State_Nonstate (Hypnose) - Tony Oursler

Catalogue de l'exposition Hypnose, présentée au musée des Beaux-arts d'Orléans, Chapelle de l’Oratoire (jusqu'au 30 janvier 2021).

Located at the junction of art history, science history and popular culture, the exhibition covers the whole field of visual and living arts: from painting to sculpture, cinema and performance. It is divided into two parts and two spaces: in the Cube, a historical and artistic journey retraces the evolution of hypnotism and the links between hypnosis and art, from the end of the 18th century to the present day. The Chapelle de l'Oratoire hosts an immersive installation by the American artist Tony Oursler, designed specifically for the exhibition, as an experiential echo to the Cube's journey.

Hypnosis puts people under, hypnosis scares them, hypnosis amuses them. Hypnosis is not often used in museums, probably for these three reasons combined. Yet hypnosis is omnipresent, deliberately or unconsciously, in the field of creation. From Gustave Courbet to Auguste Rodin, from Salvador Dalí to Fritz Lang.

Hypnosis is today experiencing a clear revival of interest in scientific culture and the popular imagination. Yet little attention is paid to the role it has played in art.

Hypnose covers the entire field of visual and performing arts: from painting to sculpture, from cinema to performance, exploring the interest of visual artists, musicians and dancers in the ways in which emotion is conveyed in a modified state of consciousness.