Visual creation in Morocco from independence to now.

Abstract

There is a constant that underlies Moroccan artistic and intellectual production: the question of tradition. Cultural patrimony, being always alive, falls with ali its weight on intellectuals and artists of this country. "Jt is normal!" they say. Morocco, an emerging country, gets softly out of a past loaded with history and slowly compromises itself with a still babbling modanity. Its actual culture is retained by 19th century ambiances. However, compared to Algerian or Tunisian cultures, Moroccan culture appears to be strongly determined by the relation between tradition and modernity. Ihis is a success, sorne would say. In contemporary Morocco, the bet far art and artistic expressions has been confirmed by a composed and diverse generation, constituted of artis ts preoccupied with the identity of their production, who belong less to national tendencies than to transnational tribes of artists, and who address the whole world and propase de-tenitorialized works ... At the same time, other artists choose expressions that correspond to social realities and tastes completely different from those of European cultures. In sum, from initial imitation to de-territorialization? It is the whole history of Moroccan modern arts which is at stake in this paper.