Louis Pierre-Lacouture
Artist and Filmmaker
February - April 2027
- Cinema
- Miami
“The paso fino horse embodies the American single-foot gait: these equine breeds do not exist elsewhere in the world, and the dialogue I propose around Moondog, a marginal American composer, therefore carries cultural implications that resonate strongly with Puerto Rico’s political and linguistic situation.”
I am an artist and filmmaker, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, and a future resident with a film-installation project. Music, however, was my very first artistic interest. After a period working on the electronic music scene under the pseudonym Enzym, I made a film in Mexico, also centered around a piece by composer Moondog and a national Mexican equestrian tradition known as escaramuza. Single Foot is in a sense a continuation of this project, and more broadly stems from my dual interest in American minimalism and equestrian arts.
Over the past few years, I have moved away from the home studio and the often solitary nature of that practice, towards more collaborative projects involving film professionals, as well as people whose practices are sometimes far removed from film or visual art. I have often encountered in equestrian communities a passionate commitment and a sensitivity similar to that which we usually associate with artists. Horses require riders to work on their muscle tone, breathing, body weight, and so on; breeders, through genetic selection, also shape movement and contribute to a living heritage. My own practice is also informed by a long-standing interest in field recording and sound recording—through radio projects, field recording, and sound effects—which will be central to the project in Puerto Rico.
Louis Pierre-Lacouture is an artist and filmmaker. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux (EBABX) and the EHESS, he develops a transdisciplinary practice spanning expanded cinema, sound art, and installation. His film Moondog Equestria, devoted to the art of escaramuza, was produced by Unexpected Films and supported by the CNAP and IFAL. He also develops sound sculpture projects incorporating ceramics and mineral materials. His work has recently been presented at Maison Composer (89) and Le Bel Ordinaire (64), with screenings at Colegio San Ildefonso in Mexico City and the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles.
Single Foot is a multichannel film-installation project based on the piece of the same name by American composer Louis Hardin, known as Moondog (1916–1999). The title also refers to a natural gait found in certain American horse breeds, known in Spanish as paso fino, which are primarily bred in Latin America and the United States. A genetic predisposition enables these horses to move by placing only one foot on the ground at a time. The result is a spectacular gait that I propose to use as the rhythmic and choreographic foundation of the piece.
Musicians, dancers, and riders will be staged for the camera at a rancho in Puerto Rico, a former Spanish colony and the birthplace of this equestrian tradition, which is now a U.S. territory. Twentieth-century minimalism will enter into dialogue with early musical instruments, contemporary dance, and American breeding traditions. The chiaroscuro cinematography will blur spatial references and invite an intense listening experience, while evoking the blindness of the composer.
The residency will allow me to meet the riders, musicians, dancers, and paso fino horses who will participate in the project. Understanding the capabilities and specificities of this particular breed will be essential to developing the choreography and staging of the film-installation, which is planned to be produced towards the end of the residency with the resources of the production company Unexpected Films.
Developing a precise shot breakdown and carrying out a rigorous multi-camera shoot, while remaining attentive to the horses’ physical capacities and working conditions, are important challenges for the project. The multichannel installation I envision, designed to offer the viewer a fragmented and mobile experience, will also involve studio sound recordings with the musicians in Puerto Rico, followed by editing and post-production upon my return to France.
The paso fino horse embodies the American single-foot gait: these equine breeds do not exist elsewhere in the world, and the dialogue I propose around Moondog, a marginal American composer, therefore carries cultural implications that resonate strongly with Puerto Rico’s political and linguistic situation.
Having strong personal ties to Latin America myself, I see focusing on this part of the United States—an island in the Caribbean where Spanish is widely spoken, and which has been described as the “oldest colony in the world”—as a meaningful and deliberate gesture, and I am pleased that a French institution is making it possible.
Before defining the staging in detail, I want to meet the people involved and gain a deeper understanding of this tradition. The residency will therefore involve location scouting, rehearsals, and filming in a rural environment, working with people whose lives and practices are, at first sight, far removed from the art world.
In partnership with
Unexpected Films
Unexpected Films is an independent production company based in Paris, specializing in the development and production of auteur films, documentaries, and hybrid projects at the intersection of cinema and contemporary art, in France and internationally.