Aristotle considered imitation to be a natural tendency, a means of acquiring knowledge
and a source of pleasure. This conception of art connected the commitment specific
to mimesis to the process of thought, enabled us to positively understand what Plato
depreciated by judging that mimesis was a falsification. Following Aristotle and motivated
by a concern for similarity, the transfer in an artistic form as specific as high-warp tapestry
and aiming for precision in interpretation transforms the very nature of the woven surface as
well as the subject treated from the previously image proposal.
The work of Marcel Marois is rooted in this conception of art. Imitation is diverted from its
reference to show a reality that exists only in the final work and which aesthetically depends
on the means chosen for its achievement. It is a landscape that appears in the uniting of
different points of view thus giving to the visual journey an aesthetic experience that does
not exist in nature but drawing inspiration from it.
Mimesis here is an internalized fascination, an Einfühlung where the personality of the artist
find its accomplishment through an exploration of memory combined with an intuitive
approach invested in the artistic rendering. There is no mimesis except that of an expertise
which specifies the possibilities of evocation at each stage, establishes the dialogue from
one choice to another. This creative process examines the detail and the whole at the
same time. The work will only appear following this journey into the unknown by using the
unsuspected potentialities of the known. Chance interferes in the technical experience
together with the aesthetic concern that focuses on each detail while seeking the greatest
visual coherence for the whole. The finished work is a constellation of skillfully orchestrated
coloured dots in fluid zones circulating between structuring verticals that define the
rhythm of the pictorial movement. The eye is attracted to a few splashes of colour with
complementary chromatic accents and invited to pursue the perception of the work and
to capture the multiple facets of its singularity. Paradoxically, the detail and the whole
are inseparable in this large composition of a landscape. Together they inspire us with an
experiential density linking memory and discovery in the exploration of the woven surface,
sometimes from afar and sometimes up close.
Nicole Malenfant
02-2023
