A little history . The story of ESO.bureau de recherches from thought experiments to physical objects.
Paris - 1923
Perhaps the times were right, abstract ideas seemed to almost make sense, and there was a need to put things in perspective and in context. Paris in 1923 was a city full of ideas, ESO bureau de recherches started from those thoughts. It then evolved along the decades, as all reputable trains of thought tend to do.
ESO.bdr started at the corner of place Saint-André-des-Arts and Rue Hautefeuille, with an office and salon style meeting between friends to evolve in their own art practices. It was the age of long get togethers and endless conversations.
Photo: Eugène Atget
Governor’s Island NY - 1970’s
It took some time to settle in New York, but when ESO.bdr moved to Governor's Island field office in 1966, it changed everything. The project was intended to be temporary, but lasted for decades, until 2003, through the work and dedication of a small group of people and the summer programs for art tourism workshops.
PHOTO anonymous
Queens NY - 1995
In 1995 ESO.bdr was invited to the Art World Fair in Queens, New York, specifically for the Symposium for the Advancement of Common Sense. The weekend was marked by the premiere of "Sponge No No No !" a film by Laurent Girard, shot at the Joseph Glickman House in Brooklyn in 1991 and produced by the band Verge. As the keynote speaker, the poet Lem G. addressed the issue of the lack of common sense from most. An obvious statement that sounds right when told with the right words.
Miami FLA - 2016
ESO.bdr HQ in Miami from 1959 to 2016. after many years of being a productive abstract think tank, publishing series of research in different areas over the years, the bureau left the city and the state for political reasons and does not forsee returning in the near future.
Photo: the last know location HQ screening room and gallery space in Miami.
Piracicaba SP Brazil - late 1980’s
At the height of activities in Brazil, the research center was located on Avenida Brasil in Piracicaba, for about 6 years in the 1980's, then moved their operations to São Paulo in 1992. While in Piracicaba, attention was turned to music mostly, working along the famous school of music there.
Photo: The Round House - by Unknown
Paris France - 2000
One of the first things ESO.bdr did in the 21st Century was to set up a temporary HQ Rue Montmartre in Paris the week (t)here magazine launched its issue 3 designed by parisian agency Cent-Degrés at the champagne bar Bulles next door. The talks evolved around the theme of the importance of art collaborations between disciplines as well as cultures.
Notes toward the Nobel Peace Prize by Laurent Girard was read out loud and everyone verified that synonyms can theoretically improve life from War to Peace.
Soho, New York - turn of 21st Century
ESO.bdr kept an office in Soho, New York, from the early 1990's through the mid 2000's, just long enough to observe the great gallery move from Soho to Chelsea. The studies were mostly of the psychology kind, but also from an anthropological point of view. The artists present at the time wrote and performed street plays, migration and peace always have been favorites of the bureau.
PHOTO laurent girard
