- François Delarozière
François Delarozière (1963-) is the Artistic Director of La Machine, a French company which is a collaboration between artists, designers, fabricators and technicians and which specialises in producing giant performing machines, often creatures. He has collaborated with
French and international companies in productions ranging from traditional theatre to experimental street art.Life and work
Delarozière was born in 1963 in
Marseille and studied there at theEcole des Beaux Arts . He has worked in theatrical-based productions for over 20 years, first designing theatre sets and interiors. In 1987 he met Jean-Luc Courcoult, the artistic director of the French street theatre companyRoyal de Luxe and over a period of years, from 1991–2008,Delarozière, Courcoult and their engineers designed and created a host of huge performing creatures, which toured various European cities. These included giraffes, rhinos, a giantGulliver , and theThe Sultan's Elephant .In 2008 Delarozière severed his 21-year collaboration with
Royal de Luxe to focus on his own company,La Machine .La Princesse , the giant mechanical spider that visited Liverpool in September of that year, is the first in a series of six planned creatures that will debut around the world.cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/30/sm_delaroziere130.xml&page=1|title= François Delarozière - Mechanical mystery|publisher=The Times|accessdate=2008-09-12]All his pieces start with hand-drawn blueprints, described as "think
Jules Verne via Leonardo andHeath Robinson ", and his trademark materials are unpainted wood and metal, with the workings exposed.cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/sep/07/art|title= How Liverpool fell for a giant creepy-crawly|publisher=The Observer|accessdate=2008-09-07]He described his influences as
Delarozière has been described as an "engineering genius",cite web|url=http://www.liverpool08.com/streets/LaMachine/index.asp|title= La Machine|publisher= Liverpool European Capital of Culture|accessdate=2008-09-09] cite web|url=http://www.artichoke.uk.com/liverpool2008.htm|title= Liverpool 2008|publisher=Artichoke|accessdate=2008-09-12] cite web|url=http://www.phf.org.uk/page.asp?id=188|title= Paul Hamlyn Foundation Artichoke Trust L'araignée by La Machine £50,000|publisher=Paul Hamlyn Foundation|accessdate=2008-09-08] and Radio France said of him
References
External links
* [http://www.lamachine.co.uk/index.php/la_machine/ La Machine page about the company and Delarozière]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/30/sm_delaroziere130.xml&page=1 Interview in the Daily Telegraph with Delarozière (3 pages)]
* [http://www.amorosart.com/artwork-delaroziere-spider_mecanique_savante_liverpool_la_machine-2476-en.html Delarozière's design for La Princesse]
* [http://www.amorosart.com/prints-delaroziere-1380-1-en.html Delarozière's designs for various productions]
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