Des enfants qui veulent disparaître
Chaque année, les pédopsychiatres québécois sauvent quelques dizaines d’enfants qui ont tenté de se suicider. Il s’agit parfois de tout-petits. Ce phénomène resté longtemps tabou prend de l’ampleur depuis quelques années. Reportage dans La Presse.
La pédopsychiatre Lila Amirali a encore le cœur serré en évoquant son petit patient de 7 ans. “Il avait tenté de s’étrangler avec les cordons du store, dit-elle. C’était la deuxième fois. Le jour d’avant, il avait débranché la télévision pour s’enrouler le fil électrique autour du cou.”
Chef du programme de soins de pédopsychiatrie à l’Hôpital pour enfants de Montréal, le Dr Amirali hospitalise chaque année une bonne dizaine d’enfants âgés de 6 à 11 ans qui font des tentatives de suicide.
“Quand j’ai commencé, il y a trois ans, ça m’a sidérée”, raconte Roxana Reyes, technicienne en travail social à l’Hôpital pour enfants de Montréal. Coup sur coup, la jeune femme a reçu deux petits de 6 ans. “Le premier s’était lancé au milieu d’un grand boulevard en disant vouloir se faire frapper. L’autre voulait aller rejoindre sa grand-mère au ciel.” Parfois, de tout petits enfants sont en cause. Sur le forum d’un site Internet spécialisé, l’automne dernier, une éducatrice se demandait comment aider une fillette de 4 ans qui menaçait régulièrement de se tuer avec un couteau.
“J’ai vu deux ou trois autres cas d’enfants aussi jeunes au cours de ma carrière”, confirme le Dr Jean-Jacques Breton, chercheur à la clinique des troubles de l’humeur de l’hôpital psychiatrique pour enfants Rivière-des-Prairies (RDP). “Les tout-petits n’ont pas la même notion de la mort que les adultes, mais ils veulent fuir quelque chose.” Plus l’enfant suicidaire est jeune, plus les médecins s’attendent à de graves traumatismes. Le garçonnet de 7 ans traité par Lila Amirali venait tout juste d’être placé en famille d’accueil. Ses parents, toxicomanes, étaient incapables de s’occuper de lui. Mais ce n’est pas toujours le cas.
“En octobre, j’ai reçu un garçon de 8 ans qui venait d’une famille bien ordinaire, précise la pédopsychiatre. Il avait aussi tenté de se pendre. Ses parents ne sont pas capables de se séparer comme il faut. Les conflits sont continuels. L’enfant est fâché contre eux et la seule solution qu’il imagine, c’est de disparaître.”
Les tentatives surviennent fréquemment sous le couvert de jeux dangereux, révèle Terry Zaloum, psychologue à la clinique des troubles de l’humeur de RDP. A l’âge de 9 ans, l’un de ses petits patients a été conduit aux urgences par sa mère, catastrophée devant les profondes marques sur son cou. “Pendant des semaines, le garçon a prétendu qu’il avait simplement joué avec les cordons du store chez son père, dit la psychologue. Dans mon bureau, il attachait les personnages avec de la ficelle et les faisait tomber d’une maison de poupée en disant parfois : ‘Ah ! Il est mort…’”
Ces conduites à risque amènent au moins les parents à consulter, note son collègue Jean-Jacques Breton. En flirtant avec le danger, les enfants tentent de fuir des sentiments de vide et de désespoir. Certains se sentent mauvais et veulent se punir.
“Ils peuvent aller se coucher au beau milieu de la rue pendant plusieurs minutes, ou grimper sur le toit ou dans des arbres très hauts. C’est leur façon de dire que ça ne va vraiment pas”, explique Gino Proulx, chef d’une unité spécialisée au Centre jeunesse de la Montérégie [région située face à Montréal et à la frontière avec les Etats-Unis]. Dans son unité où vivent 8 enfants de 6 à 11 ans, rien n’est laissé au hasard. Les crochets des portemanteaux cèdent si l’on y accroche quelque chose de lourd. Les éducateurs savent déjouer le système de verrouillage des portes des douches. Le réseau électrique est inaccessible. “Ailleurs, des enfants ont déjà tenté de s’électrocuter en urinant sur le système de chauffage”, précise M. Proulx.
Tous ces enfants veulent-ils vraiment disparaître ?
“Certains pensent que ça fonctionne comme dans les jeux vidéo, où le personnage principal peut toujours revenir dans une nouvelle partie”, répond le Dr Amirali.
D’après plusieurs études, contrairement aux adultes, les enfants suicidaires ne souffrent pas nécessairement de dépression majeure.
“Le suicide chez l’enfant est souvent très impulsif, il se sent seul et va se lancer d’un coup”, constate la technicienne en travail social Roxana Reyes.
Accident ou suicide ? Il est parfois très difficile de le savoir. Au Québec, les accidents sont la première cause de mortalité chez les enfants âgés de 1 à 11 ans. Et il n’est pas impossible que certains d’entre eux aient été voulus, du moins en partie.
“Mais, puisqu’on ne veut pas imaginer qu’un enfant veuille mourir, on réinterprète les événements, analyse Terry Zaloum. Souvent, les adolescents suicidaires nous disent qu’ils ont fait leurs premières tentatives dès l’enfance et que personne ne l’a jamais su.”
The Mission
The goal of the Operation Beautiful website is to end negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.” If this little blog only does one productive thing, I hope it helps readers realize how truly toxic negative self-talk is — it hurts you emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Through my own experiences fighting Fat Talk, I’ve realized the power behind an anonymous act such as Operation Beautiful. When I post a note, I’m saying, “I CHOOSE to be positive!”
I began Operation Beautiful by leaving positive messages on the mirrors of public restrooms — at work, at the gym, at the grocery store. I scribble down whatever comes to mind — "You are beautiful!" or "You are amazing just the way you are!" My personal goal is to leave as many Operation Beautiful notes as I can. Maybe some people read them and just smile, but I bet some people are truly touched by the effort of a random stranger.
Operation Beautiful is simple: all you need is a pen and a piece of paper. If you want to join the mission, send me an e-mail at OperationBeautiful@gmail.com with a photograph of your Operation Beautiful note or a description of your experience, and I’ll post it on the Operation Beautiful site for thousands of others to read and enjoy!
Diana January 25, 2011 at 9:57 pm
I’ve been overweight my entire life and I’ve always felt really bad about it.
I love to swim but I’ve been self-conscious about seeing myself in anything other than jeans, even in the summer, because when I was wearing my bathing suit one time a bunch of boys from my school walked past me and called me a beached whale. And some other boys at school think it’s funny to pretend to ask me out and then retract it saying, “Nevermind, we found someone better.” I have a wonderful boyfriend, but sometimes, talking to him just isn’t enough and I get really down about myself.
This mission is truly a blessing. I was feeling down one day, and when I walked into the bathroom, these messages were written in large, bold letters on all of the doors. It’s a special thing, knowing that someone who doesn’t know my name cares about me.
Thank you <3
. Leslie January 29, 2011 at 12:20 am
This is sooo wierd. My shrink gave me this website and told me to check it out. Your’s was the FIRST story I read and it felt like I had written it. I can totally relate to you. I’m a swimmer too. I’ve been on a college team since I was 8. But I haven’t gone in a while now because I’m really self-concious about my weight and what people will think when I go to practice. I’m not skinny but I’m not fat either. Just…full-figured.
I can’t relate to the boyfriend part though, since I haven’t had a real boyfriend at all. But I’m in the stage right now that I DO want one, just to know what it’s like, to feel loved. It’s not like I don’t feel that other people love me, just that…I want to experience that other type of love. Of having a guy there by your side who actually accepts you the way you are, and respects you. And know that he’ll be there whenever you need to talk.
And well, I can also relate to the “guys at school” part. They used to call me “grenade” [reffering to Jersey Shore], but I didn’t watch the show back then and I didn’t know what they were talking about. Until one day, one of the guys that would call me that, he wrote an article for the school paper on the Jersey Shore show and talked about it, and it was there that I found out what a “grenade” was. I pretty much just laughed it off, but somehow, I WAS hurt by it. Nothing has been said anymore, thankfully, but…I’m afraid maybe one day, it’ll all happen again.
But all in all, I just really needed to reply to this, because I feel that it was meant for your post to be the first one I read
Liliana January 27, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I found this site on Monday, and it made my day. My friend and I left post its on the mirror and wrote on it. When I heard people talking about it, it made my day. It feels good to know you helped others feel better.
Emily January 28, 2011 at 5:32 pm
wow thats so cool at my school messages stated apearing on the mirror in the girls bathroom we just now got the message to come to this website we get inspirational notes and its kind of fun were trying to investigate to find out who we think its a teacher and its nice to get a little pep talk during the day
Miriam January 28, 2011 at 11:01 pm
This is a lovely idea! I went out and bought some post-it notes and I just can’t wait to go out tomorrow and stick these lovely messages anywhere and everywhere. I hope it makes someones day. You never know if just a smile or a small message will change a life.
Lake January 31, 2011 at 4:57 pm
I’m 15 years old and in tenth grade. I’ve always been a tiny bit chubby and a little on the not so pretty side. Never had a much of an ego or any self-confidence really. I am well liked and well teased, but that’s just life right? Well, it was just another day at school and I walked into a random stall and what do I find? A sticky note saying “you”, another saying “are” and beautiful spelled out below it. Then an Operation Beautiful at the bottom. Just seeing that made my day;) So I go on the website, then go back to the stall to take a picture an hour later, but someone rearranged the letters so they spelled FAT. Sad face, much. So I fixed to where it was before and took my picture and I will join the mission to help people really see their inner beauty:D
Sydney January 31, 2011 at 6:55 pm
One of my friends showed me this website about two years ago. It has absolutely changed my life. Even though people are so mean sometimes, I finally realized that no matter what anyone says, we are beautiful and are perfect just the way we are. I just wanted to say thanks Caitlyn for helping girls (and guys!) all across America to accept who they are!
<333, Sydney
admin February 11, 2011 at 7:27 pm
You are beautiful
. turia February 20, 2011 at 2:52 pm
thanks, u just made me smile.:D
u r beautiful 2.
i will never think nagitive again
. Arielle February 12, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I found one of your notes in the weightloss section of my library it reads “Lost time is never found stop doubting that you are beautiful” , I picked it up and took it home it was a very significant note to me because I have struggled with eating disorders for several years of my life I have this little note posted on the side of my moniter screen and I look at it everytime I use the computer, It makes me realize that I need to come to terms with myself that I am beautiful no matter how much I weigh. So starting now I am going to say something I havent said it several years. I TRUELY AM BEAUTIFUL!
. DD February 13, 2011 at 8:19 pm
LOVE YOUR SELF ON VALENTINES DAY DON’T BE SAD–”There comes a time when you have to stand up and shout:This is me damn it! I look the way I look, think the way I think, feel the way I feel, love the way I love! I am a whole complex package. Take me… or leave me. Accept me – or walk away! Do not try to make me feel like less of a person, just because I don’t fit your idea of who I should be and don’t try to change me to fit your mold. If I need to change, I alone will make that decision.When you are strong enough to love yourself 100%, good and bad – you will be amazed at the opportunities that life presents you.”
. kallin February 13, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Everyone stories have really inspired me…next week im going to start with. Trainer,,I’ll keep you updated week 1:220 lb
. Paul Sampson Jr. February 14, 2011 at 9:18 pm
A friend of mine said she found a post it in her bathroom from this i guess… pretty awesome all around. I’m trying to do something like this but it’s a little rough sometime
. Shelly February 15, 2011 at 10:17 am
When I was 16 I was small and thin (the body of a 12 year old boy…one guy said!) I put very little value on myself and eating disorders reared their ugly heads.
I met my future husband that year and he always thought that I was beautiful and he still does, even when I don’t.
I use all the tricks (body shapers, spanx, makeup, padded bra, the perfect outfit) to cover the truth…that I feel inadequate.
But when I get home, and remove all the tricks I put on for the world in my skin, I am beautiful!
I want the young girls of this world to know that God sees you exactly as you are and He thinks you are a beautiful loving child of God.
God Bless
. Judy February 15, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I am not sure if this site inspired the following event, but I do know it had a huge impact on a lot of people.
On Feb 14, in a suburban town in MA, someone took the time to write and place inspiration sticky notes on aver 1600 lockers in the high school. What an amazing thing to do and it truly touch quite a few people. Thank you to whoever took the time to do something amazing!
. Cindi February 16, 2011 at 11:22 am
I m a middle aged woman with a young heart who has struggled all my life with negative self talk. I know what a difference it can make in life when you thiink talk and act positively and I do but when things arent always going right it comes down to too much negative self talk! hOW TO ERASE IT FOR GOOD? has always been my big question I think the biggest thing is to try to focus on doin g for others so I am going to do what your web site stands for random posting of positive affirmations to pass on postitivity to make the world a more positive place one small step at a time! Thank you for your inspiration Ill pass it on!
. Laura February 17, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Today I went to the gym at my college (University of Kentucky). I was feeling kinda down, have been having a rough week in school, wearing baggy sweats and tee-shirt and not feeling beautiful. I went to put my stuff in one of the rental lockers and there was a wonderful note on the inside of the door. To whoever put that blue sticky-note in there, thanks. You made my day.
. Victoria February 17, 2011 at 10:57 pm
I am in highschool and it breaks my heart to see how girls treat themselves. One of my very close friends put herself on a “crash diet” and i could not get her to eat! I was so scared and now she’s taking diet pills behind her parents back. This has inspired me to leave a not in every girls bathroom at my school as often as I can. I hate to see girls who mess up their lives because of peer pressure and I would really like to change that at my school. I myself see myself as overweight and I know how I am not, it is the constant fear of rejection that scares me into thinking these things. I wish I could go back to the days when we didnt have a care in the world and boy still had cooties. I know not everyone, in this case slot of people see themselves as fat or overweight and are killing themselves! I hope my notes help around my school and make a difference in some girls life! <3
. Marty February 19, 2011 at 8:47 am
Caitlin
I just discovered your website today (it was mentioned on the Oprah Winfrey Network). I’m a senior, and I don’t mean in high school…I’m in my 60s. Your website, and the “beautiful” notes you suggest posting in public places, are a BRILLIANT idea! No one is ever too old, or too young, to be reminded of how special, unique and beautiful they are! Thanks for reminding us of that, Caitlin. I hope all the beauty you put out there in the world returns to you tenfold. XO
. Kiera February 26, 2011 at 10:45 am
I, like Marty, saw it mentioned on OWN. So then the next day I left a bright pink sticky note in the school bathroom that read “you are beautiful, no matter what you eat” and then this one girl, who is extremely overweight (which isnt a bad thing; shes a really nice kid) walked in that stall and came out with it in her hand, and she seemed a lot happier than when she came in. I am definatly a fan of operation beautiful now!
. Leia February 21, 2011 at 10:34 am
I attend Collage, and I live in a co-ed dormatory, I have for four years now. Until recently I have been unaware of this movement dispite my activity with the campus Women’s Center and degree in Women’s and Gender’s Studies.
For years now, predating highschool I have been concerned with the tendancy of females to be so much meaner to one another than males are towards females. It is nice to see that I am not the only one who is not okay with this trend and speaking out against self-hate. I am starting with my own floor and I will keep you posted as to the reactions I see.
From on woman who is ready-Thank you, until I am ready to share my story, it helps alot
Leia
. shae February 21, 2011 at 12:27 pm
I was checking out some superchick music videos and they led me to your site. I love this idea!!!! I’m a thirtysomething and we all need to hear this no matter our age, WE ARE BEAUTFUL!!!! I”m going to start spreading this message!#
. darris February 21, 2011 at 6:12 pm
WOW! I love this Caitlin! I’m going to begin today and put up a note during my yoga class. At 55+ I can tell you that you never truly get over negative messages. After 50 the messages one hears are about ‘lost youth’ . . . which equates to lost beauty, lost fitness, lost desirability . . . your message is an affirmation to us all; bless your heart! Xxoo
. Hannah February 21, 2011 at 10:31 pm
I am 12 years old, 5 foot 6, and 126 lbs. I used to think that I was fat, and I was struggling to keep a positive attitude about myself until I saw a note on the girls locker room door after swim practice. When I got home I went on this website and trust me it will change my life forever!!! Thank you sooo much Caitlin! You’re a beautiful genius! And to everyone who participates in this site, god bless you all! You guys are the best of the best and the beautifullest of the beautifullest!
. lesley February 22, 2011 at 4:47 pm
awh.
thanks.<3
this is a great site.
ive always had trouble with my weight. and i actually have been self harming (cutting..) for about a year now.
A girl left a post it in the girls locker room on the mirror with this website and an encouraging note on it:)
i also reccomend towriteloveonherarms.com
im going to spread the news about these important projects:)
i want to give hope.
i made a facebook profile that willspread hope. add me, it is Hope IsReal on facebook:
. Sarah February 22, 2011 at 5:14 pm
So today after having a very intense talk with my therapist about a family problem that left me feeling hopeless and down, I walk into the bathroom and there on the mirror it say “You are HOT today”. I looked in the reflection and saw my swollen face from crying and had to smile! I didn’t feel hot at the moment but that little note made me feel so much better! Just to empower women to remember that no matter where you are or what you are doing that a little note with a compliment can make the sun come out from behind the clouds! This site is awesome and I am going to stock up on post-its so I can make someone else’s day a little bit brighter!
Thanks for starting this epidemic!
. admin February 22, 2011 at 5:35 pm
You are hot
. Roxxe Perkins February 25, 2011 at 7:44 am
Im a highschool senior in NJ. my friend showed me this site about five minutes ago. I thought it was pretty cool. Keep doign what you’re doing, because even though ya’ll may be older than i am, i still feel the same way ya’ll do. Since i was even a baby, i’ve been over weight. I’ve been called an ogre, i’ve gone through guys who have used me because since i was fat, they thought i’d be “easy” it’s hard i know, and im still struggling with my self-esteem each day, i can’t say im getting any better, but the fact that ya’ll are doing this, brings a smile to my face, thank you so much (:
. Drea February 27, 2011 at 1:46 pm
All my life, i’ve loved clothes. But once i went to high school, i kept thinking that only pretty girls can wear pretty things. i started wearing baggy clothes and hating everything about my appearance. i was at a healthy weight; but i wasnt thin, and therefore not good enough. A few months ago, i ran into the school bathroom to cry. On the wall someone had written “we are beautiful” so many girls wrote similar things around it. it gave me the feeling that i am not alone. This website keeps that feeling with me, and that We Are All Beautiful. thank you everyone.
Did you know that people are attracted to confidence? Once you start thinking that you are beautiful you will be
. Yaya February 28, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Reading all of your stories was amazing! It makes me sad though that so many girls have to want to be the supermodel. I REALLY AM GOING TO TRY THAT! Thank you to all of you that do what you do, and the amazing person that started this all!
. Jackie February 15, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Thanks for linking to my blog! I was checking out my “blog stats” and saw you guys referred people over! I love the work you guys do and how many people support it (including me!), so keep it up
EconomieLa faillite inéluctable des États
EconomieLa faillite inéluctable des ÉtatsEt si les États faisaient faillite ? Cela semble inimaginable pour la plupart. Pourtant, Charles Sannat fait partie de ceux qui haussent le ton pour tenter d'expliquer la réalité de la situation économique.
Toute vérité franchit trois étapes. D’abord, elle est ridiculisée. Ensuite, elle subit une forte opposition. Puis, elle est considérée comme ayant toujours été une évidence.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Souvenez-vous, nous sommes en janvier 2007. Tous les éléments de la crise à venir sont déjà là, mais les cassandres sont rapidement taxés de déclinologues, de pessimistes stupides, incapables d’imaginer la puissance des interventions des autorités monétaires et des banques centrales. Les États sont relativement peu endettés. Les dettes souveraines sont donc bien sûr l’actif à détenir en priorité.
Certitude illustrée par l’expression du « Fly to quality » c’est-à-dire la fuite vers la « qualité ». Chaque secousse boursière entraîne des arbitrages massifs des marchés actions vers les obligations d’État réputées « invulnérables ».
Nous étions dans la première étape décrite par Schopenhauer. Celle où l’on ridiculise ceux émettant des doutes sur la solidité et la pérennité financière des grands États.
Puis est venue la grande crise de 2008. Celle qui nécessita des milliards d’euros et de dollars de plans de relance, de création monétaire, de dépenses sociales. Les déficits se creusèrent rapidement d’une façon jamais imaginée par l’ensemble des observateurs économiques. Pris sous le double feu de rentrées fiscales en berne et de dépenses de soutien massives, le trou ne pouvait être qu’abyssal. Fin 2010, l’idée d’une faillite généralisée des États occidentaux ne subit plus qu’une opposition molle. « Non, non, quand même, un État ne fait jamais vraiment faillite, quand même, d’ailleurs la croissance repart aux États-Unis, c’est tout de même la première économie mondiale ».
Exact. Retenez ce chiffre : 2,9%, c’est le taux de croissance de l’économie américaine en 2010. Retenez-le bien, nous y reviendrons.
La croissance ne soigne pas la crise
Malgré ces 2,9% (qu’il faut bien retenir !) le chômage ne baisse pas, mais alors pas du tout. Certains esprits chagrins, qui regardent le véritable chiffre du chômage aux USA (celui publié par la FED et qui comptabilise aussi les personnes véritablement en recherche d’emploi mais ne recevant plus d’indemnisation) osent même affirmer que ce taux atteint le record de plus de 17.4% !! Tout de même.
Malgré ces 2,9% (de croissance), environ 43 millions d’Américains ne mangent chaque jour que grâce aux « Food Stamps » qui sont des « timbres de nourriture » donnés aux plus pauvres et permettant d’acheter dans des magasins l’alimentation nécessaire. C’est une version moderne des soupes populaires qui évite les images choc de files d’attente interminables de tous ces chômeurs miséreux et affamés. Bref, les « food stamps » sont un croisement entre les tickets de rationnement et les tickets restaurants.
EconomieLa faillite inéluctable des ÉtatsEt si les États faisaient faillite ? Cela semble inimaginable pour la plupart. Pourtant, Charles Sannat fait partie de ceux qui haussent le ton pour tenter d'expliquer la réalité de la situation économique.
Tags : Crise de l'euro, Crise de la dette, déficits publics, dette, FED, politique économique, politique monétaire, rilance, USA
par Charles Sannat Le 1 mars 2011
149 Réactions
email A+ A- Du même auteur
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Toute vérité franchit trois étapes. D’abord, elle est ridiculisée. Ensuite, elle subit une forte opposition. Puis, elle est considérée comme ayant toujours été une évidence.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Souvenez-vous, nous sommes en janvier 2007. Tous les éléments de la crise à venir sont déjà là, mais les cassandres sont rapidement taxés de déclinologues, de pessimistes stupides, incapables d’imaginer la puissance des interventions des autorités monétaires et des banques centrales. Les États sont relativement peu endettés. Les dettes souveraines sont donc bien sûr l’actif à détenir en priorité.
Certitude illustrée par l’expression du « Fly to quality » c’est-à-dire la fuite vers la « qualité ». Chaque secousse boursière entraîne des arbitrages massifs des marchés actions vers les obligations d’État réputées « invulnérables ».
Nous étions dans la première étape décrite par Schopenhauer. Celle où l’on ridiculise ceux émettant des doutes sur la solidité et la pérennité financière des grands États.
Puis est venue la grande crise de 2008. Celle qui nécessita des milliards d’euros et de dollars de plans de relance, de création monétaire, de dépenses sociales. Les déficits se creusèrent rapidement d’une façon jamais imaginée par l’ensemble des observateurs économiques. Pris sous le double feu de rentrées fiscales en berne et de dépenses de soutien massives, le trou ne pouvait être qu’abyssal. Fin 2010, l’idée d’une faillite généralisée des États occidentaux ne subit plus qu’une opposition molle. « Non, non, quand même, un État ne fait jamais vraiment faillite, quand même, d’ailleurs la croissance repart aux États-Unis, c’est tout de même la première économie mondiale ».
Exact. Retenez ce chiffre : 2,9%, c’est le taux de croissance de l’économie américaine en 2010. Retenez-le bien, nous y reviendrons.
La croissance ne soigne pas la crise
Malgré ces 2,9% (qu’il faut bien retenir !) le chômage ne baisse pas, mais alors pas du tout. Certains esprits chagrins, qui regardent le véritable chiffre du chômage aux USA (celui publié par la FED et qui comptabilise aussi les personnes véritablement en recherche d’emploi mais ne recevant plus d’indemnisation) osent même affirmer que ce taux atteint le record de plus de 17.4% !! Tout de même.
Malgré ces 2,9% (de croissance), environ 43 millions d’Américains ne mangent chaque jour que grâce aux « Food Stamps » qui sont des « timbres de nourriture » donnés aux plus pauvres et permettant d’acheter dans des magasins l’alimentation nécessaire. C’est une version moderne des soupes populaires qui évite les images choc de files d’attente interminables de tous ces chômeurs miséreux et affamés. Bref, les « food stamps » sont un croisement entre les tickets de rationnement et les tickets restaurants.
Partons maintenant au royaume de la perfide Albion. Nos amis Britanniques ont eu la brillante idée d’élire un nouveau Premier Ministre « conservateur » Monsieur Cameron. Ce dernier affirme que « Si vous ne traitez pas la dette, vous n’aurez jamais de croissance. » Son principal opposant le « travailliste » Ed Miliband répond : « Si vous n’avez pas de croissance, vous ne viendrez pas à bout de la dette ».
Voilà un beau débat. Comment sortir de cette crise ? Peut-on retrouver de la croissance ? En dépensant plus dans des plans de relance pour stimuler l’économie comme le préconise l’ami travailliste ? Pourquoi pas… mais avec 11% de déficit, difficile de dépenser plus sans faire immédiatement faillite.
Alors le Premier Ministre conservateur explore la seule piste laissant théoriquement encore un peu d’espoir… celle de la rigueur. On coupe toutes les dépenses. Pas un peu. Vraiment beaucoup. Les fonctionnaires ? On dégraisse (490 000 en moins, tout de même, d’ici 2015). Les frais de scolarité ? On triple, quadruple ou quintuple. Les enseignants ? On supprime. Les parents n’auront qu’à s’organiser pour faire classe à leurs enfants. Remarquez : au train où vont les choses là bas, des parents disponibles, ce n’est pas ce qui va manquer dans les prochains mois.
Fortes dettes + récession = insolvabilité
Est-ce bien ou mal ? Peu importe, en terme éthique (bien que le débat soit passionnant). Mais en terme économique, est-ce que cela va marcher ? Est-ce que la cure d’austérité va déclencher une « saine » croissance ?
La réponse à cet instant est claire et sans appel. Non. Le Royaume-Uni est ré-entré en récession. Pas officiellement car il faut trois trimestres de « croissance négative », comme dirait Madame Lagarde, pour considérer officiellement une économie en récession. Nous ne sommes qu’à un trimestre. Le premier. Or qui dit récession dit baisse des rentrées fiscales… et ça, pour payer des dettes ayant atteint des niveaux monstrueux, ce n’est pas la meilleure des nouvelles. Car, en résumé : fortes dettes + récession = insolvabilité.
Oui mais regardez. Retournons aux États-Unis d’Amérique. Vous vous souvenez de notre chiffre de 2,9% de croissance (celui qu’il ne fallait pas oublier !) ? Et bien justement voilà une raison d’espérer. Les Américains ont décidé, contrairement aux Britanniques, de laisser « filer » les déficits pour stimuler la croissance. Et ça marche, 2,9% de croissance ! Eh bien au risque de doucher quelques belles espérances cela ne marche pas.
Pourquoi ? Trois chiffres : les 2,9% de croissance représentent un montant d’augmentation du PIB américain de 541 milliards de dollars. Pour créer ces 541 milliards de dollars de nouvelles richesses, les autorités politiques et monétaires ont créée… 1 700 milliards de dollars de nouvelles dettes. En clair, pour créer 1 dollar de croissance, il faut 3.14 dollars de nouvelles dettes.
Dès lors deux constats:
•la dette s’accroît plus vite que la richesse créée avec ces nouvelles dettes,
•l’économie mondiale n’est plus capable de créer de la croissance sans dette.
La « rilance », dernier espoir de l’humanité ?
Et en 2011-2012, nous rentrerons dans la dernière étape de la vérité selon Arthur Schopenhauer. La faillite des États sera considérée comme « ayant été une évidence ». Le monde s’apercevra de l’insolvabilité généralisée des États occidentaux. Soit parce que les plans de relance auront créé une dette trop importante… soit parce que les plans de rigueur auront créé des dettes trop importantes, le résultat final étant sensiblement le même en données corrigées des dégâts sociaux et humains entraînés par les plans d’austérité.
Les deux voies nous mènent droit à l’insolvabilité. Le seul avantage des plans de rigueur, c’est qu’ils permettent de gagner du temps.
Tout le monde a pu constater que les plans de relance menaient à la catastrophe. Les plans de rigueur disposent de 12 à 24 mois pour convaincre ou montrer qu’ils ne marcheront pas mieux….
Il reste la voie française. Celle de Madame Lagarde. La voie de la « Rilance ». Mi rigueur-mi relance, mi-ange, mi-démon. La « Rilance » voilà le dernier espoir de l’humanité. Un peu mince n’est-ce pas ?
Art : on ne crée rien ex nihiloSi le mème est souvent LOL, volontairement ou non, il peut aussi servir un message plus sérieux. C’est ainsi que QuestionCopyright.org a entamé le projet Minute memes, une série de courtes vidéos sur les restrictions provoquées par le copyright et sur la liberté artistique, réalisées par Nina Paley.
Après Copier n’est pas voler, voici All creative work is derivative1, tout travail de création est un dérivé. Un nouveau contre-point aux messages de l’industrie de la culture, accrochée au copyright comme l’arapette à son rocher, quitte à porter atteinte à la base même de fonctionnement de la création artistique, la reprise de ce qui existe déjà. Dans une étourdissante rétrospective de l’histoire universelle de la statuaire, des kouroï grecs en passant par les figurines primitives, les crucifix ou bien encore les danseuses hindoues, cette vidéo fait valser l’arapette.
Megalopolis
Petites intrusions entre amis
Par Dominique Albertini– 01/03/2011
Posté dans : Actu
Un collectif clandestin, Urban eXperiment, explore et investit les lieux publics non-visibles de la capitale… Ce qui énerve légèrement les autorités.
Lazar avale une gorgée de café, le temps de trouver la bonne image. « Imagine qu’il y ait près de chez toi une vieille baraque vide. Tu passes devant tous les jours, tu la vois se dégrader peu à peu. Il suffirait de pas grand-chose pour réparer ça. Normalement tu n’as pas le droit d’y toucher, mais dans ta rue, personne ne passe jamais. Alors bon… ». A la table derrière nous, un jeune homme tend l’oreille, mine de rien, pour saisir ce qui se dit. C’est que, depuis le début de la conversation, dans un bistrot près de la Sorbonne, il est question de « groupe clandestin », de vieux souterrains et d’intrusions furtives.
Sous la Surface
Crâne rasé, sweat noir, Lazar Kunstmann est porte-parole de l’UX (pour Urban eXperiment), un collectif dédié aux plaisirs secrets de l’exploration et l’utilisation de lieux non-visibles de la capitale. Ses membres, « de l’ordre de la centaine » selon Lazar, seraient professeurs, infirmières ou même magistrats. Ils se répartissent, selon leur thème d’activité de prédilection, en différents sous-groupes. Tels que les UnterGunther, qui se consacrent à la restauration d’éléments délaissés du patrimoine ; la Mexicaine de Perforation, qui organise des happenings collectifs dans les endroits les plus improbables ; ou encore les jeunes filles du Mouse House, spécialistes de « l’infiltration » au nez et à la barbe des gardiens et systèmes d’alarmes. Ce beau monde dédie une partie conséquente de son temps à ces activités underground. « En fait, tout celui qu’ils ne consacrent pas à leur travail, leur famille ou à dormir ». C’est-à-dire à la « Surface », terme qui désigne le monde hors-UX.
Tout commence au début des années 1980. Le sous-sol du quartier latin, très fréquenté par les étudiants, était alors une étape incontournable de la vie festive. « Notre petit groupe de collégiens s’est vite tourné vers des zones plus délaissées, et a adopté un mode opératoire permettant à n’importe quel projet d’aboutir ». La règle du secret est l’une des premières à être adoptées. En cohérence avec son statut de groupe clandestin, l’UX n’accepte de commenter que ceux de ses projets qui ont déjà été révélés par d’autres sources. Le groupe s’est même doté d’une « unité de brouillage », chargée de désamorcer les fuites en faisant circuler des informations contradictoires.
Délit de réparation d’horloge
Malgré tout, des échos de plusieurs actions de l’UX sont parvenus jusqu’à la « Surface ». On doit la plus connue d’entre elles aux UnterGunther. En 2005, ceux-ci investissent rien moins que le Panthéon. Un confortable quartier général est aménagé sous les combles du mausolée, pour une opération qui les occupera pendant un an : la restauration complète de la grande horloge du bâtiment, à l’arrêt depuis plusieurs années – vraisemblablement « sabotée par un employé fatigué de devoir la remonter régulièrement », estime Kunstmann. Le travail est réalisé aux frais du groupe, et dans les règles de l’art grâce à la participation d’un horloger professionnel. Las, la nouvelle arrive aux oreilles de la Direction Nationale des Musées, qui, goûtant peu qu’on mette à jour ses failles en matière de sécurité et d’entretien du matériel, intente un procès à 4 membres du groupe. Et se voit déboutée, le code pénal ne faisant mention d’aucun délit de réparation d’horloge. « Nous ne faisons rien d’illégal en pénétrant dans un bâtiment public, assure Kunstmann. Seul leur règlement interne peut l’interdire, pas la loi. Juge et police n’ont rien à faire là-dedans. Nous ne volons rien, ne dégradons rien ».
Un an plus tôt, c’est la Mexicaine de Perforation qui s’était rendue célèbre en installant un cinéma clandestin de 400m² dans une carrière sous la colline Chaillot. Les spectateurs, entre 15 et 30, étaient au courant via quelques affiches disséminées dans le quartier latin. Quand la police, avertie par l’ex d’un membre du groupe, découvrira la cachette, elle prendra une marmite à couscous pour un engin explosif et la salle de projection pour un repaire de néo-nazis, forçant la Mexicaine à vider les lieux en loucedé. Elle poursuit ses activités dans d’autres lieux improbables, recrutant son public au moyen d’affiches disséminées sur le terrain de jeu de l’UX – soit, grosso modo, entre la Seine et la ligne 6 du métro. Le candidat doit écrire à l’adresse mail indiquée, passer par plusieurs filtres avant qu’une ultime conversation téléphonique n’évalue votre capacité à rester discret sur l’évènement. Policiers et journalistes sont écartés d’entrée de jeu.
Au fait, comment rejoint-on le collectif ? « C’est l’UX qui, quand il perçoit dans son environnement des groupes dont l’activité semble compatible avec la sienne, propose de mettre les efforts en commun », explique Lazar. Inutile de solliciter une visite guidée des dessous de Paris - « Nous, on ne vient pas pour les lieux tels qu’ils sont, mais pour toucher, manipuler ». Pas question non plus pour l’UX de mobiliser sur les questions de l’accès aux lieux publics ou l’état du patrimoine urbain. « Nous n’avons pas vocation à communiquer. Cela dit, si j’étais quelqu’un de la Surface, je me demanderais pourquoi j’ai aussi peu de maîtrise sur l’espace commun ». A méditer la prochaine fois que l’on tombera devant une porte fermée à clef.
Quelle que fois on a besoin dun coup de Pouce vers L’Utopie
Le futur n’est plus ce qu’il était. Notre imagination s’est atrophiée dans l’atmosphère asphyxiante des prédictions apocalyptiques. Il semble bien plus aisé d’imaginer un monde mourant qu’un monde meilleur.
C’est pour cela que nous voulons créer La r.O.n.c.e, un espace de recherche et de création où sera nourrie notre capacité à imaginer et explorer de nouvelles façons de vivre postcapitalistes, et où des outils d’autonomie et de résilience pourront être construits et partagés.
Imaginez un paysage où chaque plante, arbre, arbuste et buisson est comestible. Au cœur de ce jardin-forêt, une grande maison est à la fois lieu de vie, laboratoire et centre de formation autogéré pour explorer les liens entre l’art, la politique et l’écologie. Artistes, activistes, scientifiques, écologistes, jeunes et moins jeunes s’y retrouvent pour collaborer dans le cadre d’ateliers, de formations ou de résidences. Juste à côté, conseils, établis et outils en tous genres sont à disposition dans un garage-atelier où l’on peut fabriquer, réparer ou inventer à l’envi: de la voiture au vélo en passant par la machine de ses rêves ou l’éolienne. Fondés sur les principes de l’éducation populaire, ces projets se placent en complémentarité des activités nourricières d’une cantine mobile et de la culture de légumes bio.
La r.O.n.c.e est l’initiative d’une poignée de gens impliqués dans les mouvements altermondialistes et les camps climat en France et en Grande-Bretagne. Nous sommes artistes, paysan.e.s, enseignant.e.s, mécanicien.ne.s, cuisinier.e.s et militant.e.s. L’an passé, ceux d’entre nous qui vivent dans le Morbihan ont découvert 7 hectares de terre laissée à l’abandon, une longère un peu décrépie, un gigantesque hangar et des tonnes de ronces. Notre objectif est de transformer le site en une expérience d’écologie et d’autogestion, géré par des processus de prise de décisions au consensus et utilisant des outils de conception issus de la permaculture; un lieu où la résistance créative et les alternatives s’entremêleront comme les tiges d’un buisson de r.O.n.c.e…
Malheureusement nous ne vivons pas encore en une ère postcapitaliste et nous avons besoin de votre aide : il nous reste de l’argent à rassembler pour pouvoir acheter les terres collectivement et lancer le projet. Alors si l’idée de financer un autre avenir vous intéresse ou si vous avez envie de nous donner un coup de main (il va y avoir beaucoup à faire sur le site durant les mois, voire les années à venir !), contactez nous. Notre email : laronce@riseup.net
Alors que tant de gens préfèrent ignorer la réalité du changement climatique par peur et par désespoir, la r.O.n.c.e nous offre une nouvelle possibilité d’ouvrir les yeux. Ce projet sera la preuve que changer nos vies pour répondre à cette crise mondiale n’a pas besoin d’être une punition, mais peut devenir une expérience exaltante de transformation et de libération. Dans les années à venir, de plus en plus d’entre nous devront effectuer ce bond en avant. En attendant d’en avoir le courage, ces pionniers méritent notre soutien.”
Naomi Klein. Auteur.
Posted in ACTIVISM, ART, CUISINE, JARDIN, PEDAGOGY, PERMACULTURE | Leave a Comment »
01/12/2011Sometimes we need a hand to move a little closer towards utopia…
The future is not what it used to be. Our imagination has atrophied in the asphyxiating atmosphere of apocalyptic predictions. It is a lot easier to imagine the world ending than changing for the better…
This is why we are building a new space of research and creation, La r.O.n.c.e (The Brambles), where our abilities to imagine and explore postcapitalist ways of living will be nourished, and where tools of resilience and autonomy can be built and shared.
Imagine a landscape where each tree, plant and flower is edible. In the heart of this forest-garden sits a large farmhouse, combining a living space and a laboratory of self managed education where the relationship between art, politics and ecology is explored. Artists, activists, scientists, young and old, come together to collaborate during workshops, trainings and residencies. Next to the farmhouse is a garage-workshop where you have access to tools and advice; to build, mend or invent to your hears content – From cars to bikes, via wind turbines or the machines of your dreams. Founded around the concept of popular education, these projects are complemented by the nourishing work of a mobile field kitchen and an organic farm.
La r.O.n.c.e was set up by people who have been involved in the alter globalisation and climate camps movements in France and the UK. We are artists, farmers, teachers, mechanics, cooks and activists. Last year, those of us who live in the Morbihan, Southern Brittany, discovered 16 acres of abandoned land, with semi-ruined farmhouse, a huge new barn and lots of brambles. We aim to transform this place into a long-term experiment in ecological self-management. Run with horizontal consensus decision making processes and using permaculture design tools, it will be a place where creative resistance and irresistible alternatives are interwoven like the shoots of brambles…
But unfortunately we are not living postcapitalism yet and we need your help: we still have some money to raise before we can collectively buy the land and launch the project. So if you are interested investing in a different kind of future or if you simply want to give us a hand (there will be lots to do on site in the months, erm… years, to come!!) please contact us. Email: laronce@riseup.net
At a time when so many are turning away from the reality of climate change out of fear and despair, La r.O.n.c.e offer us a new way to open our eyes. It will be proof that changing our lives to respond to the global crisis need not be dour punishment, but can instead be an exhilarating process of liberation and transformation. In the coming years, many more of us will need to follow such leaps. Until we have the courage, these scouts for our collective future deserve our support.”
Naomi Klein, best selling author.
Paris Biennal
By Wikipedia
History
The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young creativity worldwide and to create a place of experiences and meetings.
Presentation
The XVth Biennale de Paris (2006-2008) presents immaterial art projects that take place on an international level.
Curators, art historians, art theoricians, art critics since 1959
Catherine Millet, Alfred Pacquement, Jean-Marc Poinsot, Daniel Abadie, Lucy R. Lippard, Pontus Hulten, Gérald Gassiot-Talabot, Achille Bonito Oliva, Pierre Restany, Pierre Courcelles, Paul Ardenne, Stephen Wright, Francesco Masci, Brian Holmes, Elisabeth Lebovici.
From 1959 to 2008, the Biennale de Paris presented works of artists such as
Karen Andreassian, John M. Armleder, La Bergerie, Joseph Beuys, Gary Bigot, Alighiero Boetti, Microcollection, Christian Boltanski, Thierry Boutonnier, Florian Brochec, Bureau d'Etudes, Daniel Buren, Michel Chevalier, Olivier Darné, Francois Deck, Bernard Delville, Marcel Duchamp, Sabine Falk, Jean-Baptiste Farkas, Dominic Gagnon, Gilbert and George, Rolf Glasmeier, Dan Graham, Yves Klein, Joseph Kosuth, Karine Lebrun, André Éric Létourneau, Gordon Matta-Clark, Ricardo Mbarkho, Mario Merz, Jan Middlebos, Nam June Paik, Rodolfo Nieto, OSTSA, Giulio Paolini, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Hubert Renard, Paul Robert, Saint Thomas L'Imposteur, Nana Petzet, That's Painting Productions, Richard Serra, Les Somnatistes, Robert Smithson, Soussan Ltd, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Niele Toroni, Liliane Viala, Visualinguistic, Lawrence Weiner, Paratene Matchitt.
Soup'Mix; Isabelle Laurent and Wolfgang Spindler
Food concept was creat in 2001
Isabelle Laurent and Wolfgang Spindler organize meals and become SJ 'Soup Jockey' :)
For more informations; Call: 00336 03 96 67 04 conceptfood@yahoo.fr
Orlan
Le baiser de l'artiste
Stefanie Buhler
Julien Previeux
Art To be
Jean Kerbat
(Rf; 1999, Calais troc d'un genre particulier...)
APG ( Artist Placement Group )
Establish by Barbara Steveni et John Lathan in 1966.
APG's Meeting
John Walker about John Lathan
John A. Walker is a freelance art critic and art historian specialising in the study of contemporary art and its relation to mass culture. Until 1999, he was Reader in Art and Design History at Middlesex University.
'Perhaps the only genuine radical in British art of the post war era' (Waldemar Januszczak, critic of The Guardian). Latham (1921-2006) is an internationally known British artist whose iconoclastic, experimental work executed in a variety of media has repeatedly provoked controversy and misunderstanding. Arguably, he is the 'last avant-guardist', a figure comparable to the late Joseph Beuys, hence he merits the same degree of critical attention. Both Beuys and Latham have a utopian conception of the value of art to society as a whole. Latham's art has inspired several generations of art students and young artists. He has created spray paintings and book reliefs and participated in such international tendencies such as Tachisme, Assemblage, Avant-garde film/video, Destruction in Art, Performance and Installation Art, Book and Conceptual Art. As one of the founders of the Artist Placement Group, Latham has contributed more than most towards a solution of the artist's separation from the power structures of society. His highly original cosmological ideas - stressing time and event rather than space and matter - challenge those of physicists. Latham claims that his work is the result of a convergence of art and science, and that his holistic, inclusive theoretical framework is of crucial importance to the well being of humanity. This book is the only scholarly monograph on Latham. It is based on extensive research and many interviews with the artist and those who know him.
Rf: Amazon
John Latham: Incidental Person
Craig Richardson opens up an important legacy left by the late John Latham, the influential conceptual artist. The nature of West Lothian's oil shale bings, whether art, monument or heritage, are a reminder of his continuing, pothumous role in current environmental and aesthetic debates
Throughout his life, John Latham, 1921–2006, England’s most controversial conceptual artist, periodically visited Scotland. Briefly, during the summer of 1964, he and Alexander Trocchi stayed with Edinburgh bookshop owner and co-founder of the Traverse theatre, Jim Haynes. He spoke at Edinburgh College of Art’s Participation Art, 1972, accompanied by fellow artist Barbara Steveni, his wife and enthusiastic collaborator. But it was the 1975 – 6 Artist Placement Group (APG) which enabled him to work on a still enduring project, taking up the role of ‘Incidental Person’ alongside civil servants at the Scottish Office’s Development Agency.As is often the case with the best of artists, Latham’s catalytic concepts were without limits; all of life was an opportunity to make art. However, entertaining mythologies appear to stem from Latham’s tendency to extreme extrapolation, at the cost of serious engagement with the historically important aspects of his practice. And yet, who else could persuade both England’s greatest pop artist Richard Hamilton and greatest pop scientist Stephen Hawking to write introductory catalogue essays for him? Or perform an intellectual overpowering of Joseph Beuys during Documenta 6. Latham’s contribution to multi-media environments such as Gustav Metzger’s Destruction in Art Symposium is notable in 1960s art history, although it is difficult to identify the artwork clearly from its contextual process. An English intellectual, he detested perpetual authority and its ‘despotic or benevolent priesthood’. ‘Truth’, he argued, was always incomplete.
Obscure, oddly spiritual in attempting to exploit the meaning of God, he is often compared to Blake, his work ‘The Mysterious Being Known As God Is an Atemporal Score, With a Probable Time Base in the Region of 1,019 Seconds’, 2005, being a contemporary example. He beckoned controversy; institutional dismissal (from St Martins School of Art, London) followed the infamous book mastication ‘Still and Chew/Art and Culture’, 1966 -67. Jeff Nuttall’s 1968 Bomb Culture chronicles an Oxfordshire weekend gathering including Latham, Trocchi, Tom McGrath and RD Laing during which, depending on the many perspectives purveyed, Latham either vandalised the host’s living-room or created the first in a series of thought-provoking artworks incorporating books. Affixing his host’s prized 1916 volume The Brook Kerith by George Moore to the wall and spraying black paint over it, labelled him as from ‘another planet’. Other-worldly? Yes, but smart too and very busy.
And so with Steveni, he could be found in a permanent state of devising, demanding, invention. Even his wedding ceremony led to introductions to scientists Gregory and Kohsen, with whom his time-based theory was later determined. Aside from the occasional distraction of gardening – the link between nature and physics in his work is unexplored – ‘everything turned into a meeting’, as recalled by Ian Breakwell. Imagine then, further meetings, say, between his lodger Yoko Ono and near neighbours Mark Boyle and Joan Hills, the Scottish artists with whom early plans to encourage industry to pay for artists were realised in time as the Artist Placement Group (APG).
Latham’s placement at the Scottish Office’s Development Agency grew out of APG’s well-rehearsed methods to position artists within industrial, governmental or administrative settings. Sweeping aside myths that obscure the social division of labour and renaming the artist as an ‘Incidental Person’, APG’s projects focussed on the artist’s ‘generalist’ status. Armed with an open brief, the ‘Incidental Person’ was allowed free interaction with few expectations of how their role might develop except, in civil servant Derek Lyddon’s words, ‘the hope that his creative intelligence or imagination can spark off ideas, possibilities and actions’. As Latham, and others, were fond of saying, ‘the context is half the work’. APG contexts ranged widely, all masterfully co-ordinated by Steveni, from projects within the fishing industry to Ian Breakwell’s ground-breaking work in mental healthcare. The ‘Incidental Person’s’ contract might involve direction from the host, who paid the salaries, and conclude with longer-term proposals known as the ‘Feasibility Study’, leading hopefully to further work realised by mutual agreement.
Latham’s funded three month placement book-ended between October 1975 – March 1976, during a critical period of international retrospectives of his work. As agreed, his SDA ‘Feasibility Study’ was to address ‘Urban Renewal, Derelict Land and Graphics Group’. Thus it came to be asked during his introductory 1975 in-post committee meeting at the Scottish Office, ‘is the artist going to solve problems?’. To which the responsible civil servant Lyddon rightly responded, ‘No, the artist is going to show us problems we didn’t know were there.’ Latham did solve problems in unexpected ways. When asked at the Scottish Office ‘from which perspective would he be looking at Scotland’, he pointed to an office map of Scotland and said ‘from this distance’. Aerial perspectives and the compression of time/distance were a common feature of Latham’s artwork. During his placement an initial study of the overwhelming aerial photography archive in the Graphics Group’s ‘air photo library’ resulted in subsequent extensive proposals for the preservation of spoil heaps on derelict land which covered 22,000 acres in Scotland at this time.
When viewed from above through aerial records Latham determined that the West Lothian shale bing Greendykes and adjoining bings, which originated from a mid-19th century process of distilling crude oil from shale for use as paraffin, lent themselves to a visual comparison as ‘a modern variant of Celtic Legend, namely NIDDRIE WOMAN’ and formed ‘an historic document of the century’ citing Skara Brae and Callanish. Acting less as cartographer and more as psychogeographer in awe of these forms, Latham’s ‘Feasibility Study’ developed proposals relating to the preservation and development of a collection of bings. These bings, known as Greendykes, Faucheldean and Niddry (sic), are located in Broxburn’s largely agricultural areas in West Lothian near the M8 motorway and also further west, where the Westwood bing, known as Five Sisters, is located. Re-conceived by Latham as monumental process sculptures, ‘monuments to the period we live in’, as attested to in later interviews and major exhibitions, they are central to the further understanding of Latham’s life’s work and death, and important to post-war conceptual art in Scotland.
It is not fanciful to suggest that unspoken intentions compelled Latham, born in English-speaking Christian Livingstone, Rhodesia (now Maramba, Zambia), to visit and revisit Scottish sites within close proximity to Livingston, Scotland. Having contact with Scottish culture, as well as regular involvement in Artist Placement Group projects such as the largely forgotten 1971 exhibition Locations Edinburgh, Latham was bound to have someone impress upon him such distinctive features within the Scottish landscape. These looming bings’ accumulated presence of spent energy conformed exactly to his friend Gustav Metzger’s typology of Auto-Destructive Art, which he defined in 1965 ‘as a form of public art... a unity of idea, site, form, colour, time and disintegrative process’ comprising of falling, sliding, peeling ‘materials in various stages of transformation...’. Although the relationship between this ‘Feasibilty Study’ and certain later works by Latham is complex (Latham assumed viewers were aware of his proposals for the bings), contextual and theoretical benefits do arise through consideration of his more renowned ‘Skoob Towers’, the first of which incorporated copies of Trocchi’s ‘Cain’s Book’. These ‘reversed sculptures’, in which a column of books (Skoobs/bookS) were destroyed by fire, were intended to make ‘the viewer aware of… the indivisibility of past, present and future’. [1]
The Scottish Office did not initially believe Latham was ‘the right person’ for their offices. But Steveni retorted he was ‘our boffin’. Whatever the compelling reasons by the time it came to the selection, Latham insisted it could be him and no other. But the National Coal Board, which had previously sponsored an Incidental Person Placement, found Latham’s photographs and subsequent 16mm film ‘Erth’ (sic), 1971, to be rather less than they expected, perhaps because of its baffling periods of silence and blackness. Associated APG archives show Latham’s identification of UK-wide mining operations, as well as unrealised proposals to make a grass sculpture on a Northamptonshire spoil heap. He also retrospectively arranged the Tate’s ‘Derelict Land Art: Five Sisters’, 1976, a series of Rita Donagh’s photographic studies of the bings following Latham’s instructions accompanied by a jar of shale. These are rather lacklustre in comparison to the emotive quality of his ‘Feasibility Study’, later expertly summarised by Derek Lyddon, which ran to 36 plastic folders each containing two sides of illustrations and detailed commentary.[2] This is undoubtedly an artwork of outstanding merit and ought to be given important status within Latham’s oeuvre. As well as extensive proposals for derelict shale bings, the study includes photographs and drawings forming further proposals for sea cultivation, nuclear energy, and local community application of video broadcast technology.
Rather than assuming that the re-conceptualisation of the bings could be maintained without significant markers, Latham’s study proposed simple markers such as steps or notice-boards alongside the preparation of historical records of the sites and further artist’s placements. Latham also proposed that Niddrie Woman should incorporate more recognisable forms of environmental renewal through artworks, rightly citing Finlay’s garden, Stony Path, which became ‘Little Sparta’, as the exemplar in this area. While accepting the persuasive argument that identified bings be preserved as monuments, the civil servants rejected Latham’s further proposals for Niddrie Woman, including a towering, intersecting book-like sculpture ‘Handbook of Reason’, which some considered to resemble a large cruciform. The cost implications for this remain unknown but this decision is rather saddening given the poor quality of contextually derived meanings resident at the public artworks which have appeared along the M8 corridor since 1993. Latham’s ‘Feasibility Study’s’ small photographs and sketches, as well as a related maquette and some retrospectively-titled artworks, give repeated glimpses of the dynamic quality such a towering monument could have brought to the site, were it engineered. However Latham’s placement, as recorded by the resident civil servants, did instil a sense of respectful curiosity and engagement with the aesthetic content of his proposals, and formed timely, influential and persuasive arguments around the the status of these previously regarded shameful eyesores.
Recognition of some bings as ‘monuments’ within the context of art and their evolutionary status subsequent to Latham’s placement is highly important. Latham realised, and the Scottish civil servants accepted as much in subsequent committee minutes, that political or civic recommendation does not by itself result in meaning as art. Art’s institutional recognition of the bings’ special nature came through the Tate’s then director Sir Norman Reid – his childhood relationship with their geography might have influenced this decision. However, Latham and Steveni maintained a shared civic responsibility for the bings’ potential status as artworks. The pair’s extensive lobbying included irritated communication with the civil servants who had hosted the initial placement and to influential political and cultural people such as Tony Benn.
In the early 1980s, following disputes over whether to preserve the bings as monumental ‘artworks’ or to mine them for their valuable building material, the Scottish Office re-invited Latham to make a public case that certain bings were indeed ‘monuments’. However, a planned Public Enquiry in relation to the Five Sisters did not take place. Barbara Steveni was informed on 31 July 1981 in a letter from the Scottish Development Department, that the commercial sector had abruptly withdrawn its proposals. Victorious in part, Latham typed:
‘This letter means that the FIVE SISTERS, a 56-acre site otherwise [known as] the Westwood Bing, is now a national monument. It was being valued by the owners, who lodged the appeal and have now withdrawn it, at a reported £6m in 1979. The withdrawal follows an order for a Public Enquiry from the Secretary of State for Scotland. APG submitted the case for the status of art work for the site in April, having declared it to be that in 1976.’ [3]
While the effectiveness of Latham’s ‘Feasibility Study’ is not widely known, it is important that to recognise Latham’s designation of the five separate sites in Lothian which he considered held ‘great dignity of aspect’. He held that Niddrie Woman spoke ‘for Scotland round the world’ as ‘a contemporary statement of the universal condition’. Confusingly prone to arguments that a percentage of Five Sisters’ monetary value was now due to him, could it also be that Latham considered them monuments through an extrapolated argument which others in officialdom did not hold or even understand? The Scottish Office invitation to reiterate the case for their ‘monumental’ nature at a crucial moment in the bings evolving status (the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act came into law in 1979) suggests otherwise. Responsibility now falls partly with the Scottish Executive and Historic Scotland to reaffirm the bings’ monumental qualities, and reintroduce into the narrative, Latham and Steveni’s notable role in safeguarding Five Sisters and parts of Niddrie Woman as Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
Niddrie Woman and Niddrie Heart – are remarked upon from time to time as footnotes of a legendary event in the occasional annals of Scottish art. Writers on Latham do not usually regard a visit to these sites to be necessary. This seems neglectful, but is simply indicative of a lack of contemporary advocacy and ‘their relative invisibility in earlier scholarly works’. Although Niddrie Woman does appear in Latham-focused publications, particularly John A Walker’s exemplary John Latham: The Incidental Person – His Art and Ideas’, 1994, and Chrissie Iles’ catalogue The N-U Niddrie Heart, 1992, it does not automatically appear in major chronologies of post-war Scottish art, or as examples of Land Art anywhere in the western world. Somehow the bings’ epic scale has, so far, eluded significant national or international recognition. Perhaps this is because the process of their re-conceptualisation should be located in the Duchampian tradition. However, it is difficult for this catagorisation to function at this scale and in such a defined socio-political context. Ready-mades are fundamentally art and autonomous objects – the bings are not always considered as either, being artworks only within a matrix of many other contexts. Conferring on them a collective sense of belonging to shared history, heritage, and memory, Latham sought to contribute to changing attitudes to the ‘natural’ environment and give the region a lasting monument to industrialisation as conceptual art.
As such they have profound meaning. They throw a spanner in the works when viewed comparatively alongside typologies of Land Art or public sculpture. In scale they can be compared to isolated landmarks such as Michael Heizer’s ‘Double Negative’, 1969-70, interpreted and known through photographic modes, some aerial, some terrestrial, and reinvigorated through critical reappraisal. Latham went further than simply reflecting the economics and history of the region; he recognised the shale-bings as rapturous sites. Non-toxic weathered shale is formed through rapid oxidation, grey-blue turning red; that beauty can be found in such accumulated oxidised material is not unusual. The oxidation effects of Cor-Ten steel are also present in Richard Serra’s public sculpture and in Robert Smithson’s ‘A Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth Projects’, 1968, described as ‘Pulverisations; oxidation, hydration, carbonization, and solution (the major processes of rock and mineral disintegration) four methods that could be turned towards the making of art’. Or, in a more lyrical evocation, ‘Dump trucks spill spoil into an infinity of heaps… a devastating kind of primordial grandeur’. Progress and entropy. Artists such as Latham and Smithson have best understood the implications and anticipations of ways in which 20th century civic and regional communities could make use of transformations in the landscape, brought about by new or now redundant energy production technologies. In the 21st century is there a more pressing issue in the Scottish contemporary landscape at this time?
However, an inferred critical reference to strategies such as Latham’s re-conceptualisation and Smithson’s quarry-sited ‘Broken Circle, Spiral Hill’, 1971, can also be found in Robert Morris’ mocking comment from ‘Notes on Art as/and Land Reclamation’, 1980. ‘Every large strip mine could support an artist-in-residence. Dank and noxious acres of spoil piles cry out for some redeeming sculptural shape’, although he later suggested such forms were the industrial era’s equivalent of the Great Pyramids. Morris warned against the acceptability of industrial-scale extraction. ‘It might then seem that to practice art as land reclamation is to promote the continuing acceleration of the resource – energy – commodity – consumption cycle.’ Such environmental questions and concerns for aesthetics and pollution, ecosystems and sustainable development, are all presaged by Latham’s ‘Feasibility Study’. ‘Revenues from the current phase of extraction of the earth’s resources should be used to deal with the legacies of previous phases.’
Unpredictably, the bings, far from being sites of ecological devastation, now hold an important environmental and social value. Barbra Harvie’s ‘West Lothian Local Biodiversity Action Plan – Oil Shale Bings Report’ of 2005, proposes that they ‘are a unique habitat, not found elsewhere in Britain or Western Europe’, a vital recreation area and ‘a focus of community identity’. She maintains that for such a unique habitat, ‘the best management of oil-shale bings is no management’. It correlates with Latham’s own study describing a magical place – ‘hares, red grouse, badgers, sky larks, foxes, and showy species, mainly butterflies’ and ‘a first recording of a ten-spot ladybird in the county’. These habitats are ‘island refugia for wildlife’ with considerable diversity of very rare and nationally scarce plant species. Astonishingly, over 350 of the 800 plant species in West Lothian are found on bings covering only 4% of West Lothian’s landmass.
Latham’s commentary and the conjoining of mythology and conceptualism in his ‘Feasibility Study’ is a heady brew. As Douglas Crimp notes (describing Richard Serra’s works) in his essay ‘Redefining Site-Specificity’, ‘the place where the sculpture would stand would be the place where it was made, and its making would be the work of others’. Let’s not forget that the primary process – mining of oil-bearing shale – lit the Victorian mind and provided one quarter of London’s lamp oil. Latham’s arguments were against any associated shame.
Through his initial advocacy, a few of these enormous bings have been preserved, although not yet fully recognised as art. ‘The idea hasn’t got across yet – sculpture is better than heritage’, he said. That Niddrie Woman and Five Sisters could be a conflation of both heritage and art requires further reaffirmation of them by civic and governmental authority as places of ‘natural’ wonder which might inspire other artworks to come into being.
In the last year of his life, Latham considered re-conceptualisation of the bings ‘still a proper project to complete’. He recognised that constituting and confirming raw material as sculpture is not the same as putting it into relevant condition for public use, but then Latham was never predictable, always looking for new criteria. Plans of his schemes for the bings, particularly ‘Handbook of Reason’, were prominent in his London studio soon after his death. And as if to underline the importance of these sites to him, his ashes were scattered on the mined red shale of Niddrie Heart, the site he documented in 1976.
And as for today’s visitors to the bings? Niddrie Woman is an unkempt warren of scrambler bike tracks and stolen cars – a lonely sanctuary. Websites invite gatherings and devastation by Land Rover. Niddrie Heart is currently being mined top down, and is closed to the public. In February this year, I hitched a lift on a monstrous mining vehicle and gained access to its crater. The perilous rim affords distant views towards Niddrie Woman and Edinburgh Airport. Looking inward – a scene worthy of Mars depicted in science fiction cinema – the grandeur of its devastation is a profound metaphor for centuries of industrialisation. Just beyond visibility, some miles west, looms Five Sisters on a plateau surrounded by farmland, light industrial developments and the redundant Freeport Leisure Village, all emphasising a melancholy effect. Each of the sisters offer a memorable ascent and descent, their sharp summits and sheer drops containing a readily evident diversity of wild flowers and other fauna within an atypical Scottish landscape.
The emblematising of Niddrie Woman, her Heart and Five Sisters through further visual documentation and civic investment as visual art, is necessary and evolving through internet photography sites, a trail of disparate art articles, and art students’ real concern for the genuine article. Latham recognised the bings’ continued value for other artists, concluding ‘There is a Work in the interpretation of the Work’. His ‘Feasibility Study’ and the subsequent events provide a compelling example of an artist’s recorded influence, without any loss of artistic autonomy, in political decision-making of regional government. His study is an opening argument, bringing those unspeaking earthly masses into the mind of the viewer in a unique way. While his proposals and the placement’s radicalisation of site-specificity is little acknowledged – the truth is out there.
Craig Richardson is an artist and lecturer at Oxford Brooks University
[1] ‘Actions and performances’ in John Latham – Art After
Physics, Museum of Modern Art, 1992 p. 20
[2] Artist Placement Group archive, Tate Britain,
Box 9.2, no. 28 ‘Documents as part of APG Feasibility
Study, 1976, Scottish Office’
[3] Letter to Barbara Steveni from Scottish Development
Department, signed Mrs H McTavish, Tate archives
Pedro Pereira
Carpet of "Pasteis de nata", Potuguese pastries, 2003
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arsite/sets/72157603938482223/show/
Untitled, 2003, drafts of letters
Nam June Paik
TV Buddha
Wolf Vostell
Sara Jevo 3 Fluxus Pianos,1994
You, 1964, Long Island
Robert Filliou
Raining Cats and Dogs
Fluxus
