a plus o minus Objects

 α + ο -

(104 Objects)
https://a-plus-o-min.us

α + ο - is a collaborative curatorial practice, observing objects as its primary focus. It aims to engage the viewer in a conversation about pop culture, through the mix of objects, from leftovers to art pieces to consumables. Through the prism of α + ο -, objects are seen as the notes and tones used to write music, or the combinations of signs supporting languages and speech. 

The research process of α + ο - starts with a constant onlooker attitude, often discovering objects by chance while being on the move. It is then refined via multiple phases of selection, extraction, juxtaposition, and presentation.

The selection stems from a careful validation process with visual appeal, heterogeneity, social values and cultural idioms as criteria. 

A photoshoot of the objects constitutes the extraction phase. The pictures are processed as clipped pack-shots to appear ‘neutral’ and disconnected from ‘real-life’ situations. 

The website a-plus-o-min.us is a showcase, a collection, a catalogue, a database connecting, juxtaposing, and mixing cross-cultural elements (objects). 

In physical contexts of presentation, such as an exhibition context or a nightclub, objects can be presented and used as ready-mades, gestures, ingredients, or even representations. 

Inspired by advertising and merchandising methods as well as attitudes inherited from the contemporary art field, α + ο - engages critical thinking on the relations of humans with consumerism.

α + ο -
Arthur Fouray
α + ο -
Nastassia Cougoulat Montel

Entourage II

 α + ο -

IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 1 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 2 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 3 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 4 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 5 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 6 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 7 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 8 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 9 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.
IMG: a + o −, Entourage II, 2014, Le Romandie, Lausanne; installation view 10 of 10. Photograph by Julien Gremaud.

Entourage II

Le Romandie, Lausanne, 8 February 2014

(8 Objects – 9 Interventions)

Collaborative artistic and curatorial project by Arthur Fouray and Nastassia Cougoulat Montel, at the invitation of Julien Gremaud, Think Tank.

10 installation views by Julien Gremaud.

Around the Lucerne magazine on electronic cultures zweikommasieben, Entourage was organised by Think Tank, which invited Call Super, a British DJ, exclusively for the occasion. Into it were inserted the artistic interventions of a young Parisian duo of artists: α + ο -, for Arthur Fouray and Nastassia Cougoulat Montel. 

The interventions fade into the experience of the nightclub, with ‘Nice People Stamp’ welcoming the onlooker inside the nightclub, a ‘Baby Blue Cocktail’ available at the bar, ‘α + ο - tarps’ and ‘Glossy Posters’ covering the walls, ‘Rings of Light’ behind the DJ booth, ‘Ice Lighting Gels’ spreading a blue atmosphere, outshone by ‘Love Disco-Ball’, and finally a vitrine on the balcony of Romandie, a carte blanche to artist L**** K****, illuminated by ‘Black Light Lamps’. After a first edition in 2012 in the form of Bring Your Own Beamer, Think Tank tried total aesthetic immersion in the spirit of α + ο -, answering in its own way the minimalist graphics of zweikommasieben.