Today’s trip to the Fondation Bullukian was by far my favorite exploration of Lyonnaise artists thus far. More importantly, Jérémy Gobé’s explanation of his work and process provided a rich perspective into artists pushing the idea of innovation even in aspects/fields that we do not usually associate with artists. Starting with his method of beginning his art projects, he mentioned how his main tool was meetings and connecting with people. While this idea of being inspired by people does not seem like something new, Gobé used this as a way to learn from people he interacts with and uses the ideas he gained to push his work forward. Further, he mainly conducted meetings at factories, an unconventional place that I do not expect artists to look for inspiration in their artwork. Not only did he conduct meetings at these factories but Gobé put the workers he met at the forefront, in comparison to speaking with CEO’s or factory owners, so he can learn from those who personally handle various materials. This allowed for Gobé to actively learn about the medium he wants to explore alongside allowing the workers to become invested in collaborating with him to create a piece of art. I was inspired by Gobé’s willingness to learn about subjects that other artists don’t usually concern themselves with and his ability to pull people from different fields to find interest in art. Since art is such an overlooked field within our society, it is so valuable to do what Gobé does; attract others to bring their own specialties to the creation of art.

This approach Gobé uses is one that connects back to the ideology behind CHID and HCDE classes I have taken at UW. Where working in collaboration and/or alongside people of various fields can bring out many perspectives, ultimately creating an end product that inspires a larger audience and breaks boundaries for future projects. By using such approach, each individual will be able to look at other projects they work on through the perspective and lenses they have gathered from previous collaborations.

Gobé also touched on the aspect of artists bringing new ideas for creating new materials to the table. Specifically, he mentioned how his art installation at the Bullukian used a new material that he created alongside other professionals in the material sciences industry. By doing so he was able to create a new ecologically centered material that might be possible to use for other infrastructure. Since factories do not want to test with new ideas as they are afraid it will not create revenue for them, it was eye-opening to learn that artists are the cause of such innovations. This concept pushed me to consider how artists can truly innovate, not only for art but the creation of new ideas and inventions that one does not think an artist can do. As a society, we have placed artists in such a small box that we do not believe they could truly make a difference/impact for others or the world around us. While artists might be seen as radical individuals who create crazy works of art, sometimes these crazy ideas can help shape and form innovations that can improve the creation of new technologies and objects for our everyday lives.

Unfortunately, as we were told not to post any pictures of the art exhibit, I have kept their wishes and refrained from posting any of the art captured within the Bullukian.