Students from the Montpellier Artistic Project (MAP) association invite you to come and dissect a scene from Godard's film "Contempt" during the exceptional exhibition by artist Sylvain Fraysse at the Historic Building of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine. We met with them to discuss this unique project.
How did this project come about?
The "Camille " project was born in 2022, from a desire by members of the Montpellier Artistic Project to introduce new forms of art to students at the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine. The MAP's 2021-2022 board contacted the Regional Contemporary Art Fund (FRAC) with a view to creating a joint project, and this led to a collaboration with visual artist Sylvain Fraysse and Céline Mélissent, who is responsible for public relations and the dissemination of the FRAC collection.
What does this artistic experience consist of for visitors?
The exhibition consists of a sensory experience of light and sound based on Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris. The artist uses the Dissection Room in the Historic Building of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine to "dissect" a scene from the film. In this legendary scene, the director lists the parts of the body of Camille, one of the main characters played by Brigitte Bardot, as if performing a dissection. Sylvain Fraysse recreates the color filters of the scene using gelatin on the windows of the dissection room and also cuts the original soundtrack of the film into 24 frequencies. In this way, he dissects the very essence of the scene.
What exactly is MAP?
The Montpellier Artistic Project is a non-profit organization founded in August 2020 by three medical students who wanted to organize artistic activities within the faculty.
Over the past three years, the MAP office has grown, and we now offer various workshops and activities across our four areas of focus: applied arts, public speaking, literary arts, and culinary arts. To this end, we provide equipment and introductory sessions for various artistic practices, and we also organize art competitions on our social media platforms, as well as a public speaking competition each semester.
You can find us through our mascot, a chameleon named Léon Art, on Facebook and on our Instagram account.
Why is this project important to you?
It is important to us because it allows us to bring the Faculty's historic building to life by opening a room that has never before been open to the public, and thus give the association a boost by stepping outside our usual workshops. We have learned a great deal from this project and hope that students and visitors will enjoy it. We are also very proud to be involved in Montpellier's bid to become Capital of Culture 2028 and to be able to play a part in the dynamics of the Metropolis. It is a colorful experience that brings students together.
What support have you been able to gather?
We had the opportunity to work with Sylvain Fraysse and the FRAC through Céline Mélissent, who was our main contact during the development of this project. The project was selected to participate in Montpellier's bid to become European Capital of Culture 2028, which meant we were able to receive financial support for the exhibition. La TaM supported us by allowing us to put up posters at certain tram and bus stops in the city to promote the exhibition.
We also received support from the University of Montpellier (UM) through the Student Initiative Solidarity Fund (FSDIE) and the UM Arts and Culture department, notably Eléonore Szturemski, as well as the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine. We would like to extend our special thanks to Dean Isabelle Laffont and Professor Gérald Chanques for their support and logistical assistance.
Practical information about the exhibition
Historic Building of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine
2 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine
34000 Montpellier
Exhibition open to the public from March 22 to April 18:
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 2pm to 7pm
- Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Students guided tours during these open days, with free admission.
On Tuesdays, guided tours will be offered by students in the Master's program in Mediation at the Faculty of Education in Montpellier.
- Tuesday, March 28, April 4 and 11 at 3 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 18 at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Additional mediation slots offered by association members will be announced at a later date on the event's Facebook page.
Every five years, a new dean's team, composed of vice-deans and project managers, is appointed by the Dean to represent him or her in specific tasks. This year, Professor Stephan Matecki was elected president of the Scientific Council. Read his interview here to find out more about his career and the projects he hopes to implement as part of his role!
You have been elected Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. Could you tell us about your background and your area of expertise?
I am a physiologist, head of the Pediatric Functional Exploration Unit and a research team within the UMR CNRS 9214-INSERM U1046 Unit located at the IURC. I am also co-head of the Master's program in Biology and Health. After studying medicine in Paris, I completed my internship and residency in physiology in Montpellier. I have always been deeply committed to scientific training and supporting our students in their scientific careers. This has enabled me to develop a comprehensive support program for our youngest students by setting up a dual health sciences curriculum designed for all health students. This program was recently certified by INSERM and has been integrated into the national network of Medicine-Science programs at its school. As a member of the Scientific Council, I have also been able to develop this support strategy through a system of early and regular mentoring for all our candidates for university hospital careers, who will be the future of our faculty.
How do you plan to balance your professional activities with those of Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board?
When you love what you do, you don't count the hours. But as a physiologist, my professional obligations are less demanding than those of a clinician or surgeon. What's more, I think that my activities as head of the Master's program in Health Biology and as head of a research team are very complementary to my role on the scientific council. A role which, I should point out, is very much focused on mentoring and providing supportive guidance to our young people who are keen to pursue a career in university hospitals.
What will your contributions and objectives be? What projects do you want to carry out in your role?
I would like to focus on promoting the visibility of our Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine in terms of its scientific policy, in line with the Montpellier and Nîmes University Hospitals, by highlighting its core business, which is training in the field of health, and its driving force, our students. I would also like to step up our support for young candidates through scientific advice, based on a relationship of kindness and mentoring. The aim will be to train them to reflect on their scientific positioning, which will guide them in their future scientific careers. Support for candidates must be put in place as early as possible, which will enable us to better advise and guide them so that they can approach the interview with confidence, as their scientific background and positioning will have been validated in advance. Finally, I would like to continue developing dual health and medicine programs, adapting them to the growing demand, especially since the introduction of the student pathway assessment, which will be taken into account in the matching process.
What motivated you to accept this appointment?
Above all, it is a pleasure to give our youngest members all the help they deserve. Their enthusiasm and attentiveness are a real driving force for me, almost like a fountain of youth.
The 18th edition of Primavera will be held on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier. Exhibitions, conferences, and a sale of rare plants will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
1. A golden opportunity to acquire an exceptional plant
Primavera's sale of rare plants is sure to delight botany enthusiasts and weekend gardeners alike. Just imagine: being able to admire a little piece of the Jardin des Plantes in your living room or garden every day. Green will be this spring's decorating trend!
2. A day of learning
Three conferences not to be missed:
- 2:30 p.m.: "Plant nomenclature: from pre-Linnaean authors to the Shenzhen Code" by Pierre COULOT, pharmacist, biologist, founder and
president of the Botanical Society of Occitanie, specialist in the Fabaceae family. - 3:30 p.m.: "The Mysteries of the Labyrinth" by Andrée LAFON. Passionate about literature, theater, and psychoanalysis, she has written books
that focus heavily on depth psychology. - 4:30 p.m.: "The restoration project of Pierre Richer de Belleval's Intendance and its maze" by Professor Thierry LAVABRE-BERTRAND, Director of the Jardin des Plantes.
3. A blend of art and nature
Anne Tassin, ceramic artist, invites you to visit her exhibition "Inspiration végétale" (Plant Inspiration).
4. Come and discover the recently renovated Rabelais monument!
Sculpted by Jacques Villeneuve, the monument, dedicated to Rabelais and the pleasures of life, was inaugurated on November 6, 1921, by the President of the Republic, Alexandre Millerand. The monument was donated by students as part of the celebration of the 700th anniversary of the Faculty of Medicine, where Rabelais studied in 1530.
The University of Montpellier, the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine, and the Montpellier Botanical Garden Corporate Foundation contributed to the restoration of this monument.
5. It's springtime!
Who doesn't enjoy strolling through the paths of the Jardin des Plantes in spring? It's the perfect time to see the garden's lush flora come back to life after winter. Primavera is an excellent excuse, if one is needed, to discover or rediscover Montpellier's Jardin des Plantes.
