Original art work: Merci Claude, 2013, oil on canvas 178x137 cm (70"x54").

Montreux Jazz Festival Fundation collection. Poster size: 100x70 cm (39"x27.5"). On sale now !


It was a great honor for me to create the poster for the Montreux Jazz Festival 2013. My idea was
to have musicians of different ages and cultural backgrounds play together in a summer sunset.
The abstract landscape represents a mountain with vineyards and a lake. Light is shown coming from
all directions, despite the shadows in the center. The characters are depicted in a style that comes
from an area in Northeast Brazil (my home country) named Caruaru, where local people make
small figurines using clay.Thanks to my long time friend Seigen Ono for his collaboration and
special thanks to Claude Nobs for his invitation. Unfortunately the visionary man never saw the
finished painting and I never met him, but I believe his soul is well represented in this poster.







Makig the Official Poster clip


Official Poster announce at Auditorium Stravinski, Montreux (February 8th 2013).Image from RTS- Radio Television Suisse.


PRESS:

In French: Le Matin by Fred Valet and Laurent Fläckiger, 9/February/2013

In English: Geneva Lunchby Allen Wallace, 9/February/2013

In German: Bäro dlb, 9/February/2013

In Portuguese Folha de São Paulo by Cassiano Elek Machado, 9/February/2013




Left photo: Claude Nobs meeting with musician Seigen Ono. Right photo: in Tokyo Switzerland Ambassador house luncheon (Nov/2012)






Thanks Claude.

Dear friends and studio partners,

Today an extraordinary man by the name of Claude Nobs passed away. Having grown up in the Alps mountains, he was practicing cross country skiing on Christmas Eve when he suffered a serious accident. He spent his last days at a hospital, in a coma. His life was marked by many notable events. He was the founder and artistic director of the Montreux Jazz Festival, a festival that became a symbol of excellence and a reference within the music world. He presented the most sophisticated music around the world to audiences and made hundreds of new talents known for the 46 years the festival has been running.

By twist of fate, our paths crossed a couple of months ago. Last November, during the Montreux Jazz Festival in Kawasaki, Claude Nobs and Mathieu Jaton, along with their friend, the musician Seigen Ono, were discussing the Festival and the poster for 2013 at the hotel. Seigen suggest my name, Mr. Nobs saw my artworks and chose me instantly: "-This is the guy! That's what I want! " (left photo). Day after my participation as the official artist was announced at a luncheon in the house of the Ambassador of Switzerland in Tokyo (right photo). And so I joined the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival 2013 team, and became responsible for preparing the visuals. The event is to be held in July.

It was the end of the year, the holiday season. In the silence of my studio I spent most of my time painting. For days and days I worked, curving the brushstrokes to create a musical effect. I once visited Lausagne, a city near Montreux, and I tried to remember its colors from memory, the green mountains covered with vineyards and the blue waters of the lagoon. Finally, the piece was done. But a few days later, I got an email with the news of his accident and its dreaded consequence. The visionary man who invited me had just passed away, without ever seeing the finished painting...

There are no words to express the loss I feel. But upon reflecting, I think this is the destiny of visionaries. They create a dream to reach for, a light to be pursued. And thanks to this kind of notable people, others, especially the younger generation, are inspired to fulfill the vision and move forward.

It was a great pleasure working for Mr. Nobs, despite never having had the chance to meet him personally.

Oscar,

January 10th, 2013



Obrigado Claude:

Caro(a)s amigo(a)s e associados do estúdio,

Hoje partiu um extraordinário homem chamado Claude Nobs. Homem criado nos Alpes, foi praticar cross country na véspera do Natal. Sofreu um grave acidente e passou os seus últimos dias no hospital, em coma. A sua vida foi marcada de eventos notáveis. Foi o idealizador e diretor artístico do Montreux Jazz Festival por 46 anos. Um Festival que virou símbolo de excelência , uma referência dentro do meio musical internacional. Apresentou para o mundo o que existe de mais sofisticado, descobriu centenas de novos talentos.

Por obra do destino, os nossos caminhos se cruzaram a dois meses atrás. Durante o Montreux Jazz Festival em Kawasaki, estava discutindo o próximo poster junto com um amigo em comum em Tokyo, Seigen Ono. Este sugere o meu nome e o CLaude vendo o meu material decide na hora “-Esse é o cara! É isso o que procuro!” (foto a esquerda). Depois de trocar alguns e-mails noite adentro, é anunciado a minha participação ---como artista oficial--- no almoço na casa do Embaixador da Suiça em Tokyo (foto a direita). E assim entro para o time da 47th Montreux Jazz Festival 2013 a ser realizado em julho. Fico responsável em preparar a parte visual.

Final do ano, época de festas. No silêncio do estúdio passo os meus dias pintando. Passo dias e dias, movimentando os pinceis em curva para criar um efeito musical, codificadas visualmente. Estive uma vez em Lausagne, uma cidade vizinha ao Montreux e apartir da memória vou relembrando as suas cores. A verde das montanhas cobertas de vinhedos e o azul das águas calmas da lagoa. Enfim o trabalho fica pronto. Mas recebo pelo e-mail a notícia do seu acidente e por fim a notícia que ninguém gosta de receber. O homem visionário que me chamou, acabou partindo sem ver a pintura terminada…

Fica a sensação de um vazio muito grande. Mas refletindo bem, acho que esse são o destino das pessoas visionários. O sonho é algo que sempre ficará lá na frente. Uma luz a ser perseguida. E graças a esse tipo de pessoas notáveis, os outros, principalmente os mais jóvens, conseguem inspirações para seguir em frente.

Foi um grande prazer trabalhar junto com o Sr. Nobs , apesar de jamais ter tido a chance de encontra-lo pessoalmente.

Oscar, 10 de Janeiro de 2013




クロードさん、ありがとうございました。

今日、偉大な人、クロード・ノブス氏が逝去されました。 アルプス山脈に育った彼はクリスマスイブにクロスカントリースキーの練習中に事故にあい、昏睡状態のまま病院で亡くなりました。彼の人生は多くの有名な出来事に彩られていました。彼は音楽界での卓越の象徴となったモントルー・ジャズフェスティバルの創始者で芸術監督でした。彼は世界の最も洗練された音楽を聴衆に紹介し、これまでの46年間に数多くの新しい才能を世に送り出してきました。

運命の巡り合わせで数ヶ月前にノブス氏と僕は接点を持ちました。 東京に住む共通の友達、オノ・セイゲンの紹介をいただだき、ノブス氏は僕の作品を見て「この男だ、これが欲しい(左写真)と即座に僕をモントルー・ジャズフェスティバル2013のヴィジュアルアーティストに選びました。その次の日に東京のスイス大使公邸での昼食会(右写真)で公式アーティストとして僕の参加が発表され、僕はこの7月に開催される第47回モントルー・ジャズフェスティバル2013のヴィジュアルを担当することになりました。

昨年末、クリスマス時期の静かなスタジオで、僕はモントルー・ジャズ・フェスティバルのポスターのための油彩を描いていました。何日もの間、音楽的な効果を出すために筆を動かしました。僕は1度、モントルーに近いローザンヌに行ったことがあり、その記憶からブドウ園に包まれた緑の山や湖の青い水の色を思い出そうとしていました。年末のほとんどの時間を費やして、ついに作品は完成しました。 しかし数日後に僕は彼の事故とその悲しい結末を知らせるメールを受け取りました。僕を招いてくれた先駆者は完成した作品を見ることもなく、逝ってしまったのでした。

僕が感じた喪失感を表す言葉はありません。しかし、静かに考えてみると、これは先駆者の宿命なのかもしれません。彼らは手にするための夢、追い求められる光を創る。そしてそのような偉大な人たちのお陰で、その他の、特に若い世代が鼓舞されて夢を成し遂げ、前進する。

直接お会いする機会は得られなかったけれど、ノブス氏のための仕事ができたことに深い喜びを感じています。

オスカール

2013年1月10日