Canadutch
Do you remember last year when we were in the south of France and I happened upon the work of an artist named Andre Debru? He had the coolest art made of different bits of scrap metal and I was so taken by his installment in the roundabout in Roquefort that I just had to track him down and visit his workshop. When we did go visit we were gobsmacked by the amazing pieces he had in the field outside and I was really excited when I saw that he had an area with smaller pieces for sale. The only problem was the only one that was a good size (meaning not the size of a full grown sheep or bigger) was a small owl, and it was reserved!
I was really bummed but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I knew there was a chance we’d be moving to Pittsburgh, so I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to buy something and get it home with me again as the pieces are all quite heavy. Far too heavy for us to pay to send to ourselves by mail or take on a plane!
As it turns out, another great thing about being “stuck” in Europe while we wait for our visas? We are in the south of France again right now for a month and we came by car, so I was able to visit again! Two days after we arrived in France we were spending the day with my mother-in-law who is also an artist, so we thought it may be nice for us all to visit together. When we arrived we had a look around and I saw a really great goat that I was interested in… but as luck would have it, just like the year before – reserved!
When my MIL explained to him that we were here for the 2nd time from out of the country and that we are moving to the US and hoped to be able to ship one of his pieces with us, he said that it was possible we could buy a piece from an exhibition of his. He had a few pieces out at an exhibit but they’d be back a few days later, so if we came back the day after the pieces were returned and saw something we liked, he’d consider selling it to us.
We went back and I knew immediately what I wanted, the minute I saw it! I can’t wait to put him in our future garden in Pittsburgh!
Click for larger view…
This is Rocky (with beer bottle for scale), short for Roquefort or Roq le Coq, as my husband likes to call him. Since we first found the artist by his installment in Roquefort and that's the general area he's from, it seemed to suit him. It also suits us since we are such early birds, and now we have our own rooster (only he won't annoy our neighbours!
His head is made from a ball from joules de boules, a game that they play over here that I don't understand at all. The waddle under his chin also moves and swings when you hit it!
He's made of all sorts of different bits and pieces like nuts and bolts, screws, spark plugs, etc. Can't seem to figure out what the pieces are across his back, though.
The pipe holders and fondu burners that make up his tail
The fondu burners from the inside. Pretty cool!
This is something from a car. A brake disk, some part of the inner wheel? I'm not sure. He was pointing around that area on the car when he tried to describe what it was.
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I’m so excited to have a piece of his, because I think it’s just so cool. I wish the photos captured how great these things are, but I don’t think they do. My MIL was wondering why I went so far out of my way to go to Roquefort multiple times, make a point of coming with the car to hopefully take something back with me and everything else… but once she saw his work ‘live’, she understood and it all made sense. If you are ever in the area, I recommend visiting his workshop, it’s worth the trip!
You can find the info on where to find him here.
