Blistène bernard

anticonformist
curator
as author
institutional outsider

portrait by JONAS UNGER
interview by OLIVIER ZAHM
translation by PEDRO RODRÍGUEZ

CESAR, COMPRESSION, THE YELLOW BUICK, 1961, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, COPYRIGHT SBJ / ADAGP, PARIS 2017

OLIVIER ZAHM — You’ve trained a lot of students in contemporary art, and they have amazing memories of your instruction. Do you miss teaching?

BERNARD BLISTÈNE — Remember Montaigne’s phrase: “I do not teach. I relate.” That works for me. I never “trained” any students. I tried for 25 years to convey my passion and anxieties. Even now, I’m constantly reminded of Jean-Luc Godard, who said: “What does art hope to accomplish? Everything. What can art do? Nothing. What does art do? Something.” Let’s just say that that was my state of mind at the time, and it still is — though doubtless with other means and…