Didier Ottinger on La Force de l’Art

Photo by Didier Plowy, courtesy the French Ministry of Culture

Didier Ottinger

Mircea Ciobanu James Coleman Bertrand Lavier Annette Messager Orlan Wang Du The Right Stuff James Coleman

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Who appointed the three of you?

The culture minister at the time, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. It was strange, because I never expected to be chosen with these guys.

What do you think motivated your appointment? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the three of you are considered fairly maverick?

Yes, in the first interview he gave about the Force de l’Art, Olivier Kaeppelin, who is in charge of the event at the Ministry of Culture, referred to three of us as “francs-tireurs,” which means “maverick” in a way. This was the official voice of the ministry.

Do you recognize yourself in that description?

I think so, yes. And I think all three of us would be pleased with the description, because the list of works we selected and the way we are exhibiting them is unusual.

You’ve also commissioned some well-known artists to create pieces elsewhere in Paris during the event. Can you tell us about that?

The list comprises some of the most famous artists on the French scene: Bertrand Lavier, Annette Messager, ORLAN, Pierre & Gilles — another generation in a way. We wanted to honor these artists but were conscious that they don’t need yet another group exhibition — they already have ample recognition. So we said to them, “It could be interesting for you to do something you’ve never done before. What are your dreams?” And Lavier, who is a very clever and funny guy, said, “Oh, I want to disrupt the lighting of the Eiffel Tower,” so we said, “OK, let’s go!” And I said to Annette Messager, “Is there a place related to your intimate dreams where you’d like to work?” And she said, “Yes, when I was a kid I used to go to Le Planétarium, which is a mythical place for me.” She ended up making something there. As for Pierre & Gilles, they had been dreaming of making a chapel in a real church for years, and we managed to organize it for them. It’s a way of collaborating with artists on another level.

If I understood correctly, one of your aims for this year’s Force de l’Art is to make contemporary art accessible to sectors of the public who might be put off by something perceived as “difficult.” How do you hope to achieve this?

There was a series of exhibitions held in the Grand Palais that was very interesting for us, called “Les Monumenta.” We visited the first exhibition, which was devoted to Anselm Kiefer, many times, and we were struck by the way the public enjoyed going from large open spaces to enclosed spaces built by Kiefer to encourage concentrated meditation and appreciation of the works. This idea that you have to lead the public and provide a kind of parcours-promenade was something we had in mind. It will be a rich experience for people walking from one type of space to another, one type of work to another.

How much does it cost to stage an event like this?

The general budget is a little over €4 million. But the space itself has no electricity, there is no lighting or anything, so doing a show there is more expensive than doing it in a museum. But that is also why it’s interesting.

There’s a mix of private sponsorship and public money — do you know roughly what the percentages are?

Around 30 percent is private sponsorship. We were expecting more, but it was difficult because of the crisis. In the end we received more technical and material help than cash — for example, one company provided all the wood needed to build the architecture.

What has your involvement in the Force de l’Art brought to you personally?

The demonstration that it’s more interesting to work with several people than alone. It was a great benefit for me to learn about these two other guys, and I hope it was the same for them.