Thomas Bangalter, one half of the iconic French electronic duo Daft Punk, has been expanding his creative practice into visual art and performance since the group's dissolution in 2021. He has composed music for ballets, collaborated with artist JR and choreographer Damien Jalet on the project Chiroptera, and released a new album, Mirage, made for a ballet with visual artist Kohei Nawa. Bangalter also contributed a sound work to JR's public art installation La Caverne du Pont Neuf in Paris, and will present an installation at Art Basel in Switzerland. He recently played a surprise DJ set at the closing of Centre Pompidou for renovations.
This matters because Bangalter's post-Daft Punk trajectory reframes the duo's entire robot persona as a sustained performance art project, blurring the lines between pop music and contemporary art. His collaborations with leading visual artists and institutions highlight a growing trend of musicians engaging deeply with the art world, while his reflections on Daft Punk's legacy offer a new lens for understanding how popular culture can function as avant-garde art. The article also underscores the increasing crossover between music, dance, and visual art in major cultural venues.