© BelgaImage
In March 1983, 40 years ago almost to the day, a plump and talkative Cat appeared in the daily press. After thousands of gags, 23 albums – the publication of the 24th is imminent – and an international celebrity, the Cat, available 22 times in the form of 2,500 kg bronze, is experiencing a new stage in its journey with an exhibition being held in Brussels. until June 30 and… a new controversy.
This cat statue bought by the Brussels Parliament and not visible to the public, you could have found a better launch…
Philippe Geluck – To be quite frank, this kind of “promotion”, I did not expect it. The Parliament of the Brussels Region had launched a call for projects for the creation of a sculpture for the garden of the institution. The result did not satisfy them and they had the idea of asking me to create a monumental sculpture. I proposed several projects that they liked and they chose one. The budget and the acquisition were voted, I was told, unanimously. I didn’t knock on any door, I just responded to a request… And I didn’t know it was going to be installed in a space closed to the public.
Which is not the case with the exhibition which, after Paris, Geneva, Monaco, Montreux, is coming to us. Where, by the way?
In Brussels, in the Royal Park, this March 10. From the transverse alley which starts from the “BIP” (the Brussels Info Place) and goes towards the fountain which faces the Parliament. It is a very wide path lined with young trees that the gardeners have just replanted. So that the project will not be obscured by too much shading. The 22 statues will remain on display until June 30 and maybe more if you like…
This Brussels terminus will be followed by pieces from buyers-collectors.
Yes, in fact, it is an ongoing process. All of the profits from these sales will go to the kitty which will be used to develop the Musée du Chat. That was the original plan and it works. There are 25 or 26 of these statues which have already found a buyer (other unpublished statues than the 22 exhibited have been melted down): the town of Andenne, the Brussels Parliament, the municipality of Cologny (near Geneva), communities, individuals, one or another company. There are two casino chains that have bought a statue to put in front of their establishment…
Their rating seems to be climbing…
Initially, we had announced them at 250,000 euros, then, given the success, it went up, up and still going up.
So Andenne, with 380,000 euros, did a good deal?
Oh yes. Who knows (laughs)? On the other hand, what I don’t know is whether a city can resell the works of art it has acquired. The State did it at one time: Austria bought us the most beautiful Bruegels… You know, selling statues to finance an artistic infrastructure was done long before me by an illustrious predecessor. The sculptor Bartholdi, to finance the Statue of Liberty, sold dozens of small replicas to American cities.
© BelgaImage
So, where are we with the Cat Museum?
The permit has been issued, the insanitary building in the place of which the museum is going to be built has been demolished, the legal archaeological excavations have been undertaken and have been completed and the construction work has just started a few days ago. I am assured that the closed structural work will be finished in August 2024. The opening was planned for 2019… it will not take place! More seriously, what I fear is that, given the delays and inflation, what I will have to finance will be much more expensive. I was given quotes in 2017 for this work and I do not know if these will take me.
The risk taken by the Brussels Region is to recover a fully equipped building.
Can you recall how the museum is financed?
The Region is spending eleven million euros to build a building which is right next to the “BIP” and just opposite the Royal Park. It’s her building: she owns it. The Musée du Chat pays rent to occupy this building, the fittings of which I finance to the tune of at least 4.8 million upon receipt of the structural work. The museum does not receive subsidies and to make it work and exploit it, I have to create jobs. When I say “I”, it’s the ASBL created for the occasion. If the museum does not work, the Region recovers the fittings: plumbing, electricity, heating, elevator, etc.
So the Region is not taking any risks?
If not that of recovering a fully equipped building…
What can we find there?
The museum will be divided into three main chapters. The “cat museum”, focused on my work, a temporary exhibition section focusing on the great cartoonists (from Sempé to Siné via Chaval, Kroll, Steinberg…) and finally, a section devoted to the cat, the animal, and its representations in human culture from ancient Egypt to the Internet. From the god Rê to the calendars of postal kittens… Things are going to change a lot, with new major exhibitions every six months. We estimated that with 150,000 visitors per year, we could live with the entries, the shop, the merchandising…
Does being called a “businessman” still affect you?
The first few times, it seemed incongruous to me. Because it’s so not me. So if people are picking this up, is it because I’m giving that impression? Quite honestly, it surprises me because money has never guided me. I was lucky to find success. Who can blame me? I have never exploited anyone. I pay, it seems to me, very well my collaborators. I take care of them. I’m not a “businessman”, I don’t speculate, I don’t invest money. I get copyright. I am an entrepreneur, the term suits me better. Because, it’s true: I undertake projects. But the museum has no commercial purpose: my life is made up, I won’t earn a penny from the museum. I hope it will work in order to be able to pay for the jobs it will generate and densify cultural life in Brussels.
Isn’t it sometimes difficult to carry, like you, left-wing values while being rich?
Like an environmentalist who flies to defend the environment at an international conference? Yes of course. It’s complicated and at the same time, it’s very simple. I consume little, I have a used car because I don’t care about cars, I wear the same jeans as twenty years ago, I don’t wear a luxury watch, I haven’t changed. On the contrary, I engage in solidarity projects…
For you, having a “big table” means being able to invite more people to share your meal?
Yes, but I don’t talk about it, I don’t make it known, I don’t want to flaunt it.
All the same, you have made a house available for months to accommodate Ukrainian refugees…
Every year, I participate in more than 40 solidarity initiatives by donating money or works. But I’m not saying it: I could be blamed for it. In Belgium, success is necessarily frowned upon. In Brussels, there is a proverb that says: “The protruding nail calls the hammer”.
Do you remember March 22, 1983, the day when the first drawing of Le Chat appeared in Le Soir? Over these 40 years, which eras have inspired you the most?
It was yesterday. I had gone to buy a copy of the Evening and I was dying to say to the tobacconist: “Look at this Cat, I drew it!” And, then, it’s like all the first times: a week later, it was as if I had done this all my life. As the Chat is not a direct commentary on current events, the different periods of the past 40 years have had no influence on my inspirations. However, there is one constant. Times when things are going badly are more fruitful in terms of ideas. In a period of zenitude, there are not many hooks…
You are spoiled in the matter at the moment…
Yes, but I would gladly sacrifice my good ideas for more peaceful times…
The 22 statues of the Cat, from 10 to 30/3. Brussels Park.
