The Story Behind Louis Vuitton's Artycapucines 'Tenderness' Bag By Artists Tursic & Mille
Artists Ida Tursic and Wilfried Mille share their no-holds-barred, more-is-more brand of fusing fashion with art for their Louis Vuitton Artycapucines crreation
The Franco-Serbian artist duo Ida Tursic and Wilfried Mille – better known as Tursic & Mille – are known for appropriating and transmuting images pulled from every source possible (Old Masters art, movies, fashion, the Internet, you name it) to create entirely new paintings. They’re also one of the five names roped into the fifth and latest edition of Louis Vuitton’s annual Artycapucines series, which sees leading contemporary artists put their spin on the luxury maison’s artisanally crafted Capucines handbag. Scroll on for our exclusive interview with Mille.
HELLO, WILFRIED! FIRST, TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOU AND IDA AS ARTISTS.
“Ida was born in Belgrade, and I was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer (located on the north coast of France). We often travel, and I think that is also one of the founding elements of our work: It is continually moving and refuses to stand still and is therefore opposed to any idea of style. Our interests are quite varied, but they could be summarised into two questions: ‘Why is there something rather than nothing?’ and “Why bother?’”
Franco-Serbian artist duo Ida Tursic (right) and Wilfried Mille
WERE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OR PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT INFORMED YOUR DECISION TO PURSUE LIFE AS AN ARTIST OR INFLUENCED THE SPECIFIC TYPE OF WORK YOU MAKE?
“Pietro Sparta was the first gallery owner to feature us, and we were his first painters to be showcased in a series of exclusively conceptual, minimalist and Arte Povera artists. We learned a great deal working with him – more than at Les Beaux-Arts de Paris – and it allowed us to meet artists such as Niele Torani (the celebrated Swiss painter known for his Travail-Peinture practice in which he marks surfaces with a square patch of paint using a no. 50 paintbrush at regular intervals) and Lawrence Weiner (the late American artist considered a pioneer of conceptual art). One institution was also very important for us: the Consortium Museum in Dijon, which was co-founded by the visual artist Xavier Doroux and boasts the art critic Eric Troncy as co-director (the alternative art space is known for taking a gamble on emerging artists only for them to take off and become superstars – Tursic & Mille is among them).
The duo are known for appropriating and transmuting images pulled from every possible source, from Old Masters art to fashion to movies, magazines, media and the Internet, disregarding their sources and traditional categorisation to dream up entirely new paintings from this mad jumble.
WHAT THEMES STAND OUT IN YOUR WORK? WHAT STORIES DO YOU SEEK TO TELL THROUGH YOUR ART?
“It’s always a story about encounters and collages. Our work is based on combinations of images, and then we add the empirical quality of landscape painting. Things come together as we go along, evolving to create a perspective of vitality through a great pursuit of liberty. Think of our work as a form of research into painting that fuses a conceptual approach with the process and material reality of painting as well as the incorporation of diverse iconographic sources.”
TELL US ABOUT THE ARTWORK YOUR ARTYCAPUCINES IS BASED ON AND THE PROCESS OF TRANSLATING IT ONTO THE BAG.
“We used several elements of our work to create our Capucines in an effort to claim the bag for ourselves. First, the outline was taken from our paintings on wood – its cut-out shape was originally based on the Malevich cross, but evolved over time into a more ornamental, mediaeval floral shape. Secondly, the use of charred wood for the feet and handle of the bag was directly inspired by a range of giant flower sculptures we had previously done... The embroidery on the back of the bag is a meticulous reproduction of a detail from one of our palettes, which we consider works in their own right because everything is found conceptually and materially within them – a Sisyphean pursuit of forever starting over, if you will.
The central motif found on Tursic & Millie’s Artycapcuines commission was derived from a 2021 painting titled Tenderness. It was recreated using hundreds of thousands of stitches and then carefully printed to create a sense of depth.
Meanwhile, the embroidery on the front of the bag reflects the details of a painting we did in 2021 called Tenderness. That work drew on advertising images from the ’50s that touted the benefits of drinking and smoking. The word “Tenderness” is embroidered on the top of the bag, including the drippings that appeared on the original painting – meant to represent sweet sentimentality. Interior-wise, we used the detail of another work that represents the hopelessness of the painter, Le desespoir du peintre, which is also known as Saxifrage des ombre (French for shadow saxifrage) – the nickname for the saxifrage flower because, in medieval times, it was considered so complex that it was difficult to paint. Lastly, the zip pull ornament on our Artycapucines is inspired by a set of painted bronze sculptures we created in 2021 portraying a giant heap of cigarette butts. Again, those are meant to be symbols of time passage.”
The word “Tenderness” is also lovingly embroidered onto the bag’s flap. Other key details of the duo’s Artycapucines include two flower-shaped panels sandwiching the front and back of the bag with the resulting indent on the base, taking artisans particular skill to create.
WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH THE LOUIS VUITTON ARTISANS LIKE?
“It was a great pleasure to work with the whole Louis Vuitton team since they adore technical challenges. The more complicated things get, the more they seem to enjoy it. That’s a bit new for us. We are used to doing everything on our own, but this project was carried out by exceptional craftsmen with types of savoir-faire that are both unique and varied.”
THE LOUIS VUITTON CAPUCINES BAG IS CONSIDERED RELATIVELY SMALL IN SCALE COMPARED TO YOUR WORKS. DID THIS INFLUENCE YOUR APPROACH IN ANY WAY?
“The Capucines is actually exactly the same size as our smallest paintings on wood. Therefore, certain elements, such as the cut-out shape or the wooden feet, drew directly from the process of creating these small paintings. For this object, we went through the same process as every work or exhibition we do: We began by making a mock-up, and we tried to combine several things.”
Even more surprises lie in the bag handle and inlay of the Capucines’ signature LV logo – both are crafted using charred cedarwood, a material frequently used by the duo in their artistic practice.
THE CAPUCINES BAG IS A MOVEABLE OBJECT, SO THIS COLLABORATION EFFECTIVELY TAKES YOUR WORK INTO PUBLIC SPACES. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
“We are delighted... Like all art, once it leaves the workshop, it begins a life of its own as it should.”
SO, DO YOU CONSIDER THIS PROJECT ART OR FASHION?
“The project combines the codes of artwork, a little of our spirit and the savoir-faire of exceptional craftsmen, so it is probably all at once. Like what we do, it is a combination.”
This article first appeared in the Nov 2023 Music Edition of FEMALE