The animated installations that constitute the French Pavilion by artist Christian Boltanski are similar to the United States Pavilion in that it is composed of only one artist/team, rather than a variety of artists/teams. This exhibition by Boltanski ultimately explores the nation of human identity, and the luck and fate of newborn babies whose beginnings are subject entirely to chance. The pavilion’s title is purposefully vague as to whether it references the work in the French or English language. Since all nouns in French are preceded by an article, such as ‘le’ for ‘le chance’ it is dubious as to whether the Pavilion is referencing the English word ‘chance’ ( /tʃæns/ ) or as the French ‘chance’ ( /tʃɑins/ .) While the title in French is often translated as ‘luck’ or ‘good fortune,’ the word ‘chance’ in English often has negative connotation hat suggest hazard or risk. Curator of the Pavilion, Jean-Hubert Martin, explained this ambiguous interpretation was intentional.
For the French the issues of fertility, birth, and death are important political issues in terms of national identity. [1. Gerard Noiriel. Trans by Geoffroy de Laforcade. The French Melting Pot: Immigration, Citizenship, and National Identity. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996): xii.] While Boltanski does not directly touch upon the subject of immigration, the fear of population decline is evident. A persistent political issue in France, demography is front-page news and readers of national newspapers are informed of the latest population trends regularly. [2. Michael S. Teitelbaum and Jay Winter. A Question of Numbers: High Migration, Low Fertility, and the Politics of National Identity. (Giroux, NY: Hill and Wang): 32.]
