What to do with culture ‘G”? A silent but efficient tool of discrimination within French national education system. Two linoleum cuts to illustrate this issue published in Le Monde‘s weekend edition, Paris, April 14 th, 2012.
Keeping or getting ride of “culture G ‘? A short cut for ‘ general culture’, a sentence that does not have much meaning in American Education. In France it has been an effective on going loophole tool to weed out generations of unprivileged students – regardless if their intellect merits equals the well-heeled one’s— hardly an embarrassment for a country that harbors the republic slogan ” Equality, Fraternity ” – still driven by the same old privilege dynamics promoted by French King Louis’ dynasty. Le Monde titled it ” a rusted selecting tool”. In France, being an able student is not sufficient to get “A’s”, she/his still need to package with some rare ingredients aside the academic course — it is impossible to even be aware of them if not raised in a family that knows the bells and the whistles of it — to be good will never be good ‘enough’, an invisible wall comes as a divider — as a best scenario one may be lucky if looked at in a condescending way…
page, le Monde culture G, “la une”
Being clueless of ‘sophisticated ‘codes made me bare stigmatization, a phenomena that does not stop at school benches! Irony and pure luck provided me with a fertile ground for tackling this assignment . What ever I succeed or I fail, praise or blame “Culture G”!
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original linoleum cut, Culture ” G” la une
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double page, le Monde culture G
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original linoleum cut, le Monde , Culture G for the double page
Even so the linoleum cut has been created as ‘ONE’ single piece, I had to keep in mind that it would split in ‘TWO’ parts in the final printed in a specific layout version on the 2 pages of Le Monde.
The action contrast of the image as been greatly enhance , the idea behind being of making an advantage result of what was set a a starting difficulty.It is important to notice as well that the colors are purposely very vivid in the planning that they will weaken down after the final mass produce printing phase onto the newsprint quality paper support.
Even so it is always interesting to challenge oneself on different avenue, I rather leave this sort of ‘image building’ to designer – as for my point of view this does not truly changes the foundations of my working methods because if the ideas come from the mind, at the end of the day my hands would have still to physically deliver it…I deeply resent this educational approach that leads blindly people to mind oriented versa hand orientated final and only destinations, this absurd behavior would make only unbalanced and therefore dysfunctional and in completed human being, and it is nothing new to say that this gears towards a narrow vision of ‘productivity’ therefore a harm to individual as well as society.
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Creating the original linoleum prints: cutting and printing process
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Le Monde Culture G 2 – linoleum cutting in progress
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Printing Culture G #2
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linoleum cutting-le Monde Culture G la une
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Le Monde Culture G la une – linoleum printing progress
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? drawings, linoleum cuts, photographs and texts copyright Raymond Verdaguer, 2012.
9 Comments
thomas · April 15, 2012 at 08:17
[…] this week I watched a programme about the cleaners of the Louvre, there are 4 people who clean the works of art and they had to do a ‘concours’ to get the job and with ‘culture G’, no chance! […] Thomas
michel · April 22, 2012 at 12:17
[…] As ever terrible, impressive, creative and original prints. Thanks and congratulations for the cover and the double page in Le Monde, culture et idées.
By the way, it seems to me that « culture générale » is a slow and sophisticated diffusion and impregnation process rather than a brutal and crude brand by a hot iron. And that « culture générale » is not the only mean that french bourGeoisie uses for social selection for centuries. They have much more tricks (and letters beyond G) in their wallets to reproduce themselves. Michel
Yves · April 22, 2012 at 20:09
Raymond: notre Goya contemporain!
KEITH · April 23, 2012 at 17:03
Congratulations mon ami. Great work as usual, thanks for sharing.Spring seems to have arrived here, but I don’t trust it yet. -kappy
Barbara · April 24, 2012 at 08:14
Wow! Great for you. You always know I appreciate your work. I wanted to leave a note here so I could be added to your growing fan base. LOL. Magnifique!
Barbara
Julie · April 25, 2012 at 16:13
These are really exceptional prints, Raymond! Full of tension and energy.
Barbara-and-Manabu · April 28, 2012 at 15:31
[…] How exciting that your artwork is in Le Monde! We are deeply impressed by your prints. They are so full of life, and passion.
Judy · April 29, 2012 at 05:08
[…] Je vien d’ecrire un note sur vos oeuvres dans Le Monde…je les trouve tres intelligents, et avec un vision profond. L’homme debout dans l’eau est encercle par la Nature vivante et electriques, avec tous ses couleurs et formes…cette artiste est aussi habille dans un baril que signifie le situation d’etre dans un etat separe des ‘richesses mortes et oublies, dans les livres fermes. On peut observer que les artistes de Culture G recoivent leur inspiration pas de ces volumes-la, mais de cette artiste en face d’eux…comme toujours, ceux qui ne peuvent rien faire mais de copier un vrai talent doivent exister dans un position pas active; tous les trois sont assises, et ils sont entoure de rien qu-est originale, et rien colore. Votre imagination, votre comprehension, sont incroyable, mon brave! Je veux fortement que je sus suffisament bilinge pour decrire mes pensee, mes sensations, en regardant vos oeuvres! Merci mille fois pour m’avoir donne vos idees brilliantes en forme d’art. Pour une telle artiste comme vous-meme, il ne sera jamais necessaire de penser d’une Culture G sauf d’en pitier. C’est vous, une artiste remplis des talents et sagesses naturelles (et pour ces raisons, beaucoup plus fortes)–c’est vous qui a la vision, les perceptions, l’energies, et tous les autres choses necessaire de faire un don de vos talents extraordinaires au monde entier. Raymond, you are astonishing. You have everything you need to survive and to educate the rest of us whose vision is unfortunately limited because we haven’t enough artistic talent. Truth, the river in which you work, is an ever-flowing stream, enriching all that you do. I wish I were sufficiently bilingual to express myself well[…] Judy
Judy · April 29, 2012 at 05:19
[…] I wrote this comment first, but then I see it didn’t ‘send’ so I am sending it now, as it says a little more about your wonderful illustration in Le Monde.
As I have observed your work on other occasions, once again, your vision and intelligence and stunning originality are triumphant in depicting the artist outside of “Culture G” as standing in half a barrel, with a branch for a cane, separated from the ‘acceptable’ artists who are sitting on the books of rules and regulations. But the colour, and Nature, and all inspiration surround the true artist, standing in the river of Truth, and inspiration. Around him are the brilliant colours which contrast with the three volumes which record, but do not inspire…they give models of a static kind of art, in which each artist must be a copyist, and not an original genius. One can think of the artist in the river with envy, as his volumes are drawn from what he observes, what he understands, and what he can express…Nature, Perception, and Talent are his living volumes. No encyclopedias of rules and regulations can ever ‘create’ but can only imitate, and envy. Vive l’originalite! Vive la creativite! […].Judy
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