Mircea Cantor

When I am granted freedom, I impose constraints on myself. I think about how to act in a defined space, which public I’m addressing, which type of works and discourse to adopt in a context like that of the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. I have tried to develop themes related to the animal world, but I have also thought about how to insert works that are far from a ‘literal’ understanding of this animal world. The exhibition presents the film “Deeparture” from 2005, which shows the tension between two animal species that never encounter each other except to attack: the wolf and the deer. My video of an eagle and drone is also presented, which reflects the notions of territory and intrusion, which interest me a lot.

More precisely, with regard to this exhibition, territory is a concept that is not only linked to its physicality. The masks shown here, for example, define the territory of a custom linked to rituals and community. Camouflage fabrics are, for me, conceptual representations of an idea of territory—hence the title “Hidden Meridians over Disruptive Landscape.” Using camouflage fabric means wanting to blend into the landscape, the territory. How does one define this area?

I don’t think you can cut your roots; otherwise, like plants, you can’t survive! It is a little exaggerated to say that I am an ambassador of Romania, but I try to highlight some aspects from there that aren’t as well-known in France. Like the masks from the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant—which are not on display even in Romania because the museum is closed! It will be a discovery for both the Parisian public and Romanians who come to see the exhibition. These masks are incredibly rare and precious. For the museum, they have the same value as the Mona Lisa. They are objects that are typically destroyed once the end-of-year rituals are over; they take place in specific ethno-geographical areas of Romania. It is a great pleasure for me to have been able to bring them to France and to exhibit them here. We will also exhibit a carpet woven in southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia, which is well-known for its carpets. It was woven for the centenary of modern Romania, that is to say the gathering of all the regions of Romania, in which France played a very important role with the Trianon Treaty.

The idea of the “Guest Room” on the second floor came to me spontaneously. Curator Claude d’Anthenaise gave me carte blanche, but I wanted to give carte blanche to other artists too. I invited the rather effervescent Cluj-Napoca scene, which focuses mainly on painting. All these artists responded to the specific theme of hunting and nature. If that had not been the case, I would have exercised my power of censorship…

For me, the relationship with the animal is not linked to a nationality – I would rather talk about humans and animals in general. In my case, it’s something that comes from my childhood. I grew up and always spent my holidays in the very traditional deep countryside. The pig was sacrificed at Christmas, the lamb at Easter. There was a natural relationship with the animal. I knew where the meat came from—we were far from the slice of ham you can find in the supermarket. Of course, we have moved away from that relationship, but I still have this love and respect for animals.

This is the third edition of the Festival of the Bear at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. Romania is one of the European countries with the highest number of bears. It is said that these ancestral traditions linked to the Festival of the Bear date back to the time of the Dacians, the ancestors of the Romanian people. At the time, the bear was a sacred animal and was celebrated at the beginning of the New Year, so it is very much linked to these rituals of nature’s renewal. During the event, people will be dressed in masks and real bearskins, playing drums, trumpets… Never seen before! People come from the city of Comănești and celebrate this ritual every year. The tradition remains very strong, from a lineage of fathers to sons, and that is what is beautiful: this transmission. For the Parisian public who will attend, it will be a real show.

I think we all have our share of the hunter in our DNA. These are our earliest archaic origins. In my opinion, “hunting” takes many forms: among visual artists, it translates into the search for form, subject, vocabulary… A leader will chase after tastes, a philosopher will chase after ideas, a creator will chase after trends…

Maybe that’s a little over the top. Today, we all have a mobile phone that we have acquired voluntarily. The question is more about the intrusion of technology into private life, the border between the private and the public. The idea is also expressed through my barbed wire piece on display on the ground floor of the museum. Today, everyone can access people’s fingerprints, as soon as they cross the American border. It’s often under the pretext of security, but I wonder if it’s still justifiable…

Art predators are everything that keeps us away from art. Art is so subjective that moving away from it can even become an art in itself: the art of moving away from art… To sum up my approach, I always say that I throw the stone in the water, and let others decipher the ripple.