Claude Rutault by Claude Rutault

c l au d e ru taul t

cl a u d e r u t a u lt

de-finition/method #2. “painted / non-painted / repainted (‘la place des vosges’, 1974) / depainted (‘les joueurs de boule’, 1969)” 1973/1977/1995 de-finition/method: the repainted is what connects the painted and the non-painted. there’s not much difference between the canvas painted the same color as the wall on which it’s hung and the papers, which can be any color except white if the wall is white and must be white if the wall is not. the painted: 1973; the non-painted: 1977. the repainted is the parenthetical element that confirms what was initiated in 1973, but it’s no rival for that which was gradually instigated between 1977 and 1987, the non-painted. the nonpainted marked a point of no return, but it is also the place and the moment where it all starts up again. if the painted and the non-painted have become the hazy memory of the previous, sacrificed painting, if the painted and the non-painted again find an historic justification for their position, for their presence - while misleading people by being hung on a wall - the non-painted cannot but fail, fail leaning against a wall or lying on the floor, in an interminable low tide. the nonpainted has become the eternal watchman and last bastion of the impossible return of the painting. a final opportunity emerged in 1995 at the same time as the repainted: the depainting of an earlier work, taking it back as far as possible to the nonpainted canvas. as far as possible because traces of the earlier work will always remain, and to such a degree that the piece will always still be a painting. by changing its mode of production, painting regains its foothold in the present moment. let me repeat: in order for painting to live, paintings must die. a stretched canvas primed white and leaned against a wall. a non-painted stretched canvas leaning against the wall to the right of the first one. a stretched canvas repainted the same color as the wall, hung right next to the preceding one. a stretched canvas, depainted, hung to the right of the repainted canvas.

claude rutault “la place des vosges” 1974

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claude rutault “les joueurs de boules” 1969

de-finition/method #4. “painted / repainted (‘la france défigurée’, 1969) / non-painted” 1973/1995/1977 de-finition/method: three canvases. the first is painted the same color as the wall, with one layer of paint. size: 100 x 100 cm (391/2 x 391/2 inches). a new canvas will be used for each actualization. the second is a painting by claude rutault, “la france dérigurée”, painted in 1969; it is painted over, the same color as the wall. the painting was originally 100 x 100 cm, but was damaged and reframed on a 100 x 97 cm frame. the third canvas is left non-painted and placed on the floor beside the first two. size: 100 x 100 cm.

claude rutault “la france défigurée” 1969

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de-finition/method #6. “painting / depainting (‘le monde’ 1971) / repainting (untitled 1962)” 1973-1977-2010 de-finition/method : three canvases, ideally of the same dimensions, are hung next to each other in a specific order. the first canvas is painted the same color as the wall. the second is scraped, i.e. the paint has been taken off to reveal the raw canvas. the last is repainted the same color as the wall. the actualization makes the three canvases into a single work. for each installation, the third canvas will be repainted the same color as the wall, and the first canvas will be a new canvas.

claude rutault “le monde” 1971

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claude rutault sans titre 1962

de-finition/method #490. “the test of painting” 1973-2010 de-finition/methode: a first canvas painted the same color as the wall on which it’s hung is kept as it is for as long as possible. it will be neither restored nor repainted. a second canvas, identical to the first, is hung a few centimeters away. this second canvas, following the rule of 1973, is painted the same color as the wall on which it’s hung, so, unlike the first canvas, it must be repainted every time the wall is painted a different color. this proposition contrasts two ways that painting has of responding to the passage of time: to do nothing, succumbing to age, or to take the passage of time into account by modifying itself when its context is modified: repainting.

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de-finition/method #500. “painting in the balance� 2010 de-finition/methode: a circular non-painted canvas leans against the wall, as vertically as possible. a big rectangular canvas, painted the same color as the wall, is balanced on top of the circular one. the lower edge of the rectangle must be perfectly horizontal. neither of the canvasses is attached to the wall.

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de-finition/method #55. “positive/negative 3” 1975 de-finition/method: a canvas stretched across standard-format stretchers and cut diagonally, creating two triangles. one triangle will be hung in the corner of a wall, and the other hung so that the hanging reproduces the original format. work/response to rodchenko’s diagonal, drawn in blue pencil in the catalogue of the “5 x 5 = 25” exhibition in moscow in 1921. actualization (selected) 1982 rue clavel, paris - for the catalogue of documenta 7, kassel, germany

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de-finition/method #102. “elements in a spiral” 1976 de-finition/method: a series of canvases - though other supports can also be used from time to time - are hung in a spiral. it’s an off-center spiral, and it uncoils until it touches the edge of the wall. all of its elements are painted the same color as the wall. although the number of supports is not pre-determined, the spiral that they create should be readable at a glance. the creation and installation of the spiral are the charge-taker’s responsibility, and he or she can change the work at will within the rules given above.

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