Having contributed an essay on the subject in Electra 22 (‘The Life or the Work?’), sociologist Gisèle Sapiro has been quoted on the relationship between the life and work of artists and creators in various French and international media, including Spanish newspaper El País.
Joan Mitchell, Clearing, 1973 (detail) © Fotografia: Scala, Florence / Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
The case of Gérard Depardieu, who has been accused by several women of rape and other sexual assaults, has generated enormous controversy in France and abroad, with the subsequent emergence of manifestos, opinion platforms and petitions both denouncing and coming out in support of the actor.
In the violent controversy which has ensued, in which everyone from President Emmanuel Macron to hundreds of artists, intellectuals, activists and campaigners have taken part, the issue of the relationship between artists and their work has once again gained great topicality and relevance.
Voices active in this public debate include that of sociologist Gisèle Sapiro, author of a vast body of work on these issues and who has been quoted and offered commentary in various international newspapers such as El País (‘Más allá de Depardieu: cuando el culto a los grandes artistas se derrumba en Francia’) and World Today News (‘Controversial Support for Gérard Depardieu Sparks Debate About Separating Art from the Artist’).
In the dossier dedicated to this theme in Electra 22 (‘The Life or the Work?’), Gisèle Sapiro contributed an enlightened and enlightening essay entitled ‘Morality of the Author, Morality of the Work’, which is now even more timely.