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Out of the three new exhibitions at the Maison Rouge it might be as well to begin at the end, as that’s where you’ll find the best of the bunch – a small exhibition of Marco Decorpeliada’s Schizomètres. Marco Decorpelida fits into the sketchy category of “Outsider Art“, art produced outside the parameters of the official art world, often by individuals with mental problems. Decorpelida was not an artist in the traditional sense but was encouraged by his psychiatrist to visit exhibitions and to experiment with making things. During his therapy, Decorpelida became aware of DSM IV – the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This manual consists of a scale that measures different mental disorders, for example Schizophrenia is 20.0, or obsessive compulsive disorder is 42.0. Decorpelida, already perturbed by this mania for classification, discovered that the codes correspond to product codes in the catalogue of frozen foods supermarket Picard . If the DSM IV codes are compared with the Picard product codes, autism equals button mushrooms, obsessive compulsive disorder is steamed carrot sticks and fetishist transvestism seems to equate to chopped leeks with cream.

There is a delicious absurdity in Decorpelida’s investigations which, as emails between himself and his doctor show, became an obsession. Black and white charts and annotated tape measures are drawn up to try and get to the bottom of this uncanny coincidence, with amusing and aesthetically striking results. A video of an interview with Antoine de Galbert, founder of the Maison Rouge, throws some light on the ambiguities of outsider art and the role of collectors in its promotion to the gallery space.

Any Warhol, cover of Silk Electric, Diana Ross

The obsession with collecting and classifying is reflected in Vinyls, the show occupying the main part of the space, which is dedicated to the collection of Guy Schraenen. Schraenen began collecting contemporary artists’ publications and ephemera (posters, invitations, photos, videos, recordings….) in the 1970s and set up A.S.P.C (Archives for Small Press and Communication) with Anne Marsily in 1974. Most of the collection was given to the Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen in Germany in 1999, with Scraenen holding on to anything relating to sound art, avant-garde music and sound poetry. The problem with the display of Schraenen’s collection is that it is rich in archive and poor in art. Vinyl sleeves show some innovative graphic design and interesting art-music pairings (Kraftwerk – Bernd and Hilla Becher, Sonic Youth – Gerhard Richter) but, even if limited edition, these are no originals. It’s just like looking through someone’s extensive record collection (which is essentially what it is).

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, Transcom 1, installation

The relationship between music and visual arts is exploited in a more entertaining way in the accompanying show of Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s work. Boursier-Mougenot, originally a musician, creates sculptures and installations informed by the experience of music and sound. The highlight is an installation designed especially for the Maison Rouge, where you enter into an eerily dark space lined, disconcertingly, with mirrors and screens. A couple of giant helium balloons float ominously overhead as cameras attached to the underside of the balloons relay images directly onto the screens. The images captured are also translated into sounds, continuing the exploration of the relationship between sounds and visuals. The overwhelming sensorial experience is a welcome change after Schraenen’s archive-heavy offering.

Vinyl, Céleste Boursier-Mougent and Marco Decorpeliada – Schizomètres are on at the Maison Rouge until 10/05/10

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot has another installation on display at the Barbican in London until 23/05/10

Filed under: contemporary, design, graphic arts, history, installation, performance by