeste, Bildtidningen(S), 1991
- Colour Manifeste, Zoom,(F), März 1991
- Le conclusionisme, L‘Alliance (BKK) (1992)
- In dialogue with Northern Africa, ManifestaManifestaManifesta, the , is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale, described in 2010 by the as "stunning in its scope and uncompromisingly experimental in its approach".-Manifesta History:...
8, Murcia 2010
Publications
- Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel. The Cultural Ministry Book Award 1995, Rhodos Edition, Copenhagen, Denmark 1995.
- Colonel,Strategies d´existence, Edition Rhodos, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1996.
- Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel, Tourists in Thailand, Edition Rhodos, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1997.
- Colonel - Avoir l’air, med tekster af Line Rosenvinge og Rune Gade, NIFCA (Hrsg.), Helsinki 2002.