A collection in space and time

Marianne Lanavère, head of the International art and landscape centre, explains the characteristics of the Sculpture Forest – a collection with diverse origins, open to all, all year long – and its development.

« A sculpture park is not like a museum. The works of art are always outside. People can touch the sculptures; there are workshops for children, where the perception of art is quite different from in a museum.
There are different creations with very different statuses. Some belong to public collections, some are submissions from the National art centre, and the “Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain du Limousin” for example. But we also have pieces that belong to the art centre, the art centre association, and private collection submissions as well as submissions from artists.
Behind me is a piece by artist Koo Jeong . It is a skateable sculpture ordered by the Limousin Region and was commissioned by the state. Its special feature is the fact that it imitates the curves of Vassivière’s landscapes, its hills, curves and reverse curves. It is also buried underground, so the idea is for visitors to discover it gradually.
Now, after 30 years of public art on the island of Vassivière, the time has come to expand the collection, to go places that are « off-shore » as we call them, perhaps by placing works of art in other spots around the lake, and working on special pieces such as works made of plants or made with noise or even protocol art.
(Voix off) : The sculpture forest’s works of art are exposed outdoors and require regular maintenance by the art centre’s technical staff. Despite their work, after 30 years of existence, some of the art is timeworn and weatherworn. The art centre has now launched a sponsorship campaign to restore 5 of them.

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