BRUNO AVEILLAN
French film maker, photographer and multimedia artist, Bruno Aveillan, joined Quad Productions, Paris in 1995. He is behind award-winning shorts and commercials for clients including Peugeot, Guerlain, Nike and Jaguar and also directed the first ever brand campaign for Louis Vuitton in 2008. The sought-after director talks to us about his latest publications and an artistic collaboration with fashion designer, Yiqing Yin.
Image: Bruno Aveillan/Courtesy of Martin Coulais
At the moment I am working on...
I’m between two film shoots and completing two art publications:
The first is “Bolshoi Underground”, a book of photographs I conceived about the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (published by Au-delà du raisonnable). I had the privilege of being invited backstage at this mythical place to follow the preparation of an opera by Johan Strauss. A surreal adventure as you can imagine! Something... “Felliniesque”! The book’s release will coincide with an exhibition at the Spree Gallery during Paris Photo Month.
Secondly, a collector’s box of seven photographic books and ten short films devoted to the crafstmanship of Louis Vuitton. I was given carte blanche over two months to photograph and film the craftsmen in their workshops as they employed their sometimes centennial techniques and gestures. Exhausting but fascinating!
The best piece of creative work around at the moment is...
The work of the very talented stylist Yiqing Yin. It has a poetic quality of incredible power and is dream-like and sensual. Her talent well exceeds the boundaries of fashion and her approach is one of a pure and essential artistic radicality, not unlike that of Issey Miyake and the late lamented Alexander McQueen.
I was fortunate enough to collaborate with her on her most recent haute couture collection. She also chose some of the photos for my last book “Mnemo # Lux” to be printed on silk with which she created dresses of dazzling beauty.
I am inspired by...
Light, encounters and travel.
This year I’ll be attending...
Cutlog in both Paris and New York where I will be presenting two exhibitions, Paris Photo, Nuit Blanche, Paris, Art Basel, the Venice Biennial and Loop Barcelone.
What got my attention at the last festival I attended is...
During Art Basel at the Volta Art Fair, I discovered Pe Lang - a Swiss artist who creates installations and poetic sculptures that combine technology with more humble materials. It’s magnificently intelligent and beautifully simple.
The best year time to be a creative was...
A photographer in the 1920s, architect in the 1930s, stylist in the 1940s, designer in the 1950s, musician in the 1960, film maker in the 1970s, painter in the 80s, graphic designer in the 90s, web designer in the noughties... Actually, all of that... Today!
The next big thing in advertising is going to be...
Audacity, as always. Audacity! As much in the idea as in the visual approach.
The piece of digital work I wish I had thought of is...
I quite like the quaint surealism of Kevin Weir who creates animated GIFs from archived photos on his blog “Flux Machine”. It’s somewhere between Max Ernst, John Heartfield and Monty Python! Otherwise, the concept I find absolutely marvellous is the site Kickstarter which allows anyone to sponsor an artistic project.
In a film about my life, I’d like to be played by...
What an idea... I’d intuitively say Joaquin Phoenix or, if he was still here, John Cassavetes. But frankly, it’s more because I’d want to work with them. I mean, to film them.
In my industry, I admire...
In general, all those whose courage and whose creativity breaks free from the codes of conventional advertising, and who inject sincerity and emotion into what they do.
My dream collaboration is...
I sincerely believe in the virtues of artistic encounters. I have always priveleged exchange, whether it be with the land artist Niels Udo, with whom I worked in Namibia for Guerlain, the fantastic choreographer Philippe Combes, or the contemporary artist Marcos Lutyens, who often collaborates with me as production designer. I’d also cite musicians Gustavo Santaolalla, Bruno Coulais and Raphaêl Ibanez de Garayo.
If it’s desire we’re talking about, I’d love to work one day with Philip Glass, Jan Fabre, Chiharu Shiota, Olafur Eliasson, or Rem Koolhaas.
In up and coming talent, I look for...
Talent, precisely...
A piece of criticism I’ve received was...
“You do too many things!” is the ongoing criticism I get from my crew... and my son.
The last song I listened to was...
If I’m to believe my iPad, the last tracks I listened to whilst replying to this interview are:
Julia Holter - This is Ekstasis/?The Magnetic ?North - Bay Of Skaill/Glenn Branca - Don’t let Me Stop You/Asha Puthli - Right down Here/Grimes - Genesis/Durutti Columm - Danny/Archie Shepp - When things go wrong/Chromatics - Kill For Love/Alla - Improvisations/?Tristesse Contemporaine? - I Didn't Know/Adrian Sherwood - Animal Magic
...and at this very moment (Paris, 2.14AM) the very beautiful Closer by my friend Nicolas, singer of the group, Applause.
Video: Cartier "L'Odyssée" by Quad Productions, Paris and directed by Bruno Aveillan featured in Archive Vol. 4/2012. It was first screened at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in February 2012.
Image: Designer Yiqing Yin selected a number of photographs by Bruno Aveillan to be printed onto the fabric used for her AW12/13 collection.
View archived commercials directed by Bruno Aveillan | Not already subscribed? Subscribe now.
