Interview with Corice Arman
Photographer: Steve Benisty
What is the story of you and Arman, how did you meet?
Arman and I first met in New York in spring of 1968, and were reintroduced later In the summer of that year in the South of France by the same person
Photographer: Jean Ferrero
What was your first impression of his art?
I was definitely familiar with Picasso, Van Gogh, Van Eyck, Rembrandt, the Quatro cento etc. I had heard of Andy Warhol, but that was the extent of my introduction to contemporary art. As I’d never seen anything similar to it, Arman’s work was unconventional from my perspective, but I found that it resonated in its beauty and boldness, leaving me intrigued and inspired.
Photographer: Jean Ferrero
What inspired Arman as an artist?
Arman was curious by nature, and had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, he was a compulsive reader, throughout his life and in his youth, would devour any art related magazine he could put his hands on. He read the adventurous stories as though they were novels, of the artists he admired from Gauguin to his most venerated hero
Vincent Van Gogh, with excitement and delectation, which were inspiring, and as such, opened a new creative and imaginative world to him.
Photographer: unknown
How would you like to continue his legacy?
In 2004, Arman wrote a hand written letter to Mr Jacques Chirac, the then President of the Republic, soliciting him to award me with the insignia of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, because, in his own words, I was instrumental in giving him the stability in his life to achieve the level of success he had gained in his artistic career.
Arman’s contribution to the art world community is immeasurable. He had been an inspiration to many throughout his career. He was a visionary, an innovator, a creator, a trail blazer, and not a follower. As such my mission is that of promoting and defending his work, his name, his honor and his many contributions.
In so doing, I am motivated to to keep that eternal flame, by reminding art critics and historians alike, of Arman’s giant foot print in the art world.
I am in the throes of working on the Arman Museum in Nice. Although he always said he didn’t want a mausoleum, I am convinced this project, will be a living, breathing hommage to Arman, at the level he would want. It will consist not solely of his works but of his universe of collections. I believe it is important to visit the many facets and dimensions of an artist, to better understand who they are and where they are coming from. Not only was he one of the greatest artists of our time, but he was also a humanitarian, void of egregiousness, and full of compassion for his fellow man.
I My greatest wish would be to have exhibitions globally and semi-simultaneously to memorialize the 20 th anniversary of his death, and thus keep the eternal flame alive.
Photographer: Vincent Cunillere
What is your roll at the Arman Committee and the Arman Archives?
I was Arman's greatest proponent during his lifetime and I continue to be that same person fifteen years since his untimely death in 2005. I maintained archives in. New York for over 35 years. With Arman by my side during those years, we worked closely together in clarifying any misinformation. The Arman Committee is comprised of three members including myself. As my archives are the Official Arman Archives and based in New York, as such, my role on the committee is to continue what I have been doing for all these years, which is to reply to inquiries by providing as exact and as detailed information as possible, as all research is done through the New York office. The results are then communicated to the other committee members, as a courtesy for their information. I also organize and collaborate on exhibitions, and loans. I organize group visits to the studio as well.
Image Courtesy of the Arman Studio Archives, New York.