Useless Treasure
For several months, Leonardo Montecchia observed our everyday gestures. Together with his performers, he is now presenting them to us: a unique performance at the heart of the university, titled “In-utile. Beyond Utility.”
“"I have a hard time with the word 'choreographer,'" he warns. "I see myself more as a thinker of the body—a body in relation to its environment."“. Between October and December, Leonardo Montecchia was ‘immersed’ at the University of Montpellier: that is the concept behind hosting an artist-in-residence.
Moments of Light
Along with his performers, he came to mingle with students, teachers, researchers, and staff—to observe them and study them.“To examine everyday gestures,” he explains, “gestures of transmission, of craft, but also of reflection, of impatience…”He focuses on scrutinizing the most subtle, the most trivial, but also perhaps the most significant of them all: the useless gesture.
It is this gesture that he has tracked down in lecture halls, labs, classrooms, and libraries, with the patience of a hunter. It is this gesture that he now brings to life through the magic of dance, in the very same places where he captured these moments of light.
“What place, in today’s hyper-productive society, is there for the useless gesture—that gesture which ‘serves no purpose’?”asks this unique observer of the body in motion. “What space, in the realm of learning, is there for the useless? Is it that of inaction? Of reflection?”
A Different Perspective on Reality
In this academic setting, Leonardo is in his element. Here, he brings his ongoing exploration of contemporary art—art inspired by everyday life and accessible to everyone. His quest for “another possible body: a body to be imagined.” “Art helps us see reality in a new light,” he continues. “It helps us build a different world.”
A project that is particularly well-suited to a university setting: “This is where we shape the future! The university is, at its core, an artistic space: a place of learning and research, but also of questioning and raising awareness. It is a space for creation, deeply connected to the imagination.”
Artist-in-Residence
Since 2009—and since 2013 in partnership with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs—UM Art & Culture DepartmentUM an annual call for proposals to host an artist or artistic team in residence.
“The artist-in-residence program invites everyone to take a fresh look at their daily lives. It should also allow the public to step into the heart of the university and discover it for what it is: a space open to the world and to society,”explains Marta Cases Bobadilla of the Art & Culture Department.
“Useless. Beyond utility”
Choreographic Journey – Leonardo Montecchia – Cie de la Mentira
- Tuesday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. on the Triolet campus
- Thursday, April 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the School of Pharmacy
- Tuesday, April 12, at 6:30 p.m. on the Richter website
- Thursday, April 14, 6:30 p.m. on the Triolet campus
Open to students and staff at the University of Montpellier and to the general public
See alsothe interview with Leonardo Montecchia