Music has been at the heart of Fred Jourdain's work for a long time.
From the musicians he captures in his posters to the similarities between his intuitive technique and improvisation in jazz, the notes sift his sketches and rock his hours of work.
"Music is always present at all times in my life. It's something very important and challenging for me.
I like to see shows, I listen to albums. I am someone who listens to everything, like a bulimic. "
I approached the summer festival in 2014. One of my artistic goals that I had targeted was to one day illustrate a series of posters for the summer festival, as it is done in most major music or film festivals. The art of the poster interests me a lot and as the festival has not made any art posters for years, I wanted to offer them to relaunch it. It was not immediately well received. The idea is to stay together.
The following year, organizers approach Jordan for an unusual order.
The artist is asked to create an original work that will adorn a commemorative bass guitar designed by the luthier Pierre-Luc Asselin of PL Guitares, a craftsman of the city who has on his track record many guitars made for artists of spans. The FEQ explains to Jourdain that the collector's item will be given to none other than Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers!
"As I had already probed the idea of painting on guitars, it immediately pleased me as a project.
It was very last minute so I started sketching and I immediately started the production. It was a technical challenge, I had never done that and the inks and paints I normally use could not be used on the guitar because of lacquer and solvents. "
"It took me a lot of information and that I found the right way, in the end it worked well, but not without some trial and error."
For this tailor-made work, Jourdain draws his inspiration from the personal life of the bassist. He succeeded in creating an illustration in the image of the musician in just a few weeks despite the many technical and logistical constraints of creating a three-dimensional work on a curved object that will stand the test of time.
"It's a unique model. It's pretty cartoon, I tried to do something that I think he'll like.
I added chili peppers, I made bees because he is a beekeeper too and I put a denture that slams, with a crack between the two palettes to make a nod to his famous teething! "
Jourdain has the opportunity to meet Flea to hand over his work to him.
"It's gonna get played! »(Flea)
A second copy of the instrument illustrated by Jourdain will be on permanent display at the Imperial Bell of Quebec, a well-known theater in the old capital.
This most exhilarating experience will be repeated in 2017, this time for the Metallica group. In addition, Jourdain will sign a series of works reproduced in posters to mark the 50th anniversary of the festival.
PROJECT
A bass for the Red Hot
quote from flea: "It's gonna get played!" The artist Fred Jourdain illustrated the instrument ...
Je me souviendrai
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Le Dragon Bleu
The blue dragon is a comic strip adapted from the famous eponymous play ...