Comte D’Urgell
Always alert to new creative individuals, we are particularly happy to find some that are not only visually challenging but also prove some kind of sense of humour. That’s precisely the case of the artistic duo from Barcelona known as Comte D’Urgell (www.comtedurgell.com) so we thought it would be a great idea to close the yearly cycle of interviews with this one and half a smile (or a full one) in our faces.
First of all a question we always ask: When, why, where, how… did you start to think of yourselves as artists?
Our artistic career started suddenly when we were invited by some friends to participate in a collective show. We were very motivated to do things because we were in the middle of our age of extreme “scholarshipance” in Barcelona and taking part in shows would give us the occasion to do whatever we liked. We didn’t get paid and we didn’t care much. Luckily everything has changed since then, in the artistic aspect as well as in the professional.
Something that it’s common to the work of different creative individuals nowadays is how the line between art and design is so blurry and sometimes if there’s a distinction has more to do with commission work and personal work and sometimes not even that one. Would you rather do only personal work and not having to deal with a client’s briefing limitations or what’s your relationship with commission vs. not commissioned work?
When we do design work it ends up being very similar to when we are hired for a Comte d’Urgell design because we don’t work in a typical meeting-briefing kind of way. We just do our thing and that’s way there isn’t a bug difference between those two worlds. We just try to do something new every time and make it different to the previous thing so we don’t get categorized in some kind of approach or technique because that would be too boring.
It might have happened to you that a client wants you to do precisely what they have seen from your previous work…
It doesn’t usually happen because we get very different projects but when it does happen we talk our client into doing what we want.
In all the different disciplines that you work with there must be certain elements in common and referents that necessarily distinguish your work, from others. Could you try to define what are those elements and influences that make the Comte D’Urgell style?
In our iconography there is alchemy, mysticism, freakiness, design from 1992 Barcelona and uglyism.
Besides your graphic work on plain surfaces there’s also a lot of work with installations and in those there’s a predominance of the conceptual versus the visual. In general how would describe the balance between the two in your work?
We started working in more visual works but always with a narrative or entertaining factor involved. We don’t like at all the idea of purely decorative art. Now our work is 50-50 between the graphic and the narrative-conceptual. Starting this past summer and with the projects for 2009 in mind we work almost like the executive producers of a TV show or a movie: We write the scripts, develop the characters, design the wardrobe, hire the special effects guys… what we always dreamed of!
There’s a generation of artists and designers worldwide, very different in style but similar in attitude. Do you feel part of it? What would you say you share with the artist of your same generation?
What we like a lot from the artists in our same generation is the self-sufficiency in terms of resources. I think people wise up to get their ideas off the ground with what they have, without having to wait for more professional resources or anything like that. And that influences your style. We’ve always worked with everyday materials and stuff we buy from 1 dollar shops and Ebay. That helped us not being inactive waiting for money to arrive from somewhere.
There’s an increasing interest in artists like you from the mainstream and the art market. How do you evaluate your experience in the world of the art market, art galleries, etc…?
For better or worse we never felt part of any kind of art market or museums or art galleries. Barcelona is a network of artists, curators, etc.. very small where everything is connected, almost like in “Heroes”.
Something that always intrigues me about art is the creative process. I would like if in your case is more important the process or the final outcome.
We are always arguing because of that. We try to make the process the important part but the conditions of each project don’t usually allow it to be that way. There are always conditions and lack of resources and or time…
We usually enjoy the process more than the result because we feel it’s more interesting to question the work and its significance and meaning and don’t view it just as an exhibited “perfec” piece.
In your case, being a duo it would be good if you could also tell me how the team work functions or if there’s any individual work outside the collective work.
Our work process starts always in a coffe shop talking about our things and once we get into talking about the project, doing some brainstorming with lots of humour. And, as the natural thing to happen when doing team work, our ideas often collide and we can’t seem to find the right combination between them. It’s frustating but then, at the end there’s always fate making sure the right idea prevails.
Besides our work as Comte D’Urgell Jordi does solo work (www.jordiferreiro.es) yand is into the pedagogical side of art.
Carlos has a music project: Internet2 (www.myspace.com/internet2) with the idea of being a pop act but mostly performing in art galleries and museums.
What have you been up to lately? Any plans for the future you want to tell us about?
We are preparing an exhibition about the relationship between botany, magic and music in Caixaforum in Lleida for february that will later go to Caixaforum Tarragona in september 09.
And early 09 we will be at the Festival de Animación de Cataluña with a very interesting performance by Internet2/Comtedurgell.
What project you would love to do but still nobody asked you to?
A TV show.
Any artist or initiative you want to recommend?
Ilookforbrightness (www.ilookforbrightness.wordpress.com): Is an art blog by Jordi about geometry, light and colour.
CruzCastillo (www.cruzcastillo-cruzcastillo.com/): They are these fashion designers with these amazing printed fabrics. Comte d´Urgell favourites!
Daniel Jacoby (www.danieljacoby.com): One of the most interesting artists around.
David Armengol (www.davidarmengol.net) is the curator with whom we work the most lately. You have to see his projects and he’s such a braing besides being the most light creature we’ve met.
December 7th, 2008 07:06pm Administrador
