Bruno Lussato

THE CHRONICLE
The aims of the first foundation

The Lussato Fedier Foundation
Le Centre Interculturel d’UCCLE
Belgique

WHY ?
The ultimate goal of the Foundation.
Our aim is to open the mind of ordinary people, as well as experts, to deep understanding between people and civilizations. We believe than all beliefs and religions could be accepted and understood when they are not distorted by superficiality and fanatism. To possess a spirituality oriented mind is a benediction, but when this mind is highly cultured and sophisticated, it has greater powers, and a larger vision. It’s why an initiation to great cultural masterpieces is paramount to our organization.

We certainly wouldn’t go as far as believing that our center could compete with great cultural organizations as the Getty Foundation. But our experience shows that small cultural sites like Uccle Foundation, could attracted people living all around, in Belgium as in Europe, provided that the fire of passion would ever burn in these places of knowledge.

To make a long story short, let us say that the Foundation tries to put people in close contact with the different civilizations of different epochs. Such immersion would enhance deep empathy between the participants, through seminars, dialogs, and decoding the symbols and the products that derive from their basic values.

See above, the fountain pen of the third mellenium.It is a master piece and a tour de force : 24 facets incrusted by albalone inserts.

A cultural center for the third millenium
Our millenium debutes by a triple crisis :
- financial and economy crisis
- geopolitical
- crisis of sense accompanying the disappearance of the religion and the family.

According to Jean-François Six, the France national mediator, the sense emerges from the equilibrium of material, relational and ideological-spiritual values. But nowadays the first prevails and suppress the others. The result which ensue is the dangerous vacuity of our society which we must fight. It is precisely the ultimate goal of our center.

To meet this challenge we must get back to the world richness, from its mythical past up to a contemporary vision, yet utopian but rich of potentialities. We must struggle against the monotony of globalization and fight for a new variety of behaviors. Variety of the cultural roots, variety of our personal needs.

The sections of our cultural center.
We must distinguish :

A site for discussions and debates about the change of paradigms, in the field of geopolitics, of the globalization, of the economy and finance field, of the durable development, and, last but not least, the harmonious synergy of all the new paradigms.

A cultural heritage comprising objects of museal quality which could be of use as a pedagogic tool for searchers, sponsors, and civil servants. It would provide a concrete support to our cultural and spiritual concepts.
HOW?
The philosoph Bridgman used to say that the HOW is the WHY of modern man. We must confess that this ironical motto is fully realized nowadays, where bankers, economists, searchers and experts, civil servants, computer men, and even social workers are more interested by what they are doing, and how to do it whith efficiency rather to think to the outcomes and the real usefulness of what they do.

The how? is a necessary support of action but ought be subordinate to the why. Therefore we are very task and method oriented, but having always in our mind, and at each moment, the ultimate goal of the center.


THE DEBATES
They cover, some of the following subjects:

Consequences of structural changes in the geopolitic theater.

Outcomes of the outcomes of the globalization

Crisis of the economy and final dead end

The alliance of the new paradigm around the truly human values.

Culture and spirituality

The hope that durable development will give rise to a better new world.

Initiation to great masterpieces : for exemple decoding of Guernica (Picasso) , The Art of The Fugue (J.S.Bach) the david of Michelangelo and its model, of the second Faust (Goethe) , of Eugen Oneguine (Poutchkine - Tchaikovsky) etc.

THE COLLECTIONS
The Uccle's Center is not limited to organize conferences and intellectual debates. We believe that in our era, which claims impudently the monopole of communication, of which Internet is the symbol, is an era of truncated information, without contact with physical reality. Our century is one of abstraction, quantitative kills the qualitative, virtual images conceal their source, computerization blurs reality. It's why our center owns important collections of objets so that people can see, hear and touch objects and take roots in the physical, concrete reality.

The great Korzybski;,the founder of general semantics, repeated many times, pointing to an object with his finger, if you want to grasp the meaning of this thing, don't name it, point to it.

We know that an object has a inequal power of suggestion. We like some things which are simply pretty and dislike other we judge harsh and brutal. People of the end of XIX century admired Bouguereau and Jerome, and ignore Cezanne and Manet. It is not a simple question of personal taste. If Cezanne killed Bouguereau after decades, it was because non educated people needed a decoding. Bouguereau needed no dexplanation, none effort to be appreciated. After one century of familiarity with the modern works as impressionnists or fauves, we can understand it, but don't forget than in 1976, french people didn't accept Picasso. They believe his art being a farce. They used to say "c'est du Picasso" (it's Picasso-like) to mean that it was a huge con! Indeed it was not so neither in the States, not in Russia prior Lenine. The collections of the Ermitage prove the openness of taste and spirit of the ols aristocracy.

The items we will present meet severe demands, in order to avoid deception among visitors.One of these demands are a quality of conception, conservation and historical importance equal to mueum pieces. These pieces are organized along concepts which aims to enhance interest for art to average visitors

The patrimony of the foudation is organized along such concepts and we call lines the link which unifies the pieces. If such lines were missing, the gathering of even masterpieces, would result in bad taste eclectism or a cultural mess.

THE LINES
Every object of the line must be of a museum quality. Marina Fedier divided the lines in five sections :
1- Works of art centered on spirituality and beliefs such as a Medieval virgin, russian ikons, tankas, primitive idols.
2- Masterpieces of ancient and modern craftmanship of different civilizations. For example music instruments, persian pottery, glass from Murano.
3- Library China and Japan centered. (Scroll and paintings).

- Important books on contemporary Art (Klee, Schwitters, Russian avant-garde).
4- Wagnerian and musical library
5-Video collection on art and on ecology.
All these cultural and educational objects are necessary for our lectures, conferences and seminars. They are open to amateurs, students and searchers.

Scientific and technologic collection. (writing tools; photographic cameras, astrolabes etc).

THE POLES
The word Pole stand for "ATTRACTION POLE". It is a specialized gathering of objects which can be competitive in the ever growing world of the museums and even such prestigious foundation as the Getty's in Malibu, U.S.A.

Their aim is to attract people even from distant locations (all Europe and not only Belgium) and to help students and searchers. They are the main vehicle for the Lussato Fedier foundation, toward medias and official scientific or artistic organizations.

► See below a list of some poles.

The scores collection. It is one of the more important collection on private hands. Many exemplars of our collection as the complete versions of Mozart Zauberflôte, or the complete versions of the commercial copies of well tempered clavier , are missing even in the great musical libraries. The ordinary man can see how is the magnificient engraved edition ov Nine Symphony of Beethoven, or the first edition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons (the only surviving in private hands, out of four copies in great public libraries).

The Wagnerian collection. After Christus, Wagner is the man the more published since more than a century. He made revolutionary works which changed radically all the music and theatre conceptions. He invented and realized the more advanced theatre in the world, in Bayreuth (Germany), which is devoted ti the sole wagner's musical dramas. Most of the documents about " the master" are gathered in Bayreuther museum. The second collection after Bayreuth, is the Lussato Fedier foundation thanks the permanent loan of Bruno Lussato, one of the most important manuscripts of The Ring. The Ring is the larger drama ever conceived. It lasts 15 hours of concentrate music, and it took 27 years to accomplish it.

The japanese Mingei collection. Mingei is a popular sort of art. The word popular can be misunderstood because it indicated the use of the pieces : daily life of ordinary people. But that don't means that the objects are rough and not refinated, but that they seem unsophisticated and contrary to vulgarity of mass production, as sophistication of luxurius products. If the Mingei school claims purity and function oriented productions, it's a reaction toward the excess of the industrialization which product without soul and love because they were done without neither soul nor love. 

Mingei is the ancestor of design because design aims a very Spartan surrounding and claims a similar function oriented of objects. It's why in Paris, the design was exhibited as a continuation of Mingei. But there are considerable differences that opposes design and genuine Mingei thinking. The design is cold, formal, intellectual, elegant and trendy, industrially produced and dependent on image, the Mingei is the opposite. It want reactivate the manual craftsmanship, and although it insists on simplicity and bareness, most of the objects are subtle and sophisticated.

A characteristic of traditional Mingei product, is that they let speak the matter and its texture. The wood, the textiles, the bronze, the Bamboo and the pottery, express their soul. No one piece is equal to the others, each one express its personality, and its fantastic imagination.

In 2000 there was in Marseille a splendid exhibition of true Mingei, very complète. The catalog shows an ideal collection and will serve us linke a guide to build our Mingei department. When it will be mature, in few month, our foudation will be the only place in Europe where to see a comprehensible set of this fascinating approach, between art and craftmanship.

The Shamanism collection. As the Mingei, shamanism is very trendy and many exhibitions can be admired in Paris. Moreover, magnificent example can be admired in Musée du Quai Branly.  The most celebrated merchant in Paris, is Gallery Flack. They have a wide choice of historical and impressive masteroieces from Canada,and Alaska. Unfortunately, their prices are prohibitive and you need 200 000 000 € to gather a collection who could be compared to the great non specialized foundations.  But there is a niche who is very interesting : Nepalese  shamanic  Art. Under the roof of Himalaya shamans are  always operationals and you can find very good pieces, some of them very close of modern occidental art. But although thr shamans of Alaska are civilized and well known, up to captain Cook travels, the nepal protected its frontiers until the fifties and it's now only, that scholars, ethnologists begin to develop their knowledge and seek more information. This is missing unfortunally for the reasons already mentionned. It's why it is  impossible to give a precise date to a given specimen. Another result of this bacward state of the Nepal civilization, the pieces have not market, not quotation, no merchant with the exception of some rather confidential.  We decided to enter in this niche, fascinating and where it's possible to build a comprehensive collection with reduced amount of money. The Nepal pieces can be completed bay masks and statues of the field, when they don't belong to shamanism but are related by magic practice, to protect the peasants from bad weather and from illness.

It would prove useful too, to mix the shamanic art of Nepal with the celebrated art from Alaska and the Great North. We can find pieces from 1000 years BC  ant others with illustrious prevenances as André Breton one. But we most remember that with a Flak single famous mask price, you can buy a comprehensive collection of himalayan shamanic objects !

The Nepal Shamanic Art can and ought be developped with the cooperation with the merchant and scholars. Our foundation aims to create an institute of the new himalayan treasures and to be situated at the very center of the related studies.

The case of medieval christian art . Our overall view of the situation shows that a strong deflation shall legitimate whose who say : we must delay of three to six month the decision to buy works of art. But I demonstrates that such a jugdment is 95% right but no for a small subcategory of works of art, I name ii. ii is the irremplaceable indicator. It qualifies works of art, flats, houses or other goods, which when sold desappear were they are bought by public libraries, museum, or other rich people and institutions. Try to buy a flat in Feaubourg St Honoré, in front of the gardens, between Japan Embassy and USA Embassy ! It's impossible whatever the world situation would be. Such goods are out of the market. Another consideration is mode. Many decades ago Art Deco was not fashionable, now it's the trendiest of the furniture anbd the prices climb to stars. It is a rule to buy against the mode, but we lust not forget that before a neglected great artistic piece find a plain recognition you must wait many years or even decades!

The christian art of middle ages never has been appreciated because it is too religious. But nevertheless, it belongs to our civilization, our roots, our sensitivity, even if the anticlericalism is an occidental illness. Nowadays men have no eyes to see a great medieval virgin. To day it is possible to buy a major work of the XIIe century for the price of a Peter Doig, not to quote Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons objects. To acquire a great medieval "chef d'oeuvre" is an unique experience which could change your mind and it is a honour to possess it.  Therefore I am not neutral about this chapter of the foundation. I would be very uneasy to fix a finite price to the infinite spirituality.  I believe that when people will awake, as they have done so lately with Vermeer  or Van Gogh a century ago, to buy such a genial works will prove to be an utopia.

To possess christian art is nevertherless a must, as a point of the trajectory of soul and belief. If we cannot gather it in a pole it is necessary to put it in the line of inspired works. It would paradoxical to possess primitive fetish, often frightening, and to neglect objects of love and goodness. 

The Bournet collection. It is a group of 27 great totemic shields  which were never separated since their entrance in the Bournet family, one century ago. The result of anks to the Bournet Foundation, they shall have all the medical care, a nice small flat, a park, and a lot of distractions. the purchase is used to benefit of wold and lonely peopla who wait death. But we need a financial help to another organization, since the price of the collection is too high. The statues are fascinating and typical of the best of oceanic art. They werer very appreciated by Emil Nolde during his trip in New Guinea, and Salomon Islands, where he bought two of these pieces. Nolde preferred the deep spirituality of these humans, to sophisticated and fashionable behavior of the snobs.

The Paper museum and the Hiroko Noguchi legacy. The paper museum is a gift of the Paper museum in Tokyio and of more than one hundred in artistic paper. It's difficult for us to imagine that art making is more than craftmanship for japanese. This art has it's national living treasures . The "washi" is a luxurious paper made sometimes of gampi. This plant is as vicunas. It is impossible to be cultivated.

Around the paper collection, we are proud to show related masrrpieces. There is a marvelous origami by Jun Yoshida, at the Bruno Lussato and Marina Fedier Center (les Capucins) destroyed by a great cosmetic company. But the highest point of the paper museum is the collection of objects of all kind in Kozo paper tinted  in brown by kaki dye, by Hiroko Noguchi who spent manay visits in Bruno Lussato Center ; "Les Capucins".

Last but no least, the calligraphies of Claude Mediavilla, one of the major calligrapher of our time, the inscription on stone, of his friend Moisan who engraved the tombs of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, in Saint Denis, and a very important set of chinese calligraphy by Tad Chen.