FRED FORESTINVEST YOUR CAPITAL TWO STEPS FROM THE SWISS BORDER.10-16.03.1977

Today, on March 10, 1977, we can read in Le Monde a large advertisement by the artist Fred Forest, entitled “Invest your capital two steps from the Swiss border.”
In the advertisement, a square meter of art is offered for sale — that is, one square meter of land whose artistic status has been defined by Fred Forest.
In total, 20 square meters of land will be divided into twenty parts and auctioned off at the Espace Cardin, Paris, on March 22 at 9 p.m.

According to the artist, the aim of this mass-media action is to question the notion of art and art speculation.
The publication of the sales advertisement in Le Monde is a parodic gesture, whose actual purpose is the opposite of what the ad itself states.

At the same time as a square meter of art is for sale in Le Monde, Galerie S:t Petri in Lund is presenting a retrospective collection of documents covering the previous works of this media artist.

Until around 1970, Fred Forest worked as a painter and press illustrator in Algeria and France, with numerous exhibitions to his name.
Thereafter, he began working in the field of Sociological Art (Art Sociologique).
His experimental working methods use mass media (press, radio, TV), telephone, video, and more.
His activities differ from traditional artistic criteria — his methods are rather scientific.

For several years, Fred Forest has carried out a number of experiments with various newspapers in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Argentina, and Brazil.
The first took place in Le Monde in January 1972 and consisted of an empty square of 150 cm², where readers were invited to express themselves in that space, thus initiating a dialogue.
He performed a similar communication experiment two years ago in Sydsvenska Dagbladet in connection with his participation in the exhibition New Media at Malmö Konsthall.
Another time, he organized a one-minute period of image and sound silence on television, inviting viewers to describe their thoughts during that minute — he received 250 responses.

Fred Forest’s main interest concerns communication between people — whether verbal or non-verbal.
In his many video recordings, one can follow his “investigations” of the various gestures of people in different roles, professions, and social groups.

At Galerie S:t Petri, visitors can see a selection of short presentations of his various activities.
The material mainly consists of texts in A4 format.

The exhibition is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; weekdays 3 p.m. – 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.