M/Mad men

M/Mad men

Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag, a French design duo that straddles the line between art and commercialism, are taking Bangkok by storm

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
M/Mad men

As soon as he sits down, Mathias Augustyniak pulls out an ink pen and begins to draw in his notebook. The end product is astonishing lines and delicate traces of a flowery woman.

M/M (Paris) — Mathias Augustyniak, left, and Michael Amzalag.

Michael Amzalag, meanwhile, writes down random words on a piece of hotel paper — that is, when he's not fiddling with his smartphone.

Both the writing and the sketch could very well fetch a pretty penny at an auction or art sale — they're products of the two Ms of the revered art and design duo known as M/M (Paris).

The low-key appearances and "everyman" attitudes that waft from Augustyniak and Amzalag don't exactly speak of their worldwide acclaim in the realm of art and design. But M/M (Paris), established in 1992, has been at the forefront of both the contemporary and commercial art worlds for over 20 years, and it's still going strong. A list of M/M (Paris)'s high-profile clients and collaborators would take up an entire page, but a few big names include Bjork, Madonna, Kanye West, Balenciaga, Vogue Paris and Thailand's own Rirkrit Tiravanija.

Augustyniak and Amzalag were in Bangkok last week to unveil their Christmas tree commissioned by Siam Center and to open the "SiaM/M (Paris) Center" exhibition.

M/M (Paris) — Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag.

Both the sculptural piece, titled A Cheerful Spring Of 'Froses' In The Flock Of Golden Birds, and the exhibition were supposed to have debuted last holiday season, but political strife made sure no celebration could occur.

"That's OK. It's very important to accept that sometimes there are events that need to happen before whatever you do. Sometimes projects just take longer to complete," Augustyniak said.

The 6m-tall and 3.75m-wide Christmas tree prominently features "froses", a bizarre hybrid of a frog and a rose. The tree's first incarnation was that of a lampshade M/M (Paris) designed for a restaurant in Paris. Later it became a Christmas tree in Osaka, Japan. It has now been customised for the holiday season in Bangkok. The duo said one of their working methods is to take what they've done and reapply it over time in different contexts and settings.

"We'd never been to Bangkok, but one of our guys who works with us is from Thailand, and we've worked with Rirkrit before, so we have some ideas and we can get some kind of feelings from them. So somehow we've heard of Thailand," Augustyniak said .

"This is like our interpretation. The main figure is a mixture of a frog and a rose. It's a smiling, inviting face, and that's the feeling we have about this country — a friendly and inviting place. Then there are some birds because we thought it's a tropical country, but so far we haven't seen any birds. So it's like a mix between reality and fantasy, just like most of our works. You shouldn't put more meaning than that it's a Christmas tree. It's a celebration in sculpture."

The "SiaM/M (Paris) Center" exhibition gathers 32 of the duo's iconic works, from art posters to art objects — items that allow visitors to inspect the depth of M/M (Paris).

"Our work is about creating a vocabulary that we build from scratch, and when we share that vocabulary we're able to share the same ideas, thoughts and feelings. The creative process is very important. The older you get, it's more complicated. Not because you have less and less ideas. On the contrary, you have more and more ideas, so it becomes more complex. You meet more people, and you see more places, so you're more open to suggestions," Augustyniak said.

Christy, a collaborative work between M/M (Paris) and Balenciaga (2001).

Augustyniak and Amzalag met as art students at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, in Paris, in 1988. Amzalag later quit school, while Augustyniak pursued his studies at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London. In 1992, the two decided that they didn't want to work with large companies and started their own venture. As ardent music fans, the pair's earlier work focused primarily on music design. Their first big break came with an assignment to launch fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto's Y's collection worldwide in 1993.

"The idea that we were interested in from the beginning was how to bring cultures to others, how to share it, how to articulate originality with economical negotiation," Augustyniak said. "This is the role of everyone that has a power to do this — how do I preserve culture somehow? How do I preserve it in a way that it doesn't become trivial or sterile? It needs to be in tune with how the world is shifting."

Augustyniak and Amzalag don't have a fixed format for working together and dividing creative responsibilities. It's instead often battled out during the working process. They feed off each other for energy and ideas, treating one another as "first spectators".

"It's too complicated to explain. We still don't know how," said Augustyniak.

"It depends on the project," Amzalag added. "But since we have different abilities, we tend to take on different aspects of a project. But at the same time we can question [each other] or solve problems that another person doesn't see. It's a bit cliched to say 'organic', but it kind of is. There are no rules ... well, there are some kind of [unspoken] rules. So that can create tension sometimes. I think it's important to keep our dynamics open."

M/M (Paris) is noted for its balance between creativity and commercialism. Like all designers, there are clients to answer to, but when you're M/M (Paris), they tend to listen closely. Still, M/M (Paris)'s work has appeared in galleries and museums around the world, and is treated as collectible art pieces. But that's not something that happened by accident.

A Cheerful Spring Of 'Froses' In The Flock Of Golden Birds, an installation by M/M (Paris), at Siam Center.

"It is intentional. In a way, [creative and commercial pieces share some of] the same aspects. That was what interested us when we met in art school. We had this kind of perception that the economical model of the art world was not related to the way culture could be disseminated in the real world. We didn't want to limit our production or intention to confined spaces of galleries or museums, as we wanted to make it happen in real life. And, eventually, given enough time and space, it would appear in the art world, in a gallery space, once it has been validated in the real world. That's why most of our exhibitions are kind of like archives," said Amzalag.

M/M (Paris) is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to visualising fashion. It has left its mark on world-class brands and leading fashion magazines. The pair said they have noticed changes in the fashion industry, and they see themselves in as evolving in phases, from working with established names in the beginning of their career to brainstorming with their contemporaries and appreciating the understanding young designers have for their experimental edges.

"It's never been about trends or about sensing where the trend is going. That's not how we work. We had a chance to start working in fashion when all the designers we were working with were independent, so they were in control of their own names. They were relying on people like us to create an image. It was an interesting time for us; we learned a lot. We learned to understand the process of designers, how to elevate and expand on an image that would speak to other people," Amzalag said.

"Twenty years later, most of this has changed. [Brands and designers] are not independent any more. Most of the new designers are not in control of their names, and most of the bigger designers are working for houses that are bigger than them. So it's a completely different approach. This phenomenon is apparent in the fact that there's been so much concentration and progression in the luxury market that it kind of swallows fashion. Of course, it doesn't mean that the designers today are more or less interesting, or better or worse. It's just a different time." As for music, M/M (Paris)'s Grammy-winning packaging design for Bjork's Biophilia album remains a benchmark for music art designers.

The extensive catalogue in music-related art direction has propelled M/M (Paris) to more or less rock star status in the industry. Augustyniak and Amzalag don't just create record artwork, but rather a comprehensive image, a portrait that becomes part of the cultural landscape. M/M (Paris) has acknowledged the massive shift in music consumption, and how records — and their accompanying art — can no longer compete with digital downloads, pirated or not.

"I still think that music without any physical presence doesn't exist. Or if it does, it's background music in a cafe, in a restaurant. It becomes a commodity if it doesn't have any physical attachment to it," said Augustyniak

"When we started, the idea of creating images for music was very, very exciting for us. Music was our way to define ourselves. Now we're in a reverse position, in the sense that we can help young musicians whose music we like. We now get in touch with them, and there's a generation of young musicians that we're connected to. We try to use their tracks for things we might be working on in order to help them," Amzalag added.

M/M (Paris) shows no sign of slowing down. It's still creating thought-provoking work, engaging in creative dialogue that blends aesthetics with merchandise and, most importantly, inspiring future generations of designers.

"Everything can coexist. If a fashion designer can create great clothes, he or she is a great artist," said Augustyniak. "When we approach our work — whatever it may be — we always ask ourselves, 'How do I make sure that I'm going to make the public hear something that would help them see the world in a different way?'," he said.

The 'SiaM/M (Paris) Center' exhibition.

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