The great French painter Pierre Soulages died on October 26th, 2022. We invite you to the following commemorative competition:
Black – Nigredo – Blackening.
Who would want a black house ? Even with one wall black ?
Certainly not the bourgeois, the bourgeois wants pink.
But black is immensely important. Malevich knew it too.
And of course Pierre Soulages, the French painter who died, at 102, on October 26th, this year.
Did we write correctly ? Yes, we did. Pierre Soulages died at 102, on October 26th, 2022.
Was there ever a painter who lived longer ?
Probably not.
So maybe being The Master of Black, as he was called, helped.
Yes, maybe Death itself is afraid of blackness, not just the bourgeois. And thus, it avoided to visit Pierre Soulages, for a long time.
Anyway… why is blackness important ?
It was the first step in the alchemical process: blackening – Nigredo.
The second step being Whitening – Albedo, and the third one, Reddening – Rubedo.
But the alchemical process started with Blackening – Nigredo.
So maybe the poet was right: “Darkening darkness, thus the gates of light!”
And darkening darkness means: blackening.
So this is what Pierre Soulages did all his long life: he blackened everything, artistically. And it seems it worked. Black brought him success and his longevity was a success too, some might say.
Maybe we should all blacken, and blacken, and blacken everything.
TOTAL BLACKNESS.
So how would THE HOUSE OF BLACK, or A House for Pierre Soulages might look like ?
Well, it might have to be black, yes, but not any kind of black, perhaps. But then, are there different kinds of black ?
Probably not.
But what we would like to say is this: it has to be that INTENSE BLACKNESS that shows, actually, an aspiration for its opposite: LIGHT, or LIGHTNESS.
What about BLACK LIGHT, like the one apparently achieved by Philippe Rahm in one of his projects ?
All in all, we invite you to plunge courageously in that blackness that is redeeming. Yes, A REDEEMING BLACKNESS.
Redeem yourself, dear architect, through THE BLACKEST HOUSE IMAGINABLE. Call it, if you want, A HOUSE FOR PIERRE SOULAGES.
Please send us your work on two sheets format A1, oriented horizontally or vertically, to
[email protected]
All competitions are free to enter and open to all.
Donations are greatly appreciated for the competition expenses of the all volunteer organization.
December 30, 2022 - Registration Deadline. Click Here.
December 31, 2022 - Submission of Work. [email protected]
January, 2023 - ICARCH posts Work Online.
Zoom Dialogue about The House of Black
Engagement with alternative creators and thinkers in architecture worldwide
Zoom presentation of your work and dialogue with others including jurors.
Work posted on ICARCH.org for many years.
Zoom dialogue posted on YouTube.
Inclusion of your name as a participant in international press releases from ICARCH.
Possible selection of your work for the 2023 ICARCH publication on 20 years of Competitions.
At the moment, ICARCH does not provide cash prizes nor require entry fees.
ICARCH will select "best of" entries for posting online and press releases.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Cart is empty.
