Bellot at the press.
Zoe Bellot is an artist with a passion for printmaking, bookmaking, mixed media and blogging. “These are among my weapons of choice to celebrate words,” she says. The Hudson Opera House has selected her to be its artist-in-residence from October 8 to November 13. Bellot will repurpose two possibly century-old pianos found in the performance hall during its renovation. The pianos will be transformed into concession bars on one side and shadowboxes on the other. You can meet the artist (and maybe have a drink at the piano bar) during the opening reception for Bar-Carolle on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 5-7 p.m. I’m from Paris, and moved to New York in 2007 to study American literature for a Ph.D. I didn’t complete it, because I went to art school instead. I attended the National Academy School to study printmaking. I’ve always been into the book world, and I wanted to learn how to make prints so I could make books. I split my time between the city and Hudson. I always knew I wanted to live upstate at some point. I visited a friend in Hudson, visited again, found a boyfriend…and now I have a studio and press here. I can work in that space from May through November. When people say, “Oh, you’re an artist,” I always feel a little strange. My art is always about language and storytelling. I compare it to writing a book in 3-D, or think of them as sculpture books. I have a blog called Le Mot Du Jour (Word of the Day). It’s in French. Every day I pose a word with an illustration, write a sentence or quote using it, record the word, put a definition to it and post it. I started doing that because I'm also a French teacher.
Music box.
The Bar-Carrolle project came about because we knew Tambra Dillon at the Hudson Opera House. She knew she wanted the pianos, which they uncovered during the renovation, to be turned into bars. Then a lot of connections just seemed to happen. There is an opera, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, written by French composer Jacques Offenbach, in which the most famous aria is titled "Barcarolle." He wrote the opera around the same time the Hudson Opera House was built. So that’s why one of the pianos has shadowboxes of the opera, and the other has some reflecting the history of the Hudson Opera House. There will also be pieces from my collection of music boxes inspired by myths, proverbs, poems and other writings. I love riding my bicycle in the Hudson Valley. My boyfriend and I often go on an 18-mile loop around Hudson. It’s so great to be able to enjoy nature when I’m up here.
