INTERVIEW: JULIEN MARTIN

After the interview with Till Wiedeck about his “Critical Objects”, here is another post by us.

We only recently discovered the work of Julien Martin during the research to our book Pretty Ugly. There is something in him and his work that fascinates us ever since. It is bold, new and exciting. “Le Monde” wrote: “We are still not sure if his work is provocative, amateurish and naiv or simply ingenious”. Julien Martin seems to split opinions. Reason enough to get to know him better. It wasn’t easy to do that interview because Julien Martin’s english is very french and he is travelling a lot.

Before we start this interview please tell us something about yourself
Hi, my name is Julien Martin, i was born in 1984 in Saint-Tropez, France. I left home when i was 16, travelled for 4 years the country with an italian circus and finally reached Paris in 2004. I got lucky and was accepted at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris because of my “exceptional” talent. Nevertheless i dropped out two years later, missing the feeling of being on the road. I travelled the south of Europe, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Now i am back to Paris and try to live of my art.

Julien Martin, how are you today?
I feel like shit. I was preparing this show in NY. Noone knows me over there and i am afraid they will hate what i do. Not that i give a shit, but it would boost instantly my popularity over there if they don’t. I suppose its normal to be shitting your pants before every important show. It’s not just your work thats exposed, it is you and what you believe in.

What do you believe in?
Hahaha, good question. I think lots of artists lost the guts to fail. They are slaves to the history of art, their own trajectory and the pressure of the market. There can be no new if there are no guts to fail.

Do you want to be provocative?
Noooo, i don’t care about provocation. It would tie me to the person which is provoked, who is in most cases an reactionist. New is not made by doing the opposite of the old. It may become the opposite, but thats not how it is done.

How do you create your work?
I do them all with free apps for the iphone. Some find this provocative, but honestly its just stupid to think this way. Do you think my work would be more important if the app would have cost something? If it would have been painted with oil on canvas? It’s the work that matters and not how expensive the tools you use are.

But the tool is imporant in your case?
Well, yes. I have the phone with me all the time and can paint whenever and whereever i want to. It returned freshness to my work. When i was still painting on canvas i needed to prepare to paint, i had to document my ideas so i wouldnt lose them until i am at the atelier. Lots of the intuitive power was lost by then.

Nevertheless you print your work later on on canvas, walls or let them stitched as a quilt or scarf
The artwork needs its aura. It is perceived differently when size, place or technique of reproduction changes. Thats a very important part of my work.

Thanks a lot Monsieur Julien Martin to give us insight in your work
De rien.