Sword – Diapositive n°1
2016
SWORD OF THE ACADÉMIE DES BEAUX-ARTS
Dominique Perrault, member of the Academy of Fine Arts in the Architecture section, was elected on February 25, 2015 and was installed on June 22, 2016 in the chair of Marc Saltet, architect, by His Highness the Aga Khan. At the end of the ceremony, he received the sword designed by Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost from the hands of Catherine Pégard, President of the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles.
Signed by designer Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost, Dominique Perrault’s academician’s sword freely renews its codes, whether in terms of general shape, ornamentation or forging. The principle of this sword is a game of language, a shift in the meanings that the term \"weapon\" covers. Rather than the classic definition of instrument of attack and defence, it is a constructive meaning that is highlighted here: the iron arms the concrete to erect the wall. Like a rebar, the surface of the blade is therefore regularly ribbed. These ribs are more numerous at the level of the handle, made of tang only, to facilitate gripping. But the general cone shape and the ornamental twists immediately evoke a second imagination, that of the fabulous creatures of which the unicorn is the emblem. The making of the sword, carried out in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, uses state-of-the-art steelmaking: selective laser melting. Starting from a 3D model of the object, this additive manufacturing process consists of gradually and locally fusing metal powder, using high-power lasers. The dust thus becomes matter, reversing the classic cycle of erosion. This cross between constructive culture and oneirism, between classic iconography and innovative technology, results in a unique object, which fully meets the definition of an academician’s sword: \"to represent a symbol of dignity and personality. »
