JOAN OF ARC TO BE REMOVED FROM PLINTH

There’s a sculpture I’ve been thinking about for a while. It’s a black woman in the streets of Paris. She’s behind a double pushchair, in which two blond heads are waiting in a semi-coma. In bronze or plexiglas… Made to last. Can you picture the piece? It could be installed place des Pyramides instead of the golden Joan of Arc.

As soon as I have ideas like that I get into the nightmare of thinking about presenting and defending the project. Writing a proposal…
I should probably start by a reminder of the history of slavery, shouldn’t I?
- Certainly not, it doesn’t go down well at all - we’re in Paris, remember? And you’re not black, are you?
- My foster father was.
- Well I’m afraid that doesn’t count because that doesn’t show. Hey, but you should do a project about that! That would be great.
- Even if it's not true?
- Of course not, it has to be real.
- So, shall I give some insights into the history of women?
- Ooh la la, no, no, no! The project would go straight into the « dated & naff  » bin.
- So maybe into the history of  the representation of women in public sculpture?
- Yes, that’s it, that’s more critical, you see, more analytical and more mature.
- But the thing is: it was not quite my point… Didn’t you notice, when day care centers are closing down, big pushchairs with two or three places? It’s not mothers pushing them; it’s certainly not fathers - for fathers have serious responsibilities within companies - but black nannies. In Paris, yes. I'm not talking South Africa here.

The reaction in front of me is usually a facial one. Cheeck and eyes muscles tend to say:  « so what? ». So I make a full sentence, a question: « Why is it that we mostly see black women taking care of small kids in the street of Paris? ». That doesn’t usually make the expression of the person change so much. What I should say is « Is it more "normal" to see black women rather that white men behind pushchairs?» Looks then vary from « crazy feminist » to « what a weird idea ».
-I understand. I even agree with you, you know, says the reporting person. She – the reporting person- is going to write a report and make you get the money to do your piece… or not. I understand, she says, but people in charge, I’m afraid they won’t get what you mean with your black women. 

 

What I should have done is cut & paste from that Parisian gallery website, instead of writing about social issues being still relevant, like class, gender or the colour of your skin.
I’m quoting an already translated text:
« She uses her artistic practice as a tool to examine our perception of reality, especially regarding our relation to cultural productions. With humour and minimal means, her work seeks to destabilize the codes of reading for even the most received forms of culture. Her procedures seem to follow the laws of entropy by creating effects of constant transformation and spontaneous change, expending the excess energy of a system to reveal its paradoxes. The underlying aim of these strategies is always the same: to destabilize pre-established codes of perception by sabotaging the very logic of his material and to push the viewer to develop critical ideas when presented with cultural objects whose meaning seems obvious. » Yeah.
I didn’t tell the reporting person about my cut & paste idea because she could have told people in charge. And art is a serious issue: everyone should have their own personal ideas and not copy. In France, in spite of internationally renowned figures like Simone (we like that in art, internationally renowned figures) a lot of women do say they are not feminist. 

It’s always a shock to me. I don’t get used to it, even after nearly eight years in Paris. The arguments are inevitably the same: they went too far, they don’t like men. What I hear « I’m not too aware of history, and I’d rather not be, so get ready for a daft conversation. » It’s like people telling you Obama is a communist, it’s rather difficult to find the right way into the debate, isn't it?

Well, maybe it’s a question of generations. Maybe their daughters will take responsibilities within companies and wear high heels even when they take the tube alone late at night. Not sure it will be thanks to women in the art world- who wouldn’t have gone too far in feminism.

On the other hand, I must admit that I don’t think it’s a good idea to take a situation that you find politically questionable -to say the least- and reproduce it in bronze. Even if you make it bigger. Even if you make it out of chocolate rather than bronze.
But I mean, is it to show people who don’t get it?  To expose the issue?  To reveal what is hidden…  Is it civic education for the masses? On the other hand, if you do manage to replace Joan of Arc, it might become a good idea.
Yes, I’m like the Swiss guy in Astérix in Helvetia, making his own tavern dirty: I’m criticising myself. With the worst reference or quote you could get in an art related text. Aouch.

photo from South Africa by Marie-Laure de Decker + family photo