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![](images/voir5.gif) ![](images/voir3.gif) Biography
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1938
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Jim
leon, the son of Albert Samuel and of
Marjorie Ellen Sadler
was born in Wolverhampton ( Great Britain) on the12th of
November 1938, and was the eldest of 13 children.
He was brought up in a working class district of Birmingham
and his
early boyhood was marked by the intensive German bombings
over that area
where there were a lot of factories and railways. His playing
grounds
were the brick houses devastated by the bombs and he soon
got fascinated
by the quick growth of vegetation hiding the ruins.
These pictures are the main subject of his
paintings of the late.
He could read at a very early age. People around him were
amazed by his aptitude for drawing, and by the age of five
he was considered an “ artist” by the entire neighbourhood.
After primary school he entered
Handsworth
Grammar School.
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1954 |
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He passed the exam
for the ‘Birmingham Fine Arts College’,
from which he was expelled for bad behaviour in 1957.
He then spent many hours in the town pubs, where he enjoyed
happy conversations over many a good pint mixing with a
cross-section of people. This
attraction for pubs and later for bistrots lyonnais
would set the pattern for the rest of his life.
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1959 |
He got married to
a girl from Lyon and they subsequently had
three children: Renaud,
Anna, who died in 1960, and Meg.
He settled with his family in Lyon, in September 1960 , and
immediately met many of the local painters, and found a job
as a fabric designer.
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1960 |
From 1961
to 1970 he lived in Lyon and exhibited his paintings
in several exhibitions, collectively or personally. He soon
became a very active participant in the artistic life. At
the same time he
designed posters for the productions of the “ Théâtre
du 8e” in Lyon including :
- the “Tragédie du roi Christophe” written
by Aimé Césaire and directed by Jean-Marie Serreau,
- “ la Poupée” of Audiberti,- “Dom
Juan” of Molière,- “La Mort de Danton”
of Bruckner, and “ la Moschetta” of Ruzzante all
directed by Marcel Maréchal.
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1963 |
The
Fine Arts Museum of Lyon bought his painting called The
Day Before, ‘The Day Before’. He
realised creations for the textile studio
of
Raoul Bruckert in Lyon and took part, also, in
designing costumes and theatre sets. .
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1964 |
Jim, then, had an extremely creative
period between 1964
&1969,
when he exhibited in Lyon, Paris, Brussels, Delhi, Bombay,
Cyprus and so
on…
During the strikes of May 1968, he gave a painting, called
“
La Révolte des canuts” ( silk workers
revolt-1831), he had painted in 1964, to be auctioned for
the workers on strike.
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1968 |
During a stay in London he met Rick Wright, leader of the
“Pink Floyd”, and coming back to Lyon he initiated
their
first concert in France , for which he designed
the poster, on the 16th November 1968, at the “Théâtre
du 8ème”, encouraging other groups to come, such
as the “Rolling Stones”. |
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1969 |
On his first trip to California he collaborated
with the “ Berkeley Barb”. He took part in the
creation of “ People's
Park” in Berkeley.
After reading the works of Krafft-Ebing he produced and exhibited
a series of sketches(Psychopathia
Sexualis) at the gallery “
Le Lutrin” he had realised in 1967.
He designed the models for the sets and costumes of “
La Mise en pièces du Cid”
at the “ Théatre de la Cité” in
Villeurbanne, for Roger Planchon, which was subsequently shown
in Paris in the Gaston Baty theatre, at the end of the same
year.
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1970 |
Jacques Demy asked him to design
the sets for his film” Peau
d'Ane” and he also designed the poster.
In October he and his wife Monique decided to separate and
Jim, the, chose to settle in London where he stayed till 1973.
He produced a lot of illustrations
for magazines such as ‘International Times’,
Oz
, The
Savoy, ‘ Rolling Stones’
etc…
He participated in a conference devoted to the works of William
Blake at the Institute of Modern Art in London.
At this time he frequently commuted between London and Lyon.
He designed the sets and costumes for the ballet “ La
Symphonie fantastique” of Berlioz, directed
by Vittorio Biaggi produced for the
Lyon’s Opera.
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1973 |
On the
1st of May ,under the influence of LSD he had a
mystical experience which changed his vision and affected his
artistic expression. |
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1974 |
Back to the United States he taught at the Pensylvania
Academy of Fine
Arts in Philadelphy and later went to San Francisco.. |
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1975 |
From 1975 onward
he worked mainly in Lyon with occasional visits to London.
He designed the sets and costumes for “
Homme pour Homme” of Brecht, directed by
Bruno Carlucci, for the theatre de l’Est Lyonnais.
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1977 |
He designed the sets and costumes for “
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme” under the direction
of Marcel Maréchal at the “Théatre
de la Criée” in Marseille, directed by
Bernard Ballet. |
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1980 |
At the beginning of the eighties he designed posters
for the
organiser of “ Headquarters Concerts”
and collaborated with the rock
music magazine “Brumbeat”. |
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1990 |
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In spite of personal problems, mainly due to alcohol dependence,
he kept working and exhibited his works, designing
murals or taking part in many a cultural
manifestation.
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He gave a
lecture to the students of the Fine Arts School
of Lyon and
from 1993 to 1998 he joined the school “
Objectif Formation” in
Vaulx-en-Velin where he taught Art.
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2002 |
Following an operation for jaw cancer he had
to undergo frequent
hospitalization. He died on the
14th of January and according to his
wishes his ashes were scattered in
the garden of Saint Peter’s Church in the
Harborne district of Birmingham.
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