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A French Artist Sculpts an American Legend
by Oumelkheir Djenaidi
August 6, 2009
One month after Michael Jackson's death, Jean-Baptist Seckler, the French painter and sculptor, has installed his stool in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and is crafting a bust of the late King of Pop as passerby look on.
"I stare at people when I walk down the street," the artist admits. For Seckler, 35, his eyes play as important a role in art as his hands. Since July 25, exactly a month after Michael Jackson's death, Seckler's eyes have been trained on roughly 50 photos of the star encircling his perch in front of the museum. "One photograph wouldn't allow me to recreate the third dimension," the artist explains. "[Jackson] also went through such a metamorphosis that it's difficult to capture him correctly. I have concentrated on the period when I think he was the most beautiful, between the albums Thriller and Bad."
Like many who come to watch him work, Seckler is an MJ fan. "I wanted to communicate with his fans," he says, "both tourists and Parisians. To create a representation of such an enormous public figure, I wanted to be in contact with the public." The artist adds: "I saw the King of Pop at the Parc des Princes in 1988. I had posters of him all over my room in the 80s."
In addition to Jackson, Seckler was greatly influenced by images of another American figure: Mike Tyson. "From the first time I saw [Tyson] on television, I was blown away by his face. He's more responsible for the direction of my career than my photographer father is."
His admiration for the notorious boxer is so great that he created a sculpture of Tyson to celebrate a 2002 boxing match in Memphis. "His sister thanked me, and invited me to the United States. While I was there, I did a series of portraits of African-American personalities for an exhibit. I sold paintings to 50 Cent and Missy Elliott," the artist recalls.
His American experience affected him profoundly, and he hopes to return to the United States professionally. "If I had a little studio waiting for me somewhere in the US, I would be thrilled to work for American galleries," Seckler says.
In the meantime, every morning Mr. Seckler places his 40 kilo sculpture in front of the Centre Pompidou. He hopes to finish the piece by the end of this week, when it will be moved to Dorothy's Gallery for the exhibit "Art and Music, Tribute to Michael Jackson." Seckler says he will send photos of the piece to the Jackson family, and offer to make a version of the piece for them in bronze.
www.jbseckler.com
