Magic Matter[An interview with the French sculptor Pierre Matter]

by Silvia-Alexandra Zaharia & Adrian Ioniţă

[Self-portrait © Pierre Matter]

Silvia-Alexandra Zaharia:

Your official biography speaks of a “mystical” childhood. Could you share with ourreaders some events in your childhood that influenced your artistic vision later in your career?

Pierre Matter:

During my childhood, I bathed in the mystical and religious ambiance given by my parents. Butsoon after being crushed by a car and narrowly escaped death, I realized that their God does not protect against car violence. Therefore, my first experience with mechanics has been painful, since the same time it made me doubtmy family beliefs. I still retained some essential values such as generosity. I think we should be generous, and than,sooner or later life will return our gift.

Silvia-Alexandra Zaharia:

Have you had a favorite hero in your childhood? A hero who could mark adevelopment of your artistic creations?

Pierre Matter:

There may be Black and Mortimer (comics characters) who have led at an early time my imagination into the future, science fiction and so on... There was also, Albert Schweitzer, although I am not surethat he influenced in any way my artistic work.

[Pink Phantasm © Pierre Matter]

Silvia-Alexandra Zaharia:

What other styles have you experienced before reaching the stage of defining yourself as an artist? What kinds of other materials you have worked with, before resorting to metal? And why did you choose the metal in the end?

Pierre Matter:

I really started with the comic strips in 1988-1989. The project called "The horses Ladoga", had apolitical-fantasy theme, and unfortunately ended in failure. Then, for almost 10 years I explored the field of mineral, mainly Basso-relief, before returning to metal and finally to tri-dimensional work. I would say that, if youhave the right means, through metal, you could push far enough, in theory, the limits of size and shape. Perhapsthere is also, the influence of my father, who was locksmith and let me access his workshop from an early age.

[atelier © Pierre Matter]

Adrian Ioniţă:

Many people see an association between your sculpture and Steampunk. What do you think inthis regard? Could you define Steampunk? What would you say if one day your sculptures would be considered asan outstanding representation of this movement?

Pierre Matter:

I am quite unaware of what the Steampunk movement represents. I do not know if there is a formof nostalgia in this movement. The Jules Verne angle inspires me enormously, especially in its dimension offeredtowards the reflection on future, rather than its now, a bit outdated, plastic representation. What I know for sure isthat I'm not trying to be part of a particular movement.[Spermship Hp 2022 © Pierre Matter]

Adrian Ioniţă:

Anyway, the subjects of your art work are pure Steampunk, Where from all this interest?

Pierre Matter:

The passion for boats, floating monsters, ghost towns, popular ghosts of the abyss after sinking,all of them a potential Titanic, all comes straight from my childhood dreams. The journey, the mystery of theBermuda Triangle, Jules Verne, Herman Melville, and sperm whales, sharks and submarines, all this has come tomix in my dream factory. There is also the danger, drama, the war, immersion, the supertankers, the extinction of fish as species, a host of topics of inspiration that, as soon as I soaked them in the waters of the Blue Sea, weretrapped in the nets of my imagination.