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L’ANGE GÉOGRAPHE BY JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC FOR THE SOCIÉTÉ DE GÉOGRAPHIE

L’ANGE GÉOGRAPHE BY JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC FOR THE SOCIÉTÉ DE GÉOGRAPHIE June 18, 2024ART NEWS, Paris0 Comments

L’ANGE GÉOGRAPHE
BY JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC FOR THE SOCIÉTÉ DE GÉOGRAPHIE

Paris, June 18, 2024 – What an honor to meet this incredible artist! Those who know me know that I studied fashion design in Milan at the Istituto Marangoni. I remember like it was yesterday that my tutor was talking about Jean-Charles Castelbajac and how inspiring his work is. He is a true icon. This morning we had the honor of meeting him at an intimate breakfast at the Café de Flore in Paris Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where he told us about his latest project, l’Ange Géographe, and even showed us some of his drawings. You could listen to him for hours… But now to his new project:

It was in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, at the crossroads of culture, art and literature, that the Société de Géographie, the first in the world, was founded in 1821. For its bicentenary in 2021, the artist JR created a mural depicting a “border-crosser” (passeur de frontières), an ephemeral work that gradually faded away. For the past thirty years, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac has been drawing angels in chalk on the streets of Paris. In many civilizations, they are beneficial and protectors. This is why the Société de Géographie thought of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to imagine a work, this time perennial, for the west wall of its building, adjacent to the Ukrainian church. Jean-Charles de Castelbajac wanted to create a modern, poetic installation in tune with the Square Taras-Chevtchenko, in the heart of Paris’s 6th arrondissement. Driven by the idea of giving urban art an ecological and Parisian spirit, in keeping Jean-Charles de Castelbajac designed a powerful sculpture in green trelliswork, inherited from the Grand Siècle tradition, revealing the stone through its meshes, creating an architecture of shadow at dusk.

Like a cosmic basketball player, the Geographer Angel holds the planet in his hands, projecting it into the future with a protective, spatial impulse. This angel was imagined as a dynamic, committed figure, an ecological hero. Only the globe, bearing the name of the Société de Géographie, is polychrome, symbolizing the diversity of landscapes and the human species, in the iconic Jean-Charles de Castelbajac range. Assigned by Greek etymology to the role of messenger, the angel acts as intermediary between the earth of man and the highest heaven. He presents us with our responsibility to preserve our absolute treasure.

It fully expresses the exhilarating project of admiring the wonders deployed on the earth’s surface, understanding its inhabitants and helping them to improve their living environment. Trellis, a technique that has been part of French know-how since the 18th century, is used in an unprecedented way, giving it a graphic and cinematographic dimension. The artist has reinvented it in a figurative dimension.

The company Tricotel, a specialist in working with historic monuments, was chosen to produce this innovative and unique work. The Société de Géographie was presided over by Laplace, Cuvier and Chateaubriand. Champollion used it to decipher hieroglyphs, Jules Verne to inspire his novels, Lesseps and Eiffel to decide on the digging of the Panama Canal.
Through its conferences, publications and travels, the Société intends to remain faithful to the spirit of its founding fathers: to make geography known and loved by as many people as possible! It fully expresses the exhilarating project of admiring the wonders unfurled on the earth’s surface, understanding its inhabitants and helping them to improve their living environment.

Trellis, a historic technique in French know-how since the 18th century, is used in a new way, giving it a graphic and cinematographic dimension. The artist has reinvented it in a figurative dimension. Tricotel, a specialist in working with historic monuments, was chosen to produce this innovative and unique work. The Société de Géographie was presided over by Laplace, Cuvier and Chateaubriand. Champollion used it to decipher hieroglyphs, Jules Verne to inspire his novels, Lesseps and Eiffel to decide on the digging of the Panama Canal. Through its conferences, publications and travels, the Society aims to remain faithful to the spirit of its founding fathers: to make geography known and loved by as many people as possible!

The Société de Géographie is a non-profit association recognized as being of public utility.
In order to support its project and participate in the creation of a poetic bubble in one of the most beautiful districts of Paris, a sponsorship program for the Ange Géographe has been set up.

https://socgeo.com/2024/01/19/devenez-mecene-de-lange-geographe/

The Olympic Cultural Committee has included the Geographe Angel on the route of the Olympic flame on July 14.
#angegéographe

About Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Jean Charles de Castelbajac, born on November 28, 1949 in Casablanca, Morocco, is a French fashion designer known for his colorful and avant-garde designs. He comes from an aristocratic family and was raised in France. His mother founded the brand Ko and Co, which Jean-Charles would later take over.
Castelbajac began his career in the early 1970s and founded his own label in 1978. His work is characterized by a playful, often childlike aesthetic, evident in his use of bright colors, unusual materials and bold graphics. He is known for merging fashion with art and pop culture, often through collaborations with artists and the use of iconic figures in his designs, such as Disney characters and comic book heroes.

Castelbajac has gained a significant number of admirers throughout his career, including celebrities such as Madonna, Lady Gaga and Kanye West, who have worn his designs. His influence extends beyond the fashion world into art and pop culture, and he remains an important figure in French fashion.
In addition to his work as a fashion designer, Castelbajac is also active as an artist. He regularly paints and exhibits his work. His artwork often reflects the same playful and colorful style that characterizes his fashion creations.