Raisons d’être (Reasons for Being) is the title of the 2010 cycle of educational lectures developed by Argentinean architect Mariano Akerman in Pakistan. The lectures aimed to celebrate cultural diversity, opening a window to the genesis of modern art and providing Pakistani audiences with new sources of inspiration and means of expression.
Comprising a cycle of seven lectures, an art exhibition, workshops, fund-rising activities, and the I+E Letters and Collage Competition, Raisons d’être has the auspices of Alliance Française Islamabad, AF-Lahore and the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad.
A series of lectures in French, English and Spanish have been delivered by Mariano Akerman at the National University of Modern Languages, i.e. NUML French and NUML Spanish, International School Islamabad, Residence of Belgium, Islamabad College of Arts and Sciences, together with Beaconhouse National University and National College of Arts in Lahore. The last lecture was broadcasted live as a video conference, and this made possible the participation of students from the University of Gujrat, FJWU Rawalpindi, AKU-IED Karachi and IBA Karachi.
Encompassing values such as freedom, flexibility and dialog, the meetings were attended by more than 500 students in Pakistan. A considerable number of them participated in the letters and collage competition. With their entries to the contest, some of the students have shown inventiveness and commitment, so next week seven of them will receive major prizes, these including certificates and original collages by Akerman himself; mentions of honor will be given to another fifteen students as well.
Art, Freedom and Modernity. Modern art owes much to France, for it was born and developed there. In the country of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” many artists expressed themselves with unusual inventiveness. Local and foreign artists worked together to create original, modern art. Because of their success, modern art has become some kind of synonym with French art today.
The French expression raison d’être refers to “a reason for being” or to “a reason for existing.” Yet, in art there are many of them. Along the art-education lectures, Mariano Akerman also speaks of Raisons d’être, in plural.
Mariano Akerman, painter and art historian. Born in Buenos Aires in 1963, Mariano Akerman studied at the School of Architecture of Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina), completing his formation with a prized graduation project on the limits and space in modern architecture (1987). Abroad from 1991 onwards, he investigates modern art and researches the architectural projects of Louis Kahn and the paintings of Francis Bacon (Summa Cum Laude).
He conceived and developed the educational series of lectures From Van Eyck to Magritte (2005), Arte Argentino (2006), In the Spirit of Linnaeus (2007), Discovering Belgian Art and Raisons d’être (2008-10). Specializing in visual communication, Akerman is an experienced educator. He lectures on modern art at renowned institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila, the University of Modern Languages in Islamabad and the National College of Art in Lahore.
An artist himself, Mariano Akerman exhibits his artwork since 1979 onwards. He has been awarded with twelve major international prizes.
Comprising a cycle of seven lectures, an art exhibition, workshops, fund-rising activities, and the I+E Letters and Collage Competition, Raisons d’être has the auspices of Alliance Française Islamabad, AF-Lahore and the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad.
A series of lectures in French, English and Spanish have been delivered by Mariano Akerman at the National University of Modern Languages, i.e. NUML French and NUML Spanish, International School Islamabad, Residence of Belgium, Islamabad College of Arts and Sciences, together with Beaconhouse National University and National College of Arts in Lahore. The last lecture was broadcasted live as a video conference, and this made possible the participation of students from the University of Gujrat, FJWU Rawalpindi, AKU-IED Karachi and IBA Karachi.
Encompassing values such as freedom, flexibility and dialog, the meetings were attended by more than 500 students in Pakistan. A considerable number of them participated in the letters and collage competition. With their entries to the contest, some of the students have shown inventiveness and commitment, so next week seven of them will receive major prizes, these including certificates and original collages by Akerman himself; mentions of honor will be given to another fifteen students as well.
Art, Freedom and Modernity. Modern art owes much to France, for it was born and developed there. In the country of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” many artists expressed themselves with unusual inventiveness. Local and foreign artists worked together to create original, modern art. Because of their success, modern art has become some kind of synonym with French art today.
The French expression raison d’être refers to “a reason for being” or to “a reason for existing.” Yet, in art there are many of them. Along the art-education lectures, Mariano Akerman also speaks of Raisons d’être, in plural.
Mariano Akerman, painter and art historian. Born in Buenos Aires in 1963, Mariano Akerman studied at the School of Architecture of Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina), completing his formation with a prized graduation project on the limits and space in modern architecture (1987). Abroad from 1991 onwards, he investigates modern art and researches the architectural projects of Louis Kahn and the paintings of Francis Bacon (Summa Cum Laude).
He conceived and developed the educational series of lectures From Van Eyck to Magritte (2005), Arte Argentino (2006), In the Spirit of Linnaeus (2007), Discovering Belgian Art and Raisons d’être (2008-10). Specializing in visual communication, Akerman is an experienced educator. He lectures on modern art at renowned institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila, the University of Modern Languages in Islamabad and the National College of Art in Lahore.
An artist himself, Mariano Akerman exhibits his artwork since 1979 onwards. He has been awarded with twelve major international prizes.
• Additional source: Jean-Paul Girault, Interview with Artworks, 2005.
3 comments:
You are an asset to us and your art and teaching shows it. Keep up the great work.
Enorme capacidad la tuya al adaptarte y poder comunicarte tan bien en una cultura tan diferente. Me alegro mucho por vos, Mariano. Estás haciendo algo muy lindo y enriquecedor para muchos, y la respuesta es muy elocuente y gratificante. **smile** gab ~
¿Un argentino disertando en castellano, inglés y/o francés acerca de la historia y el arte de Francia, con los auspicios de la Alianza Francesa y en escuelas superiores y universidades pakistaníes? ¡Maravilloso!
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