Arcabas

Jean-Marie Pirot , internationally known under the name of artist of Arcabas , was born in 1926. This artist isérois is one of the last representatives of the Sacred art contemporary in France.

Biography

Arcabas was born in 1926 with Trémery in the Moselle. Formed to the 3Ecole Nationale Sup3erieure of the fine arts of Paris, it initially turned to teaching to the École of the Art schools of Grenoble; it is with its students that it owes its nickname. Starting from 1953, it is made known through a monumental work carried out in several stages during more than 30 years: the whole of sacred art of the church Saint-Hugues-of-Chartreuse to St-Pierre-with-Chartreuse in the solid mass of the same name. The church St Hugues became departmental museum in October 1984, at the time of the donation of this work by the artist at the department of Isere.

He is Full professor, foreman of painting at the School of Beautiful arts of Grenoble of 1950 with 1969. Then, of 1969 with 1972, he is “artist invited” by the National council of arts of the Canada, and full professor at the university of Ottawa, where he creates and directs “the experimental collective workshop”. Of return in France, it founds a workshop of visual arts “Praise of the Hand” at the university of social sciences of Grenoble.

It received since orders of the French government, local government agencies or religious communities.

Let us quote among the most recent achievements, the liturgical furniture of the vault where is buried Robert Schuman in Scy Chazelles in the Moselle. It is about the most important work carried out by the artist in his department of origin. Not very known the general public, the artist remains however represented in various private or public collections in France (in the Rhone-Alps and with Saint Malo) like with Frankfurt, Berlin, Ottawa, Panama, with the Japan, the Mexico and the the United States.

The artist lives and works today with Saint-Pierre-of-Chartreuse, in Isere.

Characteristics of work

Arcabas exerted various forms of plastic expression such as the Gravure, the Sculpture, the Vitrail, the Tapisserie, the Verrerie, the cabinet work and the mosaic . It also created decorations and costumes of Théâtre. The Peinture remains however its privileged means of expression.

Its work, which takes as a starting point the Parabole S and accounts of the Bible, often arises in a linear and narrative way: generally in the form of Fresco S, of cycles of tables and Polyptyque S supplemented by Prédelle S. It is the case of its polyptic the childhood of Christ (eleven panels with oil carried out between 1995 and 1997) or Passion/Résurrection . It should be noted that Arcabas generally reintroduces a share of Profane in the treatment of crowned subjects: elements and figures of the current daily life, allusions to topics of topicality or a universality which largely exceeds the biblical executives.

The use of the Couleur must also be noticed: the fabrics of the artist are characterized by their intense Chromatisme, and by the application of gold sheets, which make of its work a true work of goldsmithery.

Symbolic system used

The Symbole S are omnipresent in the work of the painter, until composing exclusively certain small tables, which confers an abstract dimension to them. Among the symbols used, we can evoke a small squat cross as the sign +, generally realized using the gold sheet. Thus, the cross becomes signs of life, of a great richness. On several occasions, the artist also uses a " x" reversed as for means the Union, the Communication between the sky and the ground, the divine one and the human one. (to be developed)

External bonds

Official site of the artist
departmental Museum of contemporary sacred art: for an outline of the church Saint-Hugues de Chartreuse.

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