J’ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris !

30 mars 2009

Ah! Josephine !

Article in English below:

Paris et l’époque coloniale

Le 2 octobre 1925, Joséphine Baker passe en première partie dans la Revue nègre au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Vêtue d’un simple pagne de bananes, elle danse avec une furie suggestive sur un rythme de charleston — une musique alors encore inconnue en Europe — l’interprétation d’un tableau baptisé La Danse sauvage. Le scandale fait rapidement place à l’engouement général. Joséphine devient l’égérie des cubistes qui vénèrent son style et ses formes, et suscite l’enthousiasme des Parisiens pour le jazz et les musiques noires. À cette époque, elle rencontre Georges Simenon, engagé comme secrétaire. Malgré le succès réservé à Joséphine Baker, la Revue nègre s’inscrit dans la vision coloniale du monde noir et de l’Afrique qu’a la France de l’époque.
C’est l’époque des expositions et musées qui ont largement contribué à l’identité de Paris: 1925 : Expo Internationale des Arts Décoratifs, 1931 : Musée des Colonies, 1937 : Palais de Tokyo.
Le musée des colonies qui est devenu le Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (aujourd’hui Palais de la Porte Dorée avec déménagement des collections au Musée du Quai Branly), était mon favori.
Il fleurait un temps révolu et mélangeait des cultures dont le lien principal était la France. Le colonialisme a ceci de fascinant qu’il confronte des cultures (dans un rapport malheureusement souvent violent et inégal) et crée de nouvelles expressions artistiques et linguistiques : l’univers du créole, du pidgin… Ce qui m’a toujours sidéré c’est la présence de l’aquarium, qui quoique beau, créait une gêne, car il rappelait que dans les années 30 le colonisé et le monde animal étaient souvent vus dans un ensemble qui diluait l’humanité de l’autre.

Aimé Césaire a écrit dans les années 50 un discours impitoyable sur le colonialisme que je recommande vivement même si le discours est très manichéen, mais n’oublions pas qu’il s’agit d’une réaction à la vision du colonialisme de l’époque, qui était d’un optimisme délirant. En voici un extrait.

Discours sur le colonialisme d’Aimé Césaire :

“Cela réglé, j’admets que mettre les civilisations différentes en contact les unes avec les autres est bien; que marier des mondes différents est excellent; qu’une civilisation, quel que soit son génie intime, à se replier sur elle-même, s’étiole; que l’échange est ici l’oxygène, et que la grande chance de l’Europe est d’avoir été un carrefour, et que, d’avoir été le lieu géométrique de toutes les idées, le réceptacle de toutes les philosophies, le lieu d’accueil de tous les sentiments en a fait le meilleur redistributeur d’énergie.

Mais alors je pose la question suivante: la colonisation a-t-elle vraiment mis en contact ? Ou, si l’on préfère, de toutes les manières d’«établir contact», était-elle la meilleure ?
Je réponds non.

Et je dis que de la colonisation à la civilisation, la distance est infinie; que, de toutes les expéditions coloniales accumulées, de tous les statuts coloniaux élaborés, de toutes les circulaires ministérielles expédiées, on ne saurait réussir à extirper une seule valeur humaine.”

http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/paroles/cesaire.html

Paris and colonial times

On October 2, 1925, Josephine Baker opened in Paris at the Théatre des Champs-Élysées, where she became an instant success for her erotic dancing and for appearing practically nude on stage. After a successful tour of Europe, she returned to France to star at the Folies Bergères, setting the standard for her future acts. She performed the Danse sauvage, wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas. Baker’s success coincided (1925) with the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, which gave us the term “Art Deco”, and also with a renewal of interest in ethnic forms of art, including African.

It’s the period of the great expositions and museums which contributed to shape the identity of Paris: 1925 : Expo Internationale desArts Décoratifs, 1931 : Musée des Colonies, 1937 : Palais de Tokyo.
The Musée des Colonies, which became the Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (today Palais de la Porte Dorée with a transfer of the collections to the Musée du Quai Branly), was my favorite.

It reminded you of the past and mixed cultures with one common trait : France. The interesting side of colonialism is that it confronts cultures (unfortunately in an often violent and unequal relationship) and creates new forms of artistic and linguistic expressions: the universe of creole, pidgin etc…
What always amazed me was the presence of a huge aquarium in the museum. It felt weird, because it reminded the visitor that in the 30s, the colonized and the animal world were seen as a whole, denying the other’s humanity.

I recommend Aimé Césaire’s harsh criticism of colonialism in the 50s (it’s available in English under the title “Discourse on colonialism”) even if I can’t agree with everything he writes (it’s a very good versus evil picture of Europe and Africa, but it was a reaction to a deliriously optimistic vision of colonialism in that time). Here’s an excerpt.

Discourse on colonialism by Aimé Césaire:

Publié dans Illustration, Livre d'Histoire(s)

5 réponses à to “J’ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris !”

Brett:

30 mars 2009 à 10:50

Thanks for the picture, the assemblage. It shows how one’s head works and that reality is a multi-mess which we’ll never get “right”. However, I disagree with Aime Cesare. He was just not living long enough. It takes more than three hundred years to make cicilizations and traditions meet on a level where they really enrich eachother. The history of colonalization was first of all a history of brutality and predation – and yet it was the inspiration of universal human rights and the alikeness of all human beings. Today, the idea of universal human rights is getting more close to be the global benchmark of civilization. Yes, we are far away from the goal and the world can always easily float back. The idea has been suspended much too often but it won’t be stopped in the end. Let’s hope. At least we have the first coloured president in the USA. So, who’s next? France, GB or Germany? History happens suddenly and is nevertheless slower than a snail…
New Illuminati :

31 mars 2009 à 10:51

Pardon my monolingual discourse – one of the grand fruits of Imperial civilisation. ‘Imperialism’ doesn’t sound as nice as ‘colonialism’, but that’s what so-called colonialism really is. Only the imperialist coloniser can believe that the world – and the people they subjugate, impoverish and murder – benefits from their fundamentally oppressive and evil actions. Not even the churches believe they are truly helping anyone! The resultant rich blending of cultures and artforms represents destruction to those it has superceded, not a new form of art!
Alchemy and history rely of solve et coagula – separation and recombination – and this process applies to all aspects of life and to the evolution of humankind.
Most colonialists end up being absorbed by those they would colonise, but destroy much irreplaceable diversity in the process.
France is perhaps the ONLY colonial power to have retained its ill-gotten gains. It has still not given the lands it stole back to the indigenous inhabitants! Art is a very minor side issue compared to grand theft and genocide, cultural and actual.

See http://newilluminati.blog-city.com
http://enlightenment.today.com
http://hermetic.blog.com
MyKitty :

31 mars 2009 à 10:52

I like the collage of your post. It seems to be an old poster but I feel that it is carefully designed so as to show the various features of France. I particularly like the way the different artworks are integrated.

I agree with you that mixed cultures can often help to breed new forms of artistic expressions.

Thank you for sharing the post.

Cheers!
mirabelle :

31 mars 2009 à 10:53

Dear Illuminati. Thank you for commenting.
Here’s my view on things.
First of all, thinking that an enterprise produced one good thing doesn’t mean you justify the enterprise in itself.
We can all agree on the fact that colonialism shouldn’t happen again.
But I do believe that while cultures were destroyed, new cultures were born. There is a very rich creole and pidgin literature in the Caribbean and Hawai’i. Are you saying that this literature is not interesting ?
Also scholars sent in the colonies wrote down all they saw, they recorded languages, customs, art. Others reported the injustices they saw “Une saison au Congo” by André Gide.
During the colonial exposition in Paris, another anti-colonialist exposition was held in protest.
That shouldn’t be forgotten. Not everybody was deliriously happy with the Empire.

Yes, France should leave some territories, like French Polynesia and New Caledonia. Those are the only French territories left from colonization. The African countries are independant now and the other islands were not colonies since the current inhabitants are descendants of the French and Africans. Last time they had to vote for or against independance they voted against it.
In New Caledonia too but there there is a native population who is marginalized due to their smaller number.
Mayotte is becoming a new “département” (like a US state). They voted for it at more than 90%.

So the issue is more nuanced. There are today cultures born out of imperialism, colonization, others have been destroyed.
I enjoy the new cultures and I regret the lost ones.

Thanks MyKitty. I’m glad you like my collage!
Hans :

31 mars 2009 à 10:54

I full hearthy agree with you on this Mirabelle

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J’ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris !

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