⭐️𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍⭐️

Birthday is a perfect reason to give presents, isn’t it? So what about inventing and “giving” a 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑪𝑰𝑨𝑳 𝑨𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑫 to the person we all admire? But first, let me tell you about the real one Brian wouldn’t mind to get

Photo credit: Photo credit: Joseph Llanes, 2009

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆?
📢 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: I would really like to become a ‘knight’ in the Order of Arts and Letters, that would be the best compliment. I know that Kylie Minogue was given such an order, and that’s a bit sad to me because she’s not even a writer of her songs. Well, that’s probably because I'm not that handsome as Kylie.
(𝐿𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑒𝑛 𝑃𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐, 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑘𝑜 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤, 24.10.2009)

I think that for Brian, it wasn’t just about getting a random award but being appreciated particularly by France, the country he’s always admitted to have a special affinity for
Now, let’s learn some background…

⭐️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 is one of the highest cultural awards of France established on May 2nd, 1957 by the Minister of Culture. It’s given to the persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.
According to the French government sources, its origin is attributed to the Order of Saint Michael established August 1st, 1469.
To be considered for the award, French government guidelines stipulate that citizens of France must be at least thirty years old, respect French civil law, and must have "significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance".
Membership is not, however, limited to French nationals; recipients include numerous foreign luminaries. Foreign recipients are admitted into the Order "without condition of age".

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬:
📍𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 — medallion worn on a necklet; up to 20 recipients a year
📍𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓 — medallion worn on a ribbon with rosette on left breast; up to 60 recipients a year
📍𝑲𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 — medallion worn on a ribbon on left breast; up to 200 recipients a year

Photo credit: Kevin Cummins

⭐️𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 is an eight-pointed, green-enameled asterisk, in gilt for Commanders and Officers and in silver for Knights; the obverse central disc has the letters "A" and "L" on a white-enameled background, surrounded by a golden ring emblazoned with the phrase "République Française". The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne (the symbol of France, a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty) on a golden background, surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". The Commander's badge is topped by a gilt twisted ring. The ribbon of the Order is green with four white stripes.

⭐️ Take a look at the Order here: https://bit.ly/3EUYEP7
Indeed, in 2008 𝑲𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆 has been awarded a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters.
📍𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 includes some great artists and writers such as Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Patti Smith, Bono, Ringo Starr, Iggy Pop, Ray Bradbury, T. S. Eliot.
By the way, in 1999, 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒆 was awarded a Commander, the highest grade of the Order of Arts and Letters.

I’m not going to ask you if Brian deserves to be a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters – the answer would be too clear!

Post by Olga