For the 90th anniversary of the Fondation des États-Unis, Libéral Martin and Suejin Jung, artist and pianist in residence, respectively, created an animated film to the music of Débussy which would have been shown during the celebrations. We would now like to share the final version of this project, with a bonus video of Suejin at the piano and an interview with Libéral. Read more about the 90th anniversary of the FEU on our website.
“This animation for the Études for piano by Débussy aims to depict a re-conceptualized piano. My idea was to re-imagine the hammers that make up the instrument. I intuitively composed these new hammers of joints, ropes and slides. They are also made of a key that sinks into the void and a spherical flap that fills the black of an opening reminiscent of the black and white of the score. The hammers are organized on the model of a traditional scale and are progressively revealed throughout their choreography. The Études pour degrés chomratiques played by Suejin Jung draw a sequence of movements that stretch and twirl, emphasizing the dance of the fingers over the keys.” ~ Libéral Martin
About the artists
Korean American pianist Suejin Jung has appeared in concert at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Steinway Hall, Count Basie Theatre, le Poisson Rouge, and other opportunities through the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation. Highlights of 2019-2020 season include an artist residency at the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, France as a recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship, performance at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and guest artist appearance at the Vršac International Chamber Music Festival in Vršac, Serbia. Her interview and performances have been broadcasted live on WWFM radio and aired nationally in a documentary Piano Forte on PBS. She studied at The Juilliard School and is a candidate of DMA at the Mason Gross School of the Arts of Rutgers University. Currently, she is pursuing a stage de perfectionnement at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where she is working closely with Anne Queffélec.
Liberal Martin grew up in Normandy. His parents are both architects. He began learning from his three older sisters, who are all visual artists. In 2014, he started at ENSAD where he is studying animation. He directed his first short film linking music and animation, Destinations, in 2015. This experimentation lead to other multimedia productions such as Willem Van Haecht and VERTE OFF in 2016 and Fake 48-6 in 2017. His research on synaesthesia is outlined in his dissertation “Du mouvement musicale à l’image”, in which he discusses the image/music relationship in film and animation. In 2018, he joined the community of resident artists at the Fondation des Etats-Unis and started directing a short film which will be released in April 2020.