Interview : Agnès Gayraud, artist for the Lyon Biennial
Three questions to Agnès Gayraud, musician, highly qualified philosophy teacher, lecturer at Lyon school of Fine arts, and guest artist at the Biennial, organised from 21 september to 5 january.
As part of the Biennial, we’ll see you at the Museum of Contemporary Art. What can you tell us about this project?
"I had the idea of creating a sort of recording studio and inviting along fi ve groups of musicians. I’m asking them to cover a love song of their choice, but they had to pick a card from a set I designed based on Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies. It must be musical but also reminiscent of the romantic advice found throughout the history of literature, poetry, and even from Instagram’s love coaches! At the end of every workday (one Saturday a month), we’ll be making a recording. The songs will then be released to the public. I’ll be getting the ball rolling with my own group, La Féline, on 28 September
How do you articulate music and philosophy in your creations?
I’ve wanted to write songs ever since I was a little girl, to express myself through music. I then studied philosophy, going as far as a doctorate then “agrégation” ( i.e., the highest teaching diploma in France). I was making music on the side, as a self-taught musician, with a group of girlfriends then I developed the La Féline project, which has been going for nearly 15 years. I ended up writing a book on pop music: Dialectique de la pop (i.e., pop dialectics), where I talk about blues, reggae, French “chanson”, etc. It took seven years of work and was an important moment in my life as I was able to reconcile both my passions.
You grew up in south-west France, lived in Toulouse, Paris, etc. What is your history with Lyon?
I’ve lived in Lyon for the last 5 years. I moved here to be with my partner, who’s a university lecturer, I found a job in the area, and our 5-year-old baby boy was born here, so it’s a city synonymous with a happy life. I really like the two branches of the Saône and Rhône, this feeling of the river in the city. Lyon is my adopted home, but I love it with all my heart."
Interview by Mathilde Beaugé
Biennial of Contemporary Art
From 21 September 2024 to 5 January 2025.
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