Jean-Marc Philippe
Saint-Amand-Montrond, 30 October 1939 – Boulogne-Billancourt, 12 November 2008
An artist with a scientific background, Jean-Marc Philippe pursued for more than forty years a body of work as a painter alongside projects combining art, science and industry: sculptures in shape-memory alloys, works of space art, and finally the KEO satellite, designed to bring back to Earth, 50,000 years from now, the messages of the people of today.
Biography
From science to painting
A pupil at the lycée Louis-le-Grand, Jean-Marc Philippe went on to study science at the Sorbonne and in 1966 obtained a doctorate in geophysics, with a thesis on the behaviour of the Earth's ionospheric plasmas under the effect of solar disturbances. He then divided his time between science, music and painting, before choosing art: in 1967 the Galerie Katia Granoff in Paris presented his first solo exhibition, a series of figurative pastels. In 1970 he wrote a chapter on computer-generated sound, “Directed Sound Psycho-structures”, for the collective book Les cerveaux non humains [Non-human Brains].
In the late 1960s, a residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris steered his painting towards lyrical abstraction; he exhibited “Trente toiles récentes” there in February 1971. A stay in the United States introduced him to American Abstract Expressionism and New York graffiti: from this were born the Protest Paintings (1971 – 1980), large acrylic canvases shown by Alexandre Iolas, at the Galerie Attali, at the FIAC and at the Basel fair (Art Basel). Two of his canvases entered the collections of the Centre national des arts plastiques in 1973 and 1977.
From 1978 to 1986 he returned to figuration with the White Work, the “Gazes” and the “Smiles”, shown as a solo exhibition at the FIAC in 1981 (Galerie Jacqueline Blanquet), at the Galerie France in Bordeaux in 1982 and at the Galerie Eolia in 1985. In the mid-1980s he diverted electronic image-colourisation techniques to create the Variations, based on a 16th-century Beninese mask (Autopsy of a Mask, Galerie Jacqueline Feldman, 1985), a painting by Modigliani and a self-portrait by Van Gogh.
Space art
As early as 1975 he conceived the Great Celestial Wheel, a crown of forty artificial stars that would light up around the Earth during events shared by all humanity. Presented at the Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (“Electra”, 1983 – 1984), then in Tokyo and at the Galerie Alain Oudin with Pierre Comte, Joseph McShane and Tom Van Sant (“Space Art / Art Espace”, 1985), the project made him one of the pioneers of space art. Aware that such a work would impose itself on everyone's gaze, on 3 November 1986 he convened at the Maison de l'UNESCO a committee of experts charged with examining the creation of a “World Space Art Committee”.
From June 1986 to January 1987, the Messages from Humankind to the Universe operation collected 10,500 messages via Minitel, which were transmitted on 26 January 1987 by the Nançay radio telescope towards the heart of the galaxy. In the 1990s he designed The Spheres of Mars, shape-memory sculptures intended for the Martian surface. From 1994 onwards he devoted himself to the KEO satellite, designated a “21st-Century Project” by UNESCO, on which he worked until his death.
Shape-memory alloys
In 1986 he began working with shape-memory alloys, metals capable of “remembering” shapes learned at different temperatures. After the bust Hermaphrodite (1987), made with Souriau, Tréfimétaux and the CNRS, he led a research programme in California with the Raychem group that resulted in The Circle of Life (1988 – 1989) and The Totem of the Future (1989), a 9-metre sculpture installed in Menlo Park, on San Francisco Bay. This work earned him the New Horizons Award from Leonardo / ISAST (Berkeley) in 1987.
Teaching and reflection
Alongside his work, Jean-Marc Philippe taught and passed on a great deal. A founding member of the Centre européen de techno-culture (CETECH) at Paris-Dauphine University, he was a professor there and gave courses and lectures at the Sorbonne, at Jussieu, at Stanford and at Louvain. Adviser on the relations between art and technology at the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie (1980 – 1985), a member of the Académie européenne des sciences, des arts et des lettres (from 1983) and of Leonardo / ISAST (from 1987), he took part throughout the 1980s in numerous international conferences on the relations between art, science, technology and economics, and represented France at several conferences, including the European Conference of Philosophy (Athens, 1985). He published many texts on the relations between art, science and ethics, gathered on the Writings page.
Chronology
| 1939 | Born on 30 October in Saint-Amand-Montrond (Cher). |
|---|---|
| 1966 | Doctorate in geophysics (Sorbonne): thesis on the Earth's ionospheric plasmas. |
| 1967 | First solo exhibition, Galerie Katia Granoff, Paris (figurative pastels). |
| 1968 – 1969 | Stay at the Cité internationale des arts; his painting turns towards lyrical abstraction. |
| 1970 | Chapter on computer-generated sound creation in Les cerveaux non humains [Non-human Brains]. |
| 1971 – 1980 | Protest Paintings; exhibitions with Alexandre Iolas, at the Galerie Attali, at the FIAC and at Art Basel; two canvases enter the collections of the Centre national des arts plastiques (1973, 1977). |
| 1975 | Conception of the Great Celestial Wheel. |
| 1978 – 1986 | White Work: “Gazes”, “Smiles”, “Snapshots”. |
| 1983 – 1985 | The Celestial Wheel is presented at the Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (“Electra”), in Tokyo and at the Galerie Alain Oudin (“Space Art / Art Espace”). |
| 1985 – 1988 | Electronic Variations: Autopsy of a Mask, Modigliani, A Walk through Vincent's Madness. |
| 1986 | Commission of experts convened at the Maison de l'UNESCO with a view to a “World Space Art Committee”. |
| 1986 – 1987 | Messages from Humankind to the Universe: 10,500 messages transmitted on 26 January 1987 by the Nançay radio telescope. |
| 1987 | Hermaphrodite, first sculpture in shape-memory alloy; New Horizons Award from Leonardo / ISAST. |
| 1988 – 1989 | With Raychem (California): The Circle of Life and The Totem of the Future, shown at “Utopies 89”, Grand Palais. |
| 1993 – 2003 | The Spheres of Mars, shape-memory sculptures intended for the Martian surface. |
| 1994 | Birth of the KEO project; publications on space art, sculpture and new materials. |
| 1999 | KEO receives UNESCO patronage; distinction at the Prix Ars Electronica. |
| 2001 – 2008 | KEO exhibitions and message collections all over the world (Quebec, India, Mexico, Egypt, Iran…). |
| 2008 | Died on 12 November in Boulogne-Billancourt. |
| 2012 – 2025 | The Fonds international pour la promotion de la culture takes over the KEO project; the collection of messages ends in 2025. |
Exhibitions (selection)
| 1967 | Galerie Katia Granoff, Paris (solo exhibition, 22 February – 14 March). |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Continental Art Gallery, New York. |
| 1971 | “Trente toiles récentes”, Cité internationale des arts, Paris (solo exhibition, 25 February – 13 March) (invitation card); Galerie Art du Monde, Paris. |
| 1973 | Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris. |
| 1974 | Institut français de Thessalonique, Greece. |
| 1975 | Galerie Attali, Paris. |
| 1976 | “Œuvres récentes”, Galerie Attali, Paris (solo exhibition, 14 October – 14 November) (invitation card); FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris (Galerie Attali); Kunstmesse, Basel (Galerie Attali); Galerie Convergence, Nantes. |
| 1977 | FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris (Galerie Attali); Art Fair, Washington; Centre de création industrielle, Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris. |
| 1981 | “Les Dix-neuf Regards ou l'Œuvre blanche”, FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris (solo exhibition, Galerie Jacqueline Blanquet). |
| 1982 | “Dix-sept Regards”, Galerie France, Bordeaux (solo exhibition) (invitation card); Galerie Alexandra Monett, Brussels. |
| 1983 | Chosun Art Gallery, Seoul; Art Expo, Dallas; “Electra”, Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (December 1983 – February 1984, Great Celestial Wheel project). |
| 1984 | International Art Fair, New York; Espace New Otani, Tokyo (presentation of the Celestial Wheel); Phirama, Marseille. |
| 1985 | “L'Œuvre blanche, regards et sourires”, Galerie Eolia, Paris (solo exhibition, 2 – 18 May) (invitation card); “Autopsie d'un masque”, Galerie Jacqueline Feldman, Paris (solo exhibition); “Space Art / Art Espace”, Galerie Alain Oudin, Paris, with Pierre Comte, Joseph McShane and Tom Van Sant (27 April – 2 June) (invitation card); Triennale of Arts and Sciences, Milan; “Le goût du risque”, Grand Palais, Paris; Festival of Industry and Technology, Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris; Galerie Capazza, Nançay. |
| 1989 | “Inventer 89”, Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris; “L'Europe des créateurs : Utopies 89”, Grand Palais, Paris (24 November – 10 December); F.A.U.S.T., Toulouse. |
| 1997 | “Science in Art”, Maison de l'UNESCO, Paris. |
| 2001 | “KEO, prélude à l'envol”, Musée de la civilisation, Quebec City (solo exhibition, 8 September 2001 – 7 April 2002). |
| 2003 | Festival @rt Outsiders, “Space Art”, Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris (1st October – 9 November). |
Awards and honours
- 1987 — New Horizons Award for Innovation, Leonardo / International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST), Berkeley, for his shape-memory alloy sculptures.
- 1987 — F.A.U.S.T. Trophy, Toulouse, for his shape-memory alloy sculptures.
- 1998 — Clic d'or, Paris: special jury prize for the keo.org website.
- 1999 — Distinction at the Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, for the KEO project.
- 2000 — Prix Air et Espace, Megève.
- KEO designated a “21st-Century Project” by UNESCO.
- Member of the Académie européenne des sciences, des arts et des lettres (AESAL) and of Leonardo / ISAST.
- Works in the collections of the Centre national des arts plastiques (two paintings, acquired in 1973 and 1977): see on Navigart.
The full bibliography, the press review and the archive documents are gathered on the Archives page.