Response delivered by Prof. Anne Moeglin-Delcroix
Winner of the “Leonardo da Vinci” 2007 World Award of Arts
at the World Cultural Council´s 24th Award Ceremony

November 24th, 2007
at 18:00 hrs. in the University Theatre,
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León

At this solemn, grandiose moment, when this award is presented to me, I would like to share with you two emotions which move me: acknowledgement and pride.

Prof. Anne Moeglin Delcroix

My thanks, first and foremost, go of course to the jury who, out of work submitted from all the world over, decided to choose mine. In this distinction I see the crowning of thirty years of surveys, analyses, writing and dialogue with my colleagues, in France and overseas.

My thanks are then extended to the university of Paris, La Sorbonne, where I teach and head the Centre of Philosophy and Art, and to the National Centre of Scientific Research in Paris, which did the honour of introducing me to the jury of the Leonardo Da Vinci award.
Only university and scientific institutions allow for the kind of research in which I am engaged, without direct economic gain.

Finally, my thanks go to all the teachers whom I have encountered on the path of research into aesthetics, particularly into contemporary art, in its varied and most original forms, and lastly into what would be my life project, the artist’s book.

Among my teachers, I would also include the artists, some world famous while others remain hidden from the public eye. My admiration for both is equal. Their works, like their thought as expressed in their writings and interviews, have nurtured my work in history and philosophy.

Prof. Anne Moeglin Delcroix

Of all the above, acquaintances and friends, who are in my thoughts especially at this moment, I would like to mention one woman, as it was my encounter with her that guided my whole career. Her name is Françoise Woimant. I was not even thirty, I had left the School of Higher Education (École Normale Supérieur) and was about to start my thesis. She was a conservationist in the National Library, in Paris, in charge of contemporary engraving in the illustration department. She had had the insight that artist’s books – those little humdrum-looking publications which have come out recently, in a clear breakaway from the luxury coffee-table product for traditional book lovers, in fact often scorned by the official media as they were not always well printed or glued together – were one of the most fruitful paths for contemporary works of art. It was she who told me that a philosopher was needed to study these enigmatic productions!

That it how, thanks to Françoise Woimant, I became a specialist in the artist’s book. And that is how, without giving up my vocation in philosophy or my studies, I was also led to take on the role of conservationist, to enrich the collection of the National Library, today one of the most important in the world, to dream up exhibitions, write catalogues, educate the public ... in a nutshell, to pull ideas down from heaven and put them at the service of living art.

Let me now tell you, in a few words, why I am so proud to receive the Leonardo da Vinci award.

In first place, I feel very honoured to join the company of my predecessors, which include so many extremely renowned artists and creators, and next to whom – dare I say? – I feel somewhat daunted to take my place.

Next, I would like to mention that I am very happy to share the honour today with Professor Stoddart, an scientist eminent for his cutting-edge research. The joint awarding of both prizes clearly demonstrates that there is no rupture between art and science. Leonardo da Vinci himself was a good example! Art and science bear witness, each in its own way, to the inventiveness of man and his responsibility towards the world he transforms.

Finally, I would like to stress how aware I am of the fact that, in granting me the Leonardo da Vinci award, the World Cultural Council confers a new legitimacy on these artist’s books, frequently produced on the fringes of accepted art, and through which artists have always defended another concept of art, less elitist, less commercial, more authentic.

To conclude, let me tell you a story, which will say more than any speech to demonstrate the importance I attach to receiving this award here in the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, in Mexico.

In my first book, in 1985, I had translated into French an extract of text, the most famous written by an artist and theorist of the artist’s book, titled “Le Nouvel Art de faire des Livres” (The New Art of making Books”).
Later, in 1997, I wrote an introduction to the complete edition of the theoretical writings of this forefather, who died at an early age in 1989.

Now this artist, whose writings I often quoted and discussed, was called Ulises Carrión, and the text, from which I published an extract in 1985, first appeared in 1975, in the magazine “Plural” in Mexico City.

Ulises Carrión was Mexican. He went to La Sorbonne in Paris to complete his education at the age of 23. He then settled in Amsterdam, where he opened a bookshop specializing in artist’s books. It was called “Other Books and so” and was the headquarters of a major international network.

He was a great messenger between the Americas and Europe.

I am pleased to be able to pay tribute to him in his homeland, as I receive this award which, through me, honours all those who have contributed to the recognition of the artist’s book. I am glad to have been able to pay tribute to him to his own country, as I receive this prize which, through me, acclaims all those who have contributed to the recognition of the artist's book.

I am glad to have been able to pay tribute to him to his own country, as I receive this prize which, through me, acclaims all those who have contributed to the recognition of the artist's book.

To conclude, I would like to express the huge debt I owe my husband, Pierre Moeglin, with whom I enjoy the happiness of sharing life. Thank you very much.