Léo Caillard — Connecting the Past to the Present
“We are at a crossroads of sweeping changes requiring us to look back at our past history.” — Léo Caillard
Unlocking the Past Through Art
As the world of art continues to move forward with new trends and even new mediums, there are still many who will always prefer the classics. Because of this, many artists have tried reinventing classical art with modern twists, and few have done this better than Léo Caillard. Léo is a French artist who uses sculptures and other mediums in order to try and unite different periods of time. His goal is to prompt people to reflect on their past, and how it relates to trends and values in the present.
Léo considers himself to be a man of science aiming to uncover and understand what makes modern society tick. Eventually, he learned that through art he was able to get and the answers he wanted, while also prompting what he considered “a dialogue between periods.” This started with a series he created called “Art Game.” Every piece in this series essentially added modern technology to older style works, such as marble statues holding iphones or the Mona Lisa being displayed on an iPad. This was Léo’s way of questioning what digital art’s place in art museum’s should be, a question that the industry must seriously consider as art continues to advance.
Moving Forwards (and Backwards)
His next series, and one of his most famous ones, was “Hipsters in Stone.” Léo created marble statues in a way that resembled classical art from several centuries ago. He then dressed his statues in modern day clothing and accessories. Although many people considered this series to just be a humorous take on modern art, Léo art had much more meaning behind it. For those of you who are reading this art blog and who don’t know what a “hipster” is, they are people that try to oppose societal norm by following certain styles. At one point, they were known for valuing long hair and beards, and appreciating active sports. Something that Léo noticed, was that these were all characteristics of Greco-Romans as well. This is what inspired him to take Greco-Roman style statues, and put modern clothing on them. The moment we see statues that dress like us, we realize they depict people that, at least in a sense, could relate to us.
Léo continued to bring the past and present together with multiple other humorous yet thought-provoking series. “Renaissance Women” parodied renaissance style paintings, depicting women dressed in old-fashioned clothing using things like projectors and record players. “Hipsters in Bronze” involved busts of famous historical figures wearing accessories that you would see on the average college frat guy (I was going to say “your typical douchebag” but I’m not sure what the restrictions regarding language are).
Of course even if you take away the sick shades and stylish outfits, his works are still incredible. The attention to detail and intricate poses of his statues and photographs are all good enough for Léo to deserve recognition. What truly makes him stand out however, is his approach to bringing present themes into classic art. Although others have certainly attempted the same thing before, Léo’s pieces are especially memorable for his use of actual clothing and his creative style.
I would call Léo an outstanding modern artist, however I feel he may be insulted by the term. According to Léo, trends that most people consider to be part of “21st century art,” are in Léo’s opinion, only referring to the early 2000’s. He believes that most works created after 2010, including his own, are following a new trend. He believes that the art world is likely to see a type of neo-renaissance, with young artists looking to the classics for inspiration, albeit with modern innovations.
Léo’s works are extremely well crafted and thought provoking. He’s able to bring the past and present together in a way that’s both entertaining, but that’s also a pure spectacle to look at. Surprisingly however, Léo isn’t just limited to the past and present, he’s looking towards the future of the industry as well. Of course so long as this future features more classic yet creative works like his, I’ll be eagerly looking forward to it.
