ORLAN to Deliver Free Art History Lecture at Louvre

French artist ORLAN will give a free art history lecture at the Louvre on Friday, May 22, 2025, at 7 PM in the museum's auditorium. The talk, titled "Le musée et l'histoire de l'art cellules souches de nos nouvelles images," is part of the fourth edition of the Louvre's "Leçons d'artiste" series. ORLAN, born in 1947, is known for her 1977 performance "Le Baiser de l'artiste" at FIAC and her surgical-performance works that transformed her face. A pioneer in using new technologies in art, including the Minitel, she will discuss how art history—as shaped by major museums like the Louvre—is riddled with omissions, censorship, and rewritings, yet remains a stem cell for new images. The lecture will reference iconic works such as the Winged Victory of Samothrace and paintings by Caravaggio, Goya, Botticelli, and Ingres, extending to how AI can only feed on existing historical material. Two additional lectures will follow: on June 12, "À poil sans poils" explores body representation between visibility and taboos; on September 25, "La responsabilité des artistes" questions art's power in times of war and oppression.