Yves Demers Strikes Again
Article Transcript
It's never long before Yves Demers is inspired with new ideas which he then brings to successful completion. We've already presented Yves' work in a previous issue of EF, and think his latest creations are well worth writing about!
Yves Demers' 3D Oversized Caricatures Yves Demers put to use the considerable knowledge he had gained building 3D structures during his 19 years of work in the Christmas decoration industry to sculpt oversize caricatures. With the help of his talented caricaturist and illustrator friend, Patrick Dea, who did the drawings, Yves was able to create caricature heads that were 7 feet high. The end result was an acclaimed success.
His procedure is as follows: He first built a framework of wood, polyurethane and metal, then sculpted the clay over this sturdy support with the help of his sister and sculptor, Danielle Demers. The weight of the clay, at around 1000 pounds, requires a strong structural support. After each head was sculpted in clay, it was covered with fibreglass. Since the finished product will be used in a parade, it has to be both light and strong at the same time. And, the clay must not be allowed to dry out so that it can be reused for each of the other caricatures. Otherwise, it would be too costly.
A fibreglass mold is then made over top of this. It would of course be easier to do a latex mold, but again prohibitive costs influence the artist's decision. The clay is removed from inside the mold, a protective, release sprayed inside, and two layers of fibreglass are then poured into the mold. The outer mold is then removed from the inner, two-layered shell, which becomes the fibreglass caricature which is colored with highly resistant paint and varnish. Then he assembles a structure inside of it, in order to hold the caricatured head on the person who will parade with it once it’s done.
It took 300 hours for Yves to do his first giant-sized caricature and 125 hours for each of the additional three. The models Roberto Benigni, Whoopi Goldberg, John Cleese and Martin Short were made for Just For Laughs in Montreal who commissioned the company Artefact which in turn hired Yves for the project.
Yves Demers’ transparent air bubble Yves had already designed a few inflatable structures when he decided to build his own transparent bubble so he could comfortably draw retail caricatures outdoors during cold weather. Made out of transparent plastic, this bubble is attracts lots of attention because of its unusual form.
Before beginning his bubble, he made several prototypes because of the complexity of the work. Since forms the basic shape of the bubble, rather than using tubular structures such as found in tents, he had to be very careful to keep the pressure inside the bubble without losing air through leaks. The door was the hardest part. Actually, entry is through 2 doors: after opening the first one, it has to be closed before opening the second, to keep the pressure constant within the bubble for it would deflate in seconds if the both doors were opened at the same time.
Things that appear simple are often the most complex to create. Hundreds of hours were spent on this project. The 16 strips of plastic that create the bubble could not be sewn together because the small holes created by the sewing machine would allow air to escape and deflate the bubble. Usually, the strips of plastic are melded together with a very expensive machine that is simply prohibitive to purchase by do-it-yourselfers. As he often does, Yves found a very inexpensive way to glue the strips of transparent plastic in such a way that the different parts hold together even more tightly than with the expensive melding machine. The bonds between the 16 strips are stronger and more resistant to lower temperature than what Yves saw available on the market.
In direct sunlight, the bubble becomes rapidly overheated so it must be placed in the shade. In cold weather, during winter time, Yves works in a tshirt in his bubble, with an electrical outlet to heat the air inside. So if some of you ever come to Montreal in winter when it’s 30 degrees below zero, you may find a caricature artist in a transparent bubble working in his t-shirt, outside, in Place Jacques Cartier.
Robert Lafontaine is a caricaturist. He is the main organizer of the caricature event 1001Visages that will take place on the 5 and 6 of October 2012 in Val-David, Québec, Canada (www.1001visages.com)
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