Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

ARTS EN BALADE, A TRICKY TREK

https://jacquescoulardeau.medium.com/arts-en-balade-a-tricky-trek-0abbfa135109

FRANÇAIS

Depuis 30 ans, ils nous promènent de salle en salle, d’appartement en squat, de chapelle en corum, de bar en boutique, et nous papillonnons, parfois butinons sur les œuvres de plusieurs centaines d’artistes, tous différents, tous cherchant de mystérieuses aventures et de surprenants contacts. On va de lieu en lieu et on se laisse convaincre que nous passons sans cesse d’un monde à un autre.

Ce qui pose problème c’est la diversité dans le grand nombre. L’orientation internationale n’est que tentative et de toute façon tout doit se faire en français francophone. Cela pose un problème pour des artistes étrangers qui ne peuvent pas présenter leurs œuvres vraiment car leur français n’est pas de bon niveau et il n’y aura aucun moyen de traduire ce qu’ils pourraient dire. Alors il n’y a pas de forums, de rencontres, de tables rondes.

Les artistes eux-mêmes, s’ils sont francophones, ont des choses à dire mais ils comprennent que dans ce vaste tourbillon mieux vaut en rester à quelques idées simples sur ce qu’ils font, et ne pas poser de questions, proposer des réponses à des questions sur les effets sociaux et culturels de leur travail. Il ne suffit pas de dire : « Je suis ukrainienne et dans mon pays c’est la guerre. » Un débat est nécessaire en particulier quand on sait que les Nations Unies ont recensé plus de cinq millions de réfugiés ou personnes sous protection temporaire venus d’Ukraine depuis le début des hostilités, et ce exclusivement dans la Communauté Européenne. Cela mérite débat, pas un simple soutien non argumenté, si soutien cela devrait être.

À Thiers ce ne fut pas beaucoup différent, sauf que les artistes étaient pour beaucoup liés à la ville de Thiers.

Désolé, mais en trois jours vous ne pouvez pas vraiment en faire plus que je n’en ai fait. Découvrez la couverture complète, et en images.

Mais un absent de marque est la non-présence du Street Art. Aujourd’hui il n’y a pas d’arts plastiques sans la présence visible et de plus en plus importante du Street Art. Clermont Ferrand est très largement absent de cette évolution. Les arts picturaux dans les lieux de culte étaient le « street art » des siècles passés. Aujourd’hui on ne voit presque plus d’arts picturaux, sauf la publicité, dans les nouveaux, lieux de culte que sont les halles marchandes, les centres commerciaux, les universités, sauf les anciennes comme La Sorbonne. Il faut rendre aux Street Arts littéraires, du conte, de toutes les picturalités et spiritualités, de la musique, de toutes les musiques leur place dans la société où elles et ils ont été réduits à des accompagnements sur smartphones.

Mais il y a un peu d’espoir, car le monde change et ceux qui veulent continuer à exister doivent s’adapter au changement.

ENGLISH VERSION

For 30 years, they've been taking us from room to room, from apartment to squat, from chapel to corum, from bar to boutique, and we fly about, sometimes foraging at the works of several hundred artists, all different, all seeking mysterious adventures and surprising connections. We go from place to place and let ourselves be convinced that we're constantly passing from one world to another.

The problem is the diversity within the large number. The international orientation is only tentative, and in any case, everything must be done in French. This poses a problem for foreign artists who can't truly present their works because their French isn't up to anything decent, and there's no one to translate what they might say. So, there are no forums, meetings, or round tables.

The artists themselves, if they are French-speaking, have things to say, but they understand that in this vast whirlwind, it's better to stick to a few simple ideas about what they do, and not ask questions, or offer answers to questions about the social and cultural effects of their work. It's not enough to say, "I am Ukrainian and there is a war going on in my country." A debate is necessary, especially when we know that the United Nations has registered more than five million refugees or people under temporary protection who have come from Ukraine since the beginning of hostilities, and this exclusively in the European Union. This deserves a debate, not simple, unsubstantiated support, if support is what it should be.

In Thiers, it wasn't very different, except that many of the artists were connected to the city of Thiers.

Sorry, but in three days, you can't really do more than I did. Check out the full coverage, including images.

But one notable absence is the absence of Street Art. Today, there are no visual arts without the visible and increasingly significant presence of Street Art. Clermont-Ferrand is largely absent from this evolution. Pictorial arts in places of worship were the "street art" of centuries past. Today, we see almost no pictorial arts, except for advertising, in the new places of worship, which are market halls, shopping centers, and universities, except for old ones like the Sorbonne. Literary street arts, storytelling, all pictorial and spiritual forms, music, and all affiliated musics must be given their rightful place in a society where they have been reduced to smartphone accompaniments.

Yet, there exists some hope, because the world is changing, and those who want to continue to exist must adapt to this change.

Academia.edu Comment

Jacques Coulardeau uploaded a paper

Clermont-Ferrand is not the center of the world, but it may be the eye of the maelstrom. Mentally and spiritually devastating.

ARTS EN BALADE - A TRICKY TREK

by Jacques Coulardeau

2025 • Éditions La Dondaine, Medium.com

75 Pages

Art Theory,  *  Open Access,  *  Visual Arts,  *  Public Access,  *  Plastic Arts

# posted by Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU @ 3:48 AM 0 comments

Never Forget Slavery

ONCE A CHRISTIAN SLAVE IN MEXICO, NOT FOR VERY LONG!

https://jacquescoulardeau.medium.com/never-forget-slavery-5b1cc509ebec

Colonial Blackness by Herman L. Bennett is trying to rebuild the past of Mexico when it was using a lot of Black slaves. He is not so much interested in their treatment under slavery, but what they became after slavery and how they managed to get out of it fast and in great numbers. Manumission was the main way for them to get their freedom back, and in Catholic Mexico, manumission worked very well. You arrived a slave in Mexico, but many, though we have no real data, did not die slaves.

The Catholic Church, both the Inquisition and the Crown, imposed very strict rules about slaves having to be christened and to become Christians with the necessary education to be able to take part in the various rituals and services. The very first rule was slaves had to marry, and that’s where Bennett found most of his information since slavery had no archives and registries were fictitious. But religious or royal courts were a lot more faithful and detailed.

It is this catholic policy that considered the salves had been entrusted to Christians in Mexico for these Christians to take care of them. Thus, they could not remain slaves very long and they had to prove they were worth being freed. They had many occasions to prove their worthiness: delivering and collecting messages, providing the households with what they needed to just plainly live, hence go “shopping” or rather “marketing.” They could also be used as a guarantee in some commercial bargain.

Bennett insists on the fact that the shift to Catholicism was essential for these slaves to know they were not entirely and forever slaves. If they could be christened, if they could really believe in Jesus Christ, they had some inner worth as individuals, as human beings, as persons. The shift from African heritage or Indian heritage led the Black slaves who married Indian women to shift their religious faith together, simultaneously and reciprocally.

Open question: How did the Mayas shift from Kukulkan to Jesus Christ?

Academia.edu Comment

Jacques Coulardeau uploaded a paper

Bennett did a pretty interesting research there, though he did not specify how, for example, a Maya woman could shift before marrying her slave Black husband-to-be from Kukulkan or Jun Nal Ye to Jesus Christ.

Never Forget Slavery

by Jacques Coulardeau

2025 • Éditions La Dondaine, Medium.com

11 Pages

History of Slavery,  * Spain,  * Mexico,  * Catholic Church,  * Manumission

# posted by Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU @ 2:23 AM 0 comments