In his art classes at the Mirail and in his personal artistic practices, Todd writes poetry on simple, almost banal objects from everyday life, which he then displays around the city. He shares with us some images of his installations with us and explains his intentions and methods through an artist statement.
Artist Statement
Ideally, I would like my work to be a physical manifestation of my soul.
And recently, I associate my soul with the strange voices I hear in my head once I’ve been able to block out the endless chatter of the world, and thus gain access to a certain spiritual tranquillity.
I do my best to preserve these moments of inspiration, these transcendent states, to capture a poetry uncontaminated by exterior forces.
I see words in themselves as absolutely pure in the sense that I am free to write what I want and when I want to.
Then I can use these written words and give them a new life (besides the words on a page), by reciting them…but also by finding interesting ways of presenting them visually.
While walking through the city, I choose objects that spark my interest. I love this step in the process because while searching for the objects, I make an effort to go out and interact with the world, observing small details on the streets and in everyday life.
What is more, I think these familiar objects highlight my rejection of pretentious and elitist ideas, or relationships to today’s art world, which often alienates the majority of the population because of its conceptual nature.
I refuse to crucify my art and my soul, by pretending that I see myself reflected in the works exhibited in galleries to correspond to today’s academic rules…
On the contrary, my source of inspiration comes from modern writers from cinema, music or literature (most recently Charles Bukowski)…These modern artists exercise my imagination and fill me with an incredible energy, give me the motivation to face a world where everything is truly possible.
Thus, one of the greatest implicit declarations in my work is the fact that the door is open for poets and writers in the visual art of the future!
If Céline[1] introduced oral literature, I consider myself as having introduced oral expression in visual art!
[1] Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961) is a French writer. He is considered one of the most important innovators of French literature in the 20th century, introducing a personal style that borrows from slang and which comes near to the immediate expression of emotions in spoken language.