Broodthaers/Blistène


Broodthaers/Blistène is Vincent Meessen’s carte blanche in the framework of Sweet 16, a collaboration between Cinematek and Kanal-Centre Pompidou.
18/05/2019, 17h


Marcel Blistène, Bibi Fricotin, 1951, 16 mm, b&w, original French version, 89 min.
Marcel Broodthaers, Le Musée et la Discussion, 16mm, b&w, silent, 1969, 12 min.


With its collection of 23,000 16mm films – including unique copies, documentaries, classics, avant-garde and militant films – Cinematek’s SWEET 16 is a monthly special event: an experimental, performative tribute to the 16mm format. To round off this cycle, SWEET 16 is happy to unfold its chairs and turn its projector to the walls to welcome “Broodthaers/Blistène”, the carte (noire et) blanche of Belgian artist and filmmaker Vincent Meessen.


This rummage through the holdings brings up two lucky findings, which together produce a random “MB” poetic axis. It highlights the work of two Marcel B’s: Marcel Blistène and Marcel Broodthaers. In both cases, the film refers to a heritage, to empty boxes, to a treasure to be located with the aid of a map, to a museum and its curator.


Blistène adapted the comic strip Bibi Fricotin, a hero created by the author of Les Pieds Nickelés, a wild and irreverent French comic strip from which Marcel Broodthaers knew scams and tricks. Broodthaers takes on the role of curator and engages the museum in an open discussion.


18/05/2019, 17h
Kanal-Centre Pompidou,
Showroom +5 (Route 4)
Tickets: https://kanal.brussels/fr/votre-visite/horaires-et-tarifs