The final book from The Institute of Social Hyporisy is finally here, a complete summary of the events, installations, exhibitions and publications that comprised The Institute of Social Hypocrisy – available for distribution exclusively from Antenne Books. The Institute of Social Hyporisy was a performance artwork by Victor Boullet that served to front a collaborative art program by providing a fictitious level of authority behind which the artist’s activities could reign free.
During its lifetime The Institute permitted a selection of artists, curators, writers to participate in a venture The Institute of Social Hypocrisy is an artificial organization that fronts an artist-led project, run by the artist Victor Boullet in the centre of Paris. The ISH is conducted in the form of a protracted performance piece and its very existence is brought about by inviting collaboration with other participants. Each player and event contributes vital information and connections that allow the Institute to progress. The ISH provides a perception of authority and thus acts as a Trojan horse; it permits the contributors to covertly infiltrate organizations and to gain access people that they might not normally be able to approach.
The accepted paraphernalia that symbolize an official structure also represent The Institute. Door plaques, headed paper, business cards and a flag combine to present an authoritative façade that conceals the true internal activity. The fundamental theme recurring in Victor Boullet’s work is that of alienation and acceptance. He highlights the aspects of intrinsically hypocritical social behaviour used to ingratiate oneself with others. This sense of exclusion, and the subsequent desire to put up an illusion of conformity, functions as the point of departure for the activities taking place within the ISH.
The Institute combines these two connected aspects, of simulated bureaucracy and hypocrisy to form a conceptual umbrella under which a programme of related events can take place. The Institute, provides a structure that is completely independent and thus allows total artistic freedom within its concept. Financial autonomy, whilst not without its difficulties, allows the program to be run by its organizers and participants without being beholden to private investors or the state.
Being a non-profit organisation also means that there are no financial expectations from the participants and which gives them a liberty to produce work that they do not feel should appeal to any particular ’market’, but is purely for self-expression, artistic commentary and content.The Institute of Social Hypocrisy publications are in fact fanzines, and by their very nature these kinds of publications have a ’home-made’ connotation , however, we have chosen to make ours look as high-quality as possible within our financial limits. This choice is part of how the The Institute of Social Hypocrisy hides behind its façade in order to create its illusion.that moved beyond the activities within its Paris walls and onto an international stage. For more information or to buy this book just follow the link bellow.