Raoul Pictor
«Raoul Pictor cherche son style...» is an installation consisting of a computer (Mac LC), a 12” color screen and a color inkjet printer (HP Deskwriter C). The software was created using Macro-media Director.
In a generative, non-linear animation, we see a painter (Raoul Pictor) living and working in his studio. It is represented in a simple way, close to the cartoon. We see him painting, pacing, thinking, playing the piano, having a drink, reading, mixing his colors... The sequence of these activities is non-linear, the sequence lasts a few 2-3 minutes before Raoul Pictor does not consider his painting finished. It should be noted that we do not see what he paints; the painting, placed on his easel, is only visible from behind.
The painter grabs the painting and disappears through the side door represented by a black shape. It is at this moment that the printer starts to print and deliver Raoul Pictor’s work into the real world. Each composition is unique, dated, numbered and signed. Once printed, the painter returns to the workshop through the side door, places his canvas on the easel and a new sequence begins to create a new painting.
During these 30 years, this work has been exhibited numerous times in galleries, museums, art fairs. It had to be, like many digital works, regularly adapted because the constant evolution of hardware and software made it obsolete on numerous occasions.
With the arrival of the Internet, a Flash version was developed, then the abandonment of Flash technology saw it disappear with it. The appearance of smartphones was a new opportunity to create a new version (Raoul Pictor Mega Painter 2013 – developed with Matthieu Cherubini. iOS version with Augmented Reality and ordering Phygitales paints).
The development of Web3 seems a new horizon to explore. Generative art sites have finally seen the light of day and blockchain now makes it possible to support and certify digital creations. With Boris Rabusseau (Sha22), we are currently developing a version in p5.js in order to deploy this work in these new avenues.
