Joy to All!

From all of us here at A&O, we wish you the happiest of Winter Solstice celebrations in all manner, name, or tradition. Enjoy!

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L’UX: The Clandestine Parisian Revolution

I believe in the need for a revolution. A revolution of thought, of speech, of politics, of positivity, and of action. A revolution of getting out of the house and talking to people face-to-face again, of eating better, of caring how animals are treated and how people are treated. Of ending the class war, race war, the bi-partisan war and the healthcare war. I also believe we need a revolution in art and that, in fact, the revolution can begin with art.

What is happening in our museums and our galleries? What are these classist exhibitions trying to say? Who, outside of the inner circles of the upper-most echelons of art academia, are these conceptually driven, aesthetically anemic shows appealing to? I’m tired of privilege or chance determining which artists or art movements are deserved of printed mention. What ever happened to the good old underground uprising?

Well, apparently, it’s happening. In Paris. An anonymous organization of benevolent, clandestine individuals have been infiltrating bureaucratic systems, institutions, and mindsets to improve upon the tired, inept, and progressively inert ways of officials. Working under cover of darkness, the group that calls itself L’UX has been improving and restoring many of Paris’s neglected spaces and artifacts. They have restored the clock in the center of the Panthéon, organized an underground theater, and built gardens to provide oxygen. All without permission.

This is the most inspiring act of creative and revolutionary enthusiasm that I have seen or read about in a very, very long time. To me, this is the power of art.

I learned of this group through a post by Jon Lackman on The Second Pass. Lackman writes a gorgeous review of the L’UX memoir, written by a member of the group who operates under the pseudonym Lazar Kunstmann. I can’t do his piece justice here, but hopefully you can find some time to read it. Well worth it!

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