Artists Autonomous Zone in the Louvre Carrousel Salon 2006 Exhibition
by Frank Shifreen, New York.
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The 2006 Salon exhibition of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts taking place at the Louvre celebrates the spirit of visual artists from all areas of the globe working and creating, all striving to express their visions, their cultures, and ideas. These artists, often independent, free of adherence to an elite, often decadent museum gallery system, deserve credit for perservering in their chosen craft. Visual art is an anomaly in today’s world. Making things by hand, searching for beauty or meaning, is both the most ancient and the most modern revolutionary act. This Salon exhibition of the work of hundreds of artists becomes an apotheosis of the human spirit that challenging the violence, nihilism, commercialization, and the repressive ideologies of our time. Yet as always, when nations, borders, international relations are concerned, the issues become complex and reach beyond the realm of art. Ideally art should stand on its own, free from intrigue or political considerations; however we are not only individuals, but also belong to groups, are citizens. We are citizens. Pierre Levy writes about how we identify ourselves, sex, name, age, address, occupation, and now email address. Each one is a critical identification that locates us in the world. Our personal and national stories are bound up and conjoined. The internet has changed social relations considerably, giving us an identity and location that goes beyond national borders and exists outside of real space. It allows us to engage in greater communication and access to each other that we have not had before. It also brings all of our problems and issues into the foreground, onto the world stage, where we find ourselves participating in the grand historical narrative.
