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wheel of time series (2010)
digital image, 22x17in. niyodo paper

reviews

anissa mack, artist, ny (2007): 'when I first met jean-pierre hébert for a studio visit, it immediately became apparent that his art and life were one. at the time, he was working in a space that served as his studio, his children"s school, a music practice room, and the family living room. but this all lay below the surface. to the casual observer, this was a clean unobtrusive room with some art on the walls. but it was in the art, that the key to the room and an insight into how jean-pierre thinks about making art could be found. in his work, method and image were linked and layered, and the very complex could appear simple and meditative, just as his home had first appeared to me.

throughout history math has often been linked to art in seashells, snowflakes, ratios, sections and innumerable other images; most often giving us a visualization of something that otherwise seems complex and abstract. but hébert's work is different. he is not trying to visualize an equation, but to utilize the capabilities of computer code and mechanical plotters as the "hand" in drawing in order to more directly convey his ideas, concepts, and thoughts by making a direct transposition of thought to paper. not all of his drawings depict perfection as one might imagine, but instead highlight ephemerality and mortality through the rupture and irregularity of line. in addition, the drawings are greatly affected by the drawing implement chosen by hébert. in this way, each coded drawing holds many possibilities as to exactly how it will look when complete.

although many may consider computers cold and decidedly un-human, they are clearly products of our human creativity. so, when hébert uses code as a drawing tool he is exploring his interest in the interrelatedness of art, science, music, and rationality, by using the creative products of other disciplines to serve his ends. these ideas are embedded in the work, and from this beginning point he can then experiment freely with the formal and conceptual questions each piece poses. in each drawing, these layers of form, content, discipline, and technology are all held quite firmly under the surface waiting for the viewer to realize that the three-dimensional effect is, in fact, real.

'