Letter to our Americain friends

dowload the file

By Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, director of Culturesfrance

Dear American friends, dear readers of the (European) edition of Time weekly magazine,

As we start the new year, isn’t this the time to send out wishes? An ardent wish that we set at your feet in the form of this little registered letter! The wish that you will offer us as often as possible a present as big as this magnificent cover of Time, taking the death of Marcel Marceau as pretext, with a tearful mime on the cover? And an irrevocable title for a first class burial: "The Death of French Culture". The death you said, not even the decline, a word with which we are quite familiar. No, the death, you said, you wrote, you headlined, for this Old Continent of Europe. That is a strong word.

It is true that over the past few years, for those who do not speak the language, it has been the silent artists of French culture who have hit the headlines with you: the mime artist Marceau, the silent abysses of Commandant Cousteau, our choreographers, our circus acts… We resist, with all our powers, our sublime aphonia, our faltering discomfort, the uproar and hubbub of the world, but we would still like to impress you, just a little, modestly, in French style. To make ourselves heard, shout a bit, throw a few tantrums. This isn’t easy when, with your powerful cultural industries, your worldwide machinery for projecting image, sound, software, desires, you have been, if not loved, at least respected almost everywhere in the world for the last five or six decades.

You therefore had the idea, a bit cruel all the same when you already have so many monopolies and such a vast empire, of headlining the death of French culture. Of course it’s an exaggeration, as you know. Imagine if a French weekly had put on its cover recently, to mark the death of the great writer Norman Mailer, the title: "The Death of American Culture"!

The argument does not stand up. You know that there will always be some mischievous souls in France who will say that the difference between our two countries is that nine out of ten French know who Marcel Marceau was, while only one in ten Americans has heard the name of Norman Mailer. And others more mischievous still, asserting that Mailer was better known in Europe than in the United States. And you must admit, dear friends, that they are not altogether wrong: Woody Allen, William Klein, Philip Roth, Paul Auster and so many other American creative spirits are better box-office in this country with its supposedly dying culture than in the United States… No doubt, you will say, this is because our French artists are not up to scratch and our public, familiar with intellectual concepts, turns to talents from elsewhere.

You know us, we are incorrigible supporters of cultural diversity! On the announcement of the extinction of French culture, we wanted to react rather than simply revel in the silence of the tomb into which you had hurled us. For a whole month, the fine month of December, everywhere, in the papers, on the radio, the television, at dinners in town, reactions have poured out, often outraged. A few amiable traitors, sometimes talented, broke the sacred pact, confirming the hypothesis, and accusing the State and its so-called propaganda channels, its "official culture", of having encouraged this clinical death. They did it out of pique, side-stepping the question, opting for thought alone, the hallowed word. They also did it, and in this they were not wrong, through admiration for transAtlantic creativity.

Not wanting to embarrass our friends at Time – as, in fact Time alone does not represent the entire United States, especially when you relegate us to the European edition: this point has not been emphasised enough – we abandoned the idea of publishing American messages contradicting this hypothesis. Bob Wilson and Peter Sellars would willingly have written all sorts of nice things on the French ability – and thus on the public subsidy system – to produce their shows, in the same way that many American choreographers would have praised the French passion for their works. I still have the letter that William Christie wrote to tell us of his choice I can still see the letter that William Christie would have written to tell us of his choice, as an American, of France, of its enlightened institutions, and its public, to pursue his magnificent career. We have in our possession very many testimonies of this type. If, after our death, dear American friends, you grant us the right to due process, we will produce these documents in court. And beware, if you plan to call your presumed British allies as witnesses to condemn us to death: we will get Peter Brook, Julian Barnes, William Boyd, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Birkin and several dozen other Francophile Britons to testify in our defence.

For a few weeks, every argument, to tell you the truth, has been thrown into the debating ring (presuming that you, dear American friends, believe there is still something to debate). For example:
- Culture and balance of trade cannot be confused; art cannot be summed up by the art market, the quality of an œuvre compared to cultural consumption. There are countless examples of artists who have become renowned over time. An œuvre is an in-depth work, one that lasts; recognition often only comes post mortem, very late.
- Culture is not simply the passport of creative spirits, but the capacity of a country to welcome other cultures: France has a considerable lead here, having opened its arms to so many creative spirits from all over the world. Many of Almodovar’s and Kusturica’s films, not forgetting those by African film-makers, are jointly produced by our country…
- This makes French culture a real melting pot: from Manu Chao to Youssou N’Dour, artists who don’t necessarily sing in French find success all over the world and have strong links with our country (where they are often produced, or where they partly reside). France is also a land of discovery in editorial terms: every year, almost half of the novels published in France are translations.
- France, and Europe in general, represent an extraordinary breeding ground for culture and probably contain the greatest density of creators and thinkers in the world. Michel Serres, René Girard, Julia Kristeva are accepted as authorities in many American universities…
- France also stands for combat, in the forefront being the struggle for cultural diversity, which was the subject of an agreement signed in Paris in 2005 by more than 140 countries from all over the world… A way of justifying the strong, protective measures taken over the past twenty years: one price for books, quotas for songs, advance against takings for the cinema… All these measures have enabled us to maintain a good share for the domestic market (50 to 60% for our films, 60 million entries worldwide…).
- Culture does not just mean cultural industries. It’s also the ability to develop new forms. In this respect, France is responsible for having considerably revived the world of contemporary dance, of circus arts and street theatre. These artists are in demand all over the world and meet with resounding success: recently in Santiago du Chili, Royal de Luxe got one million people out in the street, Bartabas and Zingaro are adulated, etc, etc…
- The United States, despite appearances, is not the only country with influence. The case of French architecture is an obvious example. When Paul Andreu builds the Grand Theatre in Beijing, when Jean Nouvel has projects in Brazil or, like Jean-Michel Wilmotte who also has international standing, in the Gulf states, when Christian de Portzamparc works in Rio de Janeiro, when Dominique Perrault is working on projects in Russia, they are operating in countries that will very soon represent major cultural "markets"… We must take care not to be short-sighted.
- "World stars", ones that reach millions of spectators, we have them too, even if they are not subsidised by the authorities: Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Yasmina Reza, Philippe Starck, Daft Punk, Nathalie Dessay…
- While our creators and intellectuals lost some ground in the United States after the war, we are now seeing their return, and that of French galleries, onto the American scene: from translations of Bernard-Henri Lévy’s books to Daniel Buren’s monograph at the Guggenheim, including the French presence at the Basle Art Fair in Miami; the news is very positive.
- Although we have not raised the bidding, we glean prizes and international recognition. For plastic artists, such as Daniel Buren and Christian Boltanski, both winners of the Premium Imperiale, Annette Messager with the Lion d’Or at the Venice Biennial…
- Should fashion designers be excluded from the sphere of art and culture? Christian Lacroix, Azzedine Alaïa, Jean-Paul Gaultier and so many others are worldwide stars… The luxury industries, as well as the Michelin-starred chefs, are perceived abroad as evidence of the vitality of French "culture" and of its savoir-vivre.
- Say the names of Pierre Boulez or Ariane Mnouchkine in all four corners of the earth: those who love music or theatre will tell you that they are outstandingly creative…
- We will finish with a quote from Jean-Luc Godard: " Culture is the norm, art is the exception".

It is clear from this hotchpotch of arguments that the answers are many and varied, and that with a little more thought, a sense of analysis and a little less cheap theory, our American friends will concede that we have a certain talent for keeping the holy flame burning, despite the modest size of our territory and the relative numbers of our population.

Admittedly, Time’s gift was unexpected. Giving such prominence to French culture in its readers’ minds rather than issues of worldwide interest. Our fifteen minutes of fame! The chance to remind our fellow countrymen that nothing can be taken for granted, that it is necessary to fight, including at home, to reaffirm the importance of this culture, the power of our influence. A way of reawakening the interest of the political community, the media, the culture professionals and the general public in this exceptional topic…

In any case, there is no need to justify ourselves.
There’s no denying the facts. To the question on the magazine’s cover page: "Name a living artist or writer from France…", it is a pity that there was no promise of a reward for any mention of a possible survivor. The lure of a reward would have made us open our address books. Never mind. The cause was worth mobilising for. We have asked hundreds of cultural partners in almost 80 countries worldwide to give us the names of "worldwide stars" who happen to be French, in their own field obviously. And here is the list, incomplete, naturally, an interim one. Aware of our omissions, treating it as a matter of urgency, we will update it as and when the project progresses. New names are already emerging.

We thought for a while that we might take an advertising page in the American weekly to publish this list of "French stars" but, apart from the embarrassment of having to pay a great deal to obtain the right of reply, there is also a very simple and totally delightful problem. We would never have been able to fit all these people onto a single page layout. Our address book has brought in a miraculous haul of fish.

Therefore, dear American friends, we have decided to offer you, in the form of a frieze, a very incomplete list of creative spirits, of men and women of culture originating in France and whose impact is making itself felt all over the world. To enable you at any time, taking the time difference into account, to get in touch with one or two of them. To prevent you the next time spoiling a cover page with an untrue news item, with a hoax that is actually quite pleasant and highly stimulating.

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor

A ...Isabelle Adjani     Pierre-Laurent Aimard     Air     Roberto Alagna     Azzedine Alaïa     Paul Andreu     Jean-Jacques Annaud     Georges Aperghis     Fanny Ardant     Pierre Arditi     Alfredo Arias     Yann Arthus-Bertrand     Olivier Assayas     Marc Augé     Daniel Auteuil     Charles Aznavour    B Agnès B     Gabriel Bacquier     Alain Badiou     Brigitte Bardot     Bartabas     Nathalie Baye     Emmanuelle Béart     Frédéric Beigbeder     Jérôme Bel     Jean-Paul Belmondo     Tahar Ben Jelloun     Claude Berri     Luc Besson     Enki Bilal     Juliette Binoche     Jane Birkin     Paul Bocuse     Christian Boltanski     Sandrine Bonnaire     Yves Bonnefoy     Pierre Boulez     Carole Bouquet     Louise Bourgeois     Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec     Jacques Bouveresse     Claude Brasseur     Stéphane Braunschweig     Catherine Breillat     Peter Brook     Pascal Bruckner     Patrick Bruel     Carla Bruni     Daniel Buren     Jean-Marc Bustamante     Michel Butor     C Francis Cabrel     Sophie Calle     Guillaume Canet     Leos Carax     Pierre Cardin     Carolyn Carlson      Jean-Claude Casadesus     Vincent Cassel     Laetitia Casta     Marc Cerrone     Aimé Césaire     Claude Chabrol     Patrick Chamoiseau     Jean-Pierre Changeux     Manu Chao     Boris Charmatz     Yvette Chauviré     Patrice Chéreau     Régine Chopinot     William Christie     Hélène Cixous     Philippe Claudel     Richard Clayderman     Julien Clerc     Lucien Clergue     François Cluzet     Robert Combas     Maryse Condé     Yves Coppens     Corneille     Vladimir Cosma     Marion Cotillard     Jean-Luc Courcoult (Royal de Luxe)     André Courrèges     Matali Crasset     D Daft Punk     Béatrice Dalle     Jean-Charles de Castelbajac     Hubert de Givenchy     Jacques de Loustal     Christian de Portzamparc     Laurent de Wilde     Philippe Decouflé     Odile Decq     Vincent Delerm     Alain Delon     Julie Delpy     Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota     Catherine Deneuve     Claire Denis     Gérard Depardieu     Raymond Depardon     Jérôme Deschamps     Arnaud Desplechin     Nathalie Dessay     Hervé Di Rosa     Manu Dibango     Assia Djebar     Jacques Doillon     Arielle Dombasle     Alain Ducasse     Patrick Dupond     Aurélie Dupont     Pascal Dusapin     André Dussolier     Henri Dutilleux     E Jean Echenoz     Laurence Equilbey     F Mylène Farmer     Sami Frey     Bernard Frize     G Charlotte Gainsbourg     Richard Galliano     Jean-Claude Gallotta     Laurent Garnier     Gérard Garouste     Armand Gatti     Jean-Paul Gaultier     Costa Gavras     Philippe Genty     René Girard     Édouard Glissant     André Glucksmann      Jean-Luc Godard     Michel Gondry     Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster     Gotan Project     Jean-Paul Goude     Juliette Gréco     Eva Green     Hélène Grimaud     Groupe F     Jean-Paul Guerlain     David Guetta     Sylvie Guillem     Gypsy Kings     H Johnny Hallyday     Marek Halter     Daniel Hechter     Pierre Henry     Dominique Hervieu     Laurent Hilaire     Michel Houellebecq     Isabelle Huppert     Philippe Hurel     Pierre Huyghe     Fabrice Hyber     I Indochine     Ora Ito     J Jean-Michel Jarre     Maurice Jarre     Zizi Jeanmaire     Jean-Pierre Jeunet     Gérard Jugnot     K Patricia Kaas     Mathieu Kassovitz     Cédric Klapisch     William Klein     Julia Kristeva     Bernard Kudlak (cirque Plume)     Milan Kundera     L Marielle et Katia Labèque     Christian Lacroix     Karl Lagerfeld     Biréli Lagrène     Jean-François Laguionie     Christophe Lambert     Ted Lapidus     Jacques Lassalle     Bruno Latour     Georges Lavaudant     Jorge Lavelli     Bertrand Lavier     Jean-Marie G. Le Clézio     Patrice Leconte     Virginie Ledoyen     Michel Legrand     Claude Lelouch     Claude Lévêque     Claude Lévi-Strauss     Bernard-Henri Lévy     Marc Lévy     Jonathan Littel     Julien Lourau     Jacques Loussier     Serge Lutens     M Alain Mabanckou     Macha Makeïeff     Jean-Claude Malgoire     Sophie Marceau     Maguy Marin     Mireille Mathieu     Mourad Merzouki     Annette Messager     Marc Minkowski     Miss Kittin     Ariane Mnouchkine     Patrick Modiano     Jean-Baptiste Mondino     Mathilde Monnier     José Montalvo     Sarah Moon      Jeanne Moreau      François Morellet      Edgar Morin      Nana Mouskouri      Thierry Mugler     N Josef Nadj     Jean-Luc Nancy     Marie Ndiaye     Yannick Noah     Stanislas Nordey     Amélie Nothomb     Jean Nouvel     Valère Novarina     O Michel Ocelot     Michel Onfray     P Vanessa Paradis     Philippe Parreno     Pierre Paulin     Yan Pei Ming     Daniel Pennac     Vincent Pérez     Jean-Marie Périer     Dominique Perrault     Michel Piccoli     Pierre et Gilles     Marie-Claude Pietragalla     Plantu     Michel Plasson     Roman Polanski     Joël Pommerat     Jean-Luc Ponty     Michel Portal     Angelin Preljocaj     Georges Prêtre     Andrée Putman     Olivier Py     Q Pascal Quignard     R Paco Rabanne     Charlotte Rampling     Jacques Rancière     Raphaël     Jean-Pierre Raynaud     Claude Régy     Line Renaud     Jean Reno     Alain Resnais     Yasmina Reza     Bettina Rheims     Jean-Michel Ribes     Rudy Ricciotti     Pierre Richard     Jacques Rivette     Alain Robbe-Grillet     Joël Robuchon     Jean Rochefort     Eric Rohmer     Olivier Rollinger     Willy Ronis     Olivia Ruiz     Sonia Rykiel     S Saint-Germain     Yves Saint-Laurent     Henri Salvador     Karine Saporta     Marjane Satrapi     Jérôme Savary     Éric-Emmanuel Schmidt     Louis Sclavis     Jorge Semprun     Michel Serres     Bob Sinclar     Abderrahmane Sissako     Hedi Slimane     Martial Solal     Philippe Sollers     Alain Souchon     Pierre Soulages     Philippe Starck    T  Wax Tailor     Roger Tallon     Audrey Tautou     Bertrand Tavernier     André Téchiné     Jacky Terrasson     Jean-Yves Thibaudet     Chantal Thomass     Tzvetan Todorov     Alain Touraine     Michel Tournier     Jean-Louis Trintignant     U Albert Uderzo     Emmanuel Ungaro     Tomi Ungerer     V Agnès Varda      Bernar Venet      Marc Veyrat      Michel Vinaver      Jean-Pierre Vincent      Paul Virilio     W Régis Wargnier     Jean-Michel Wilmotte     Lambert Wilson     Georges Wolinski     Z Zao Wou-Ki...