When Claude Rutault (1941–2022), one of the leading figures of conceptual art, appropriated hopscotch, he had not yet invented definitions/methods. However, the theme of this children's game and its use in painting already reflected his penchant for artistic protocols. From August 1971 to October 1974, Claude Rutault drew or painted 519 hopscotch games, before returning to the theme in several exhibitions between 1994 and 2019.
In parallel with this research, the artist accompanied his theoretical reflections with written work retracing his investigations into the history and anthropology of hopscotch and its derivatives, culminating in an exhibition of the artistic developments he made based on the theme of hopscotch and their poetic underpinnings. Written by Claude Rutault between 1971 and 2019, these texts, most of which are unpublished, are brought together in this book and presented by Blandine Chavanne, author and general heritage curator specialising in modern and contemporary art.
After studying political science in Bordeaux, Claude Rutault decided to devote himself to an artistic career. He began creating works (collages and paintings) in which theoretical and political issues were central to his concerns. Between 1971 and 1973, he published three issues of the newsletter he created with Alain Clément, Pratique/Peinture/Théorie. A first hopscotch game created in 1971 marked the beginning of a cycle that the artist explored until 1974, when he finalised the typescript that was published.
Claude Rutault then devoted himself exclusively to definitions/methods, developed from 1973 onwards, the date of the first canvas painted the same colour as the wall.
It was not until 2003 that he revisited the subject of hopscotch, a constant preoccupation in his work until his death in 2022.
Écrits d’artistes Collection
176 pages
95 black and white illustrations
Price: 22€
ISBN 978284056912
