Suggested soundtrack: Otto von Schirach - When Dinosaurs Rule The Earth
I met Ange under strange circumstances about 12 years ago.
I was with a group of friends to see an Otto Von Schirach concert, and by chance of fate we all ended up backstage after the show. It was fun.
Ange was joining Otto on the European tour. He danced with an alligator mask in the shows and guided him on the trip (without the mask, perhaps).
In short, to make a long story short, the quiet guy dancing with the alligator mask was in truth an excellent artist.
Ange's art is intriguing. It is based on the repetition of geometric, minimal elements that give rise to intricate black and white patterns, similar to a neural system.
A work of patience, rhythm and breathing, like a mantra.
What was your artistic journey like, how did you get started?
Hello. Well it all started when I was little, like all children I suppose, I used to draw.
My grandmother was a seamstress and the owner of a factory that made children's clothes and wedding dresses, and she used to give me things to draw in her workshop while she worked: paper, fabric, pencils and so on.
You already understood what you wanted…
I always wanted to go to art school but my family wouldn't let me. Until I was 18, I was obliged to study languages at school. After that I was able to do what I wanted. So I started studying photography, which I did for 1 year. Then I did a few months of interior design but I didn't like the class so I went into the painting studio, which was actually a three-dimensional pictorial research studio. Basically, it was a place where you could do whatever you wanted: drawing, painting, video, photography, installation, and so on. At the time I was interested in computer graphics, but we clearly couldn't afford a computer. And anyway, I was fine where I was, I was mainly looking to be free after being forced to do my secondary studies in science and languages. I finished my higher art studies and then nothing.
Nothing? you just stop…
I found a job that earned me a bit of money and that was enough for me. I had enough to live on and to party. I didn't do anything artistic for 5 or 6 years I think. It is Otto who got me back into drawing. I'd met him at one of his gigs, then another gig and another, but this time he got me up on stage. I didn't really like that, being up on stage in front of everyone... It wasn't planned, I wasn't dressed up. So, I told him after his live show and he said “But what? What would you like to do?” And I said, “Well, I'd like to be a VJ ? And he said “OK !”
Like a train that passes only once.
So, I had a bit of time to prepare something. I cracked a VJ software, scanned my drawings and injected them into it. Otto took me in his car few months later and it happened. I became Mangoholic Annunaki. The 4th show was in front of 11000 people to open for Chris Cunningham. More than 50 shows followed. That’s the journey. And you met me on 1 of these nights (30 March 2013 @ Velvet, Rimini, IT. ??? ) . Hahaha.
Correct, that was the show!
The more we played, the more I recorded loops, overdubbed them, the more the visuals were kaleidoscopic, the more I lost in video quality, and at the end my computer said stop. I had an old computer dedicated to Otto’s visuals and it died. It was a freak of a computer and it had no back-ups. All those visuals are in my head, I transpose them from my brain onto paper.
Haven't you thought about buying a new one and continuing being a VJ?
I decided to no longer use the computer for my art work. I mean, I wanted to spend time drawing, analogic things, with the possibility of taking my stuff everywhere. I just need paper and pencils, the basics ! Not dependent on a computer, electricity, software and more. … I make “still images in motion”. I want it to move but it’s a drawing on which your eyes cannot focus . It’s like watching the stars (for the white on black drawings) or a bird’s eye view on the ocean (for the black on white drawings). I would qualify it as outsider art? Art brut? I don’t know. I cannot draw … I mean, I found my techniques and this brainmap comes out as automatic writing.
So you've abandoned digital art. Personally, I believe that the more digital art spreads, the more human art increases in value. What do you think?
Yes. It’s over with digital art. I don’t know if it’s true, yes and no. It depends for who, from how you use the tools.
In my case it’s just that it’s better for my head. I’ve spent too much time in front of a screen. When you spend 8 hours / day in front of a computer at work for more than 20 years, your brain feels like vacuum-packed, empty, flat.
What music do you listen to when you draw?
Any kind but calm and melancholic music. From classic music to rock/folk to electronic music.
What are your future projects? What are you working on?
As I’m recovering from a burn-out. So, I’m kind of looking for a new way for me to work that’s more taking the direction of painting, and with colors!I’m also into piano, guitar and modular synth since a few years.
As always, our final question: what is your Gold Egg? the most precious thing in life.
My family, but it’s not a thing.
We are grateful to Ange Bruneel for this interview and wish him never to stop creating.
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