florent

florent ghys

I really admire confident absurdity. The world around me seems to grow more and more ridiculous each day; the rules of society dictate simultaneously that bread is a a staple item but toast is somehow luxurious, that we should go out to meet people but that we shouldn’t talk to people we don’t know, that it’s hard to get up in the morning but it’s hard to get to sleep at night. We’re a world comprised of contradictory rules and intentions, and a lot of the time I feel like I’m expending inordinate amounts of energy just trying to fall into place (falling, by the way, is not something you’re supposed to have to try to do). But that’s where I take solace in absurdity. Complete, nuthouse ridiculousness, when executed with immaculate concentration and steadfast authenticity, is to me, the most meaningful action in a world full of actions that are lacking this. I’m a longtime admirer of Florent’s work because I feel it epitomizes this notion. 

Florent understands intuitively that a weather forecast, conceptually, is ridiculous. The fact that we treat it as something serious, regular, and frankly boring, is kind of strange, if you think about it enough. I’ve never in my life dressed up really nice to go stand in front of a green screen and wave my arms while I talk about sunshine; that sounds crazy. It’s not, though— somehow it’s commonplace. But Florent understands the unusual beauty that lies dormant and unused in the circumstance of a weather forecast. He tunes into the unintentional variations of the voice, the choreography of the weather woman’s movements across the screen, the nature of the thing when looked at with new eyes, for what it really is. His interpretation, which feels to me so close to the nature of the weather forecasting activity, is (I think) so beautiful and interesting, and yes funny, too, because it accesses something truthful and genuine and unknown in something that we think we already know everything about. It’s like if I told you that you’ve been using chairs incorrectly your whole life, and that yes, they make great hats, and you should really try it, and oh, look how nice it feels on your forehead and against your ears. 

Florent has a kind of freakily sublime ability to recognize beauty in conventionally non-beautiful things. Humor, too. I wrote in my notes that he said at one point, “I’m really interested in things that are extremely crafted but not based around things that are serious”. This validates so much work that would not otherwise have an exact place; it sort of says, this here is very important to me because I feel that it is, and I don’t need to give you a reason as to why it’s important. This to me, actually makes the most sense out of everything in the world. If weather and toast and cars are all ridiculous, then it equalizes things that we currently view as odd. It puts normal, serious contents on the same level as things we see as ridiculous. And I love that. This morning I saw a man smiling at a waffle. I also saw a woman yelling at a cat. Then I saw a couple holding hands. I don’t think any larger amount of meaning should be ascribed to any of these activities. They’re all regular and they’re all absurd, depending on your interpretation. Florent understands this in such a splendid way, and his music is so gorgeous and fresh as a reflection of this understanding.