Julio Le Parc

Mendoza, Argentina, 1928
"The Long March" of 1974 is a significant event in Julio Le Parc's career. This artistic march, named after the famous political Long March that took place in China in 1934-1935, represents a collective action undertaken by the artist and his group of collaborators.
Le Parc's "Long March" involved a traveling journey through Argentina, from April 2nd to July 22nd, 1974, during which the artist and his group took their artworks directly to the people, bypassing traditional art institutions. The primary goal of this artistic march was to democratize art by bringing it to the streets, squares, and public places, allowing a broader audience to access and interact with art. Throughout the "Long March," Le Parc and his group set up installations, projected luminous works, and organized artistic performances in various cities across Argentina. These artistic actions, often ephemeral and temporary, were designed to actively engage the audience, inviting them to participate and interact with the artworks.
The "Long March" served as a protest against the elitism and commercialization of art, promoting accessibility, interactivity, and democratic participation instead. It was a significant testament to Le Parc's commitment to involving society in the artistic process and exploring new forms of artistic expression beyond conventional norms.
This artistic march had a lasting impact on Le Parc's approach to art and inspired many subsequent generations of artists in their pursuit of a more inclusive and socially engaged art. Julio Le Parc's "Long March" remains a significant episode in the history of conceptual art and participatory art.

SERIGRAPHS:

Julio Le Parc's serigraphs related to the "Long March," published by the Denise René Gallery, represent an important visual record of this artistic and social event. Le Parc utilized the serigraphy technique to create a series of works that capture the essence and energy of his artistic march through Argentina. The serigraphs were produced in collaboration with the Denise René Gallery, a renowned Parisian gallery known for its support of kinetic art and optical-kinetic art. The edition by the Denise René Gallery helped spread Le Parc's work internationally, increasing the artist's visibility and solidifying his reputation in the field of kinetic art.
These serigraphic works reflect Le Parc's distinctive aesthetic, characterized by the use of movement, light, and visual interaction. He operates through the system of 14 colors of the chromatic prism in a suite of 6 serigraphs. The prismatic meshes unfold in fluid and sinuous sequences, exploring visual effects of overlapping, intertwining, and superimposition. The organization of the pictorial field is rather free from hierarchies: there is no dominant element or center from which forms radiate.
As Le Parc clarifies, this artwork is a metaphor that can be applied to many different fields. It perfectly embodies the artist's cyclic creative mode, but it also summarizes the long trajectory of his artistic career. Looking back on his past, Le Parc reveals, with a touch of modesty, that "my long march began when I was a child in a small village. I would go to the outskirts of the village, into the desert. I always looked there, where the sun was rising, that is to the east. I looked to the other side, where I could imagine the sea was. I had no idea that one day I would travel 1,100 kilometers to reach the sea, to cross the Atlantic, to come to France, and develop things there. This is my long march. But the end of this long march is not when I die. This long march will continue. It is thus a metaphor for the human condition, but a happy metaphor."



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