Keyword : le patrimoine (Heritage)

Ornement is not a crime

Jean Loup Pivin

Words of reason do not suffice to fully translate an intuition of the mind.

All cities have become international. All production, be it artistic, architectural, literary, industrial or economic, is instantly registered within the world, even though the images of objects and architecture don't always cross the borders of their city or country. Yet the place, the cultural land and heritage of the production and those who inspire it, turn one message into another and can create misunderstandings. The great misunderstanding of a world in creation and transformation giving people a vision that they can each interpret according to their culture and background. Of all these misunderstandings, one of the seemingly most derisory is the question of embellishment.

"Memory on the march" interview with Alpha Oumar Konaré

Jean Loup Pivin

Interviewed by Jean Loup Pivin.
Alpha O. Konaré was at this moment président of the ICCROM-UNESCO, after being minister of Culture and before being first elected Président of Mali

Jean Loup Pivin - Africa is today on a turning-point of his history. It is breaking with dictatorships and oligarchies, often amid suffering and disorder. The question of "what future" remains open : what Africa and what Africas for what tomorrow with what identity, at a time when culture has become a world wide phenomenon ? Where will artistic creation have its place in all this upset : will it continue to be essentially a foil for people in power (in which case, the talent-drain will continue), or will it assume a real place in national development ? If so, what place ?

Alpha Oumar Konaré - This historian, president of ICOM, a former Minister of Culture who, during his time in office (two years at the beginning of the 80's) gave real freedom of expression to his country, Mali, and then joined the opposition, setting up a cultural cooperative which published newspapers, Jamana and Les Echos to name two of them. These papers had a decisive influence in the fall of President Moussa Traoré. Alpha Oumar Konaré is today the leader of the Adema party which has brought together some of the liveliest minds in Mali today.

Genesis of the quai Branly Museum

Jean Loup Pivin

In late 1998, Stéphane Martin, president, and Germain Viatte, chief curator and designer of the permanent and temporary exhibitions program of the future museum called the "Musée du quai Branly", not called primitive or native arts museum as would Jacques Kerchache, integrate me as Revue Noire founder inside the Africa team for developing the future museum.
With joy I immersed myself in February 1999 in a full and sharp vision of standpoints which are for me the outlines of a museum of this kind, with all his ambiguous.
I approach the end of the universal museum, the role of humanities disciplines, I "invente" a policy of acquiring with morality", I enjoy the non-historical role of museums in the knowledge of the Other and I favor the presence of contemporary expressions rather than contemporary art, ...
Whatever it was retained, all listed items still seems as fresh. And not a comma is removed, the text is over :