The modalities of pedagogy and knowledge transmission raise issues that define and structure the work policies in learning systems. Periodically re-evaluated, these modalities notably attest to the political, economical and social contexts according to which they fluctuate. They are indicative of the paradigms of the moment, but also of the alternatives that seek to deconstruct certain dominant models. There are many artistic practices, both historical and current, that take up this problem of transmission to give rise to new processes of working.

The exhibition Ceci est un ▢ à compléter chez soi : This is a ▢ to be completed at home presents Didier Morelli’s performative research based on the work Teaching and Learning as Performing Arts by French Fluxus artist and economist, Robert Filliou. Since this work takes on many forms and variations, Morelli focused on the eponymous original publication from 1970 and a video recording produced in 1979 as part of a performance at the artist-run centre Western Front in Vancouver. In the fall of 1980 the video was shown at Véhicule Art Inc. in Montreal. After the dissolution of the Montreal artist-run centre in 1983 its archival fonds were acquired by Concordia University. More recently, the university appropriated the history of the centre, incorporating it into its promotional material in the form of panels underlining the link between the foundation of Véhicule Art and Concordia University in the area around the EV building on Guy Street. Based on the idea of an alternative pedagogy via the performative act, Filliou’s work thus returns to the institution.

Didier Morelli (1989) lives in Chicago where he is a doctoral candidate in Performance Studies at Northwestern University. A multidisciplinary artist who holds a BA from Concordia University (Western Society and Culture), a MA from University of Toronto (Theatre and Performance Studies), and a second MA from Simon Fraser University (Contemporary Arts), Morelli is completing a rigorous academic path. His recent projects include Erase Everything: Geoff Hendricks (1964) (Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 2016) and The City In Between (Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery, Chicago, 2015), he also participated in the 2016 Encuentro edition (Hemispheric Institute, Chili, 2016). His practice, which combines performance and academic research, is mostly made up of actions. A practice that involves duration, repetition and endurance is at the heart of a reflection on the apprehension (and, ultimately, the prehension) of time. Morelli seeks to reconfigure our understanding and everyday use of space by focusing on corporality, and more precisely his own body, as a central issue, catalyzer and site of artistic exploration.

Maude Johnson (1988) lives in Montreal where she is a MA candidate in Art History at Concordia University. She holds a BA from Université du Québec à Montréal (Art History). Her research examines the relationship between the body and space, notably through an exploration of performance practices, the archive and new media in the varying contexts of contemporary art. As a writer she collaborated with the exhibition do it Montréal (Galerie de l’UQAM) and contributes to the magazine esse arts + opinions.

Robert Filliou (1926-1987) was a French artist, poet, and economist. Through his work he sought to merge art and life by exploring language as a form and a constituent issue. Filliou’s utopian work radically incorporates daily life as a structuring space for creation. He joined the communist resistance in 1943, left for the United States in 1947 and received a master’s degree in economy from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). Following the completion of his studies, he worked as an economist in Korea from 1952 to 1954, and then lived in Egypt and Spain before settling in Denmark in 1957. Filliou discovered the artistic avant-garde through Daniel Spoerri, whom he met in Paris in 1959. Since the early 60’s, he closely collaborated with Emmett William, a coordinator of the Fluxus movement. Between 1965 and 1968, in Villefranche-sur-mer, Filliou ran with George Brecht La Cédille qui sourit, a boutique and workshop, or a “centre for permanent creation,” as they named it. It was during this time that the two artists developed the concept of “Eternal Network” (in French: “La Fête Permanente”), which heightened the desire for gathering and continuity at the heart of Filliou’s practice. His book Teaching and Learning as Performing Arts was published in 1970 in collaboration with many other artists, including Joseph Beuys, John Cage, and Allan Kaprow.