Art artistes Etat

The artists and the State: this is the moment to ask the question even if it did not move the presidential campaign… The magazine area, presented as a big volume, prefers to take a little distance rather than dive into the current event of the temporary workers or the multinational Louvre. It illustrates forty years of cultural politics (since the creation of the ministry of cultural affairs by Malraux) with archive photos from the Keystone agency, it followed the traces of the former leesers of rue de Valois (the ministry) who aer still alive. Accompanied by a few important civil servants such as Emile Biasini, who organized Mitterrand’s major works, or Jacques Rigaud, they explain what they did when they held the reins, as well as what they contributed. It is very much fun, as none of them waffles. Maurice Druon said he «saved architecture in the second half of the XIXth century» and tha the does not like the Centre Pompidou. Biasini, recalling the refusal of the Finance minister of the time to leave the Louvre, talks of Balladur as the «worst administrator of France, completely closed minded». as a countrepoint other vigorous voices denounce the way culture is slipping towards «com», the inclusion of almost anything and everything into the national heritage, the incompetence of elected officials in terms of architectural directives, the fear ol launching a true teaching of history of art, the control by an administrative cast over the mechanisms of help to creation, the loss of French influence. Not very encouraging… No, on the contrary, it is rather stimulating. One wishes for more remuses of this type!

• Art artistes Etat, area revue, n° 14, March 2007, ISBN: 978-2-35276-026-9, 20 €