“Uprisings” at Jeu de Paume

Paris’ Jeu de Paume hosts a major exhibition this autumn titled “Soulevement,” which translates from French as “Uprisings” (to January 15, 2017). This multimedia exhibition—paintings, video, books, photography— curated by philosopher and art historian Georges Didi-Huberman, reflects on revolts, resistance and protest from Francisco de Goya’s “Los Caprichos (1799) to Maria Koukouta’s (2016) video loop showing immigrants crossing the Greek-Macedonia border.

“Uprisings” contemplates the intersection of art and politics. Along with such historic rarities as Gustave Courbet’s drawing (1848) “Homme en blouse debout sur une barricade,” a book (1851) belonging to Victor Hugo with signatures against the death penalty and a ink drawing by Federico Garcia Lorca “Mierda (1934) the exhibition includes work by contemporary artists such as Tsubasa Kato’s  “Break it Before it’s Broken” (2015) depicting the plight of foreign workers and a film by Enrique Ramirez  “Crossing a Wall” 2013, inspired by the 13th Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although there are artists one would liked to have seen in “Uprisings,” this exhibition is thought provoking and well worth a visit.

Soulevements, (Uprisings) to January 15, 2017, Jeu de Paume, Paris

Photo caption: “Break It Before It’s Broken,” 2015. Laborers of Filipino decent in Malaysia worked together to pull down a structure. This gesture symbolized the breaking of an oppressive system that calls for their deportation. Photo: Tsubasa Kato. ©Tsubasa Kato.