While it is commonly said that a picture is worth a thousand words, less often is it said that a picture is worth a thousand actions. A fictitious divide slices through art-activism in an attempt to detach art from action, or engagement with the “real world.” Yet, the point at which art ends and action begins cannot be demarcated. A painter can splatter the colors of her political message over a blank canvas to translate the pulse of an injustice to the public. Images can jolt an observer from passive consumption of art to active engagement in a cause. Collages can cluster seemingly unlike ideas or people together, engendering solidarity through juxtaposition, which can catalyze peaceful movements. Artivism is flourishing in France.
My visits to Musée du Montparnasse (featuring Alexis Peskine’s pieces in a gallery on a new wave of artists from the African diaspora in Paris) and the Institut des Cultures d’Islam (showcasing a 30-photo exposition of the The Goutte d’Or community by photographer Martin Parr) illuminate the provocative flair of the contemporary artist-activist who makes inroads to the political and cultural through the visual, underscoring the fusion of art and activism.
Peskine’s Portrayals of People and Politics
The son of a Franco-Russian father and Afro-Brazilian mother, Peskine draws inspiration from his paternal grandfather who survived a German concentration camp and his maternal grandfather who inhabited the favelas of Brazil. Tinting his art with the hues of his family history, the Paris-born Master of Arts examines intersectional nature of ethnicity, nationality, religion and gender. He uses the canvas as a space to grapple with power dynamics and facilitate a dialogue on taboo topics around identity in France.
To spark a dialogue on social issues, he employs widely recognized symbols and characters with a hint of humor and familiarity. “I pervert icons in a joking way,” Peskine revealed as he escorted the Humanity in Action Fellows and me through a gauntlet of PowerPoint slides displaying his work. In his magnum opus, he uses Asterix, a popular comic book character and historical figure who exemplifies the xenophobic idea of white, “pure French.” He depicts two images of the blonde, mustachioed, and winged Asterix standing on a platform of two upturned palms of an African woman. Each of the cartoons is armed with a paint roller to erase the woman’s image with white streaks. The piece, cleverly titled “Desintegration,” reacts to the political discourse in France, which emphasizes the importance of immigrants and minority groups to “integrate.”
Drawing from American influence, in “Existe,” Mr. Clean—a bald, muscular man printed on the labels of household cleaning products—communicates the problematic ethnic cleansing mentality that pollutes French politics and leads to internalized oppression. (According to Peskine, in France, approximately 20 percent of black women use skin bleaching, despite the fact that one of the chemicals in this product is illegal). Swashbuckling Indiana Jones in “Masters of the Universal” stands on an African kid’s head to portray the absence of positive black role models in the media and society. In “Hott,” Venus Hottentott, the representation of a sexually exploited woman of color who “had her rear end exhibited in zoos,” attracts attention to the degrading video vixen culture and crude objectification of women.
While speaking out against widespread discrimination with his art, Peskine also confronts specific political issues confronting France. In his signature piece “Identité International,” Peskine displays an outstretched, eloquent African woman draped in a red shawl; set against a white background and a blue splash of abstract images. Visible are a plane, a moon and star symbolizing Islam, a musical note, a black power fist, a crucifix, a stiletto, the McDonald’s arches, and the word “Dorothée,” a famous French television show. This image emerged in reaction to France’s 2010 debate on national identity. “The debate discredited certain people’s Frenchness. It could have been a productive debate about status and direction of the country, but it spewed venomous discrimination,” Peskine revealed. “France doesn’t recognize itself as it is.” Highlighting the impact of globalization, Peskine celebrates diversity and demonstrates that French belonging is not exclusive to a race, but is particular to an experience.
In the same way Peskine blends the serious and the comedic, he cross-pollinates aesthetic forms through the material of his work. Curious about the medium he chose to present his message—gold-leafed nails and lacquer paint on lumbercore wood—I asked “Why nails?” to which he eloquently replied that nails are about transcendence. Representing a duality, nails are both a symbol of pain and resistance, yoking agony and strength. Peskine’s medium and message epitomize the power of artivism: his images transcend frames, leaping into the consciousness of viewers not just as an aesthetic but as advocacy.
Parr Pictures the Goutte d’Or
The Goutte d’Or (pronounced Gu-doh), or “golden drop,” is a community infamous for its immigrants, drugs and crime. Contrary to its name, it is rarely depicted as rich. The working-class neighborhood, with a sizable population of African and Arab residents, was yanked under the microscope of intense media scrutiny when the faithful flowed into the streets. Due to a lack of prayer space, on Fridays Muslims would carpet the asphalt and pray side-by-side outside the mosque, an act seen as intolerable from the eyes of a secular republic. In an effort to provide a fresh and honest outlook on a stigmatized and misrepresented community, British photographer Martin Parr shared his lens as a wandering pedestrian to reveal the riches of the Goutte d’Or.
The exhibit revealed tensions, highlighted by the juxtaposition of a halal meat market with a store selling wine and pork, while also shedding light on the beauty of diversity, capturing multiculturalism with a snapshot of four men—African, Arab-Muslim, Jewish and white—working behind the counter of a corner shop together. He photographed places—like Espace Kata, an exquisite old-time cinema transformed into a shoe bazaar—and faces—like an elderly woman wrapped in a soft blue headscarf—to capture the essence of the neighborhood.
The very presence of Parr’s photo gallery has attracted a diverse array of visitors to the community to experience its diversity of peoples, religious practices, and cuisines. Parr’s photography invites people to experience a misunderstood community with the naked eye, unfiltered by the media. Artivism is the mechanism by which the Goutte d’Or, or the “golden drop,” can be seen for its rich treasure trove of cultural gems.
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