September 1st, 2009
We’ve spent a couple of days in Paris at the Centre Pompidou — home to one of the leading collections of modern and contemporary art in Europe. Its scope and curation are rivaled only by the MoMa in New York. We made it just in time to catch the end of the museum’s “elles@centrepompidou” show — a thematic exhibition dedicated exclusively to female artists from the early 20th century to today. Iconic figures like Frida Kahlo and Diane Arbus are featured in the “Pioneers” gallery, Louise Bourgeois is listed as past of “The Activist Body,” and Tacita Dean and Louise Campbell highlight the aptly-titled “Immaterials” display.
Much of our time at the Centre Pompidou was spent just sitting outdoors in the garden admiring the architecture. The building was designed to maximize natural light, freedom of movement and flow, as evidenced by the placing of the escalators on the outside of the building as well as the transparency of the west main façade. Colour-coded ducts are also attached to the outside of the building for easy (and artistic) classification: blue for air, green for fluids, yellow for electricity cables and red for transport (elevators) and safety (fire extinguishers).
There’s much to be said for a museum whose physical architectural structure outside rivals the wonder and magnificence of its collections inside. Sometimes it’s just nice to soak it all in…
Tags: Centre Pompidou, Diane Arbus, Frida Kahlo, Paris
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August 28th, 2009
We spent the day yesterday checking out some of the new exhibitions at the beautiful Maison Européenne de la Photographie situated in the heart of Paris. The museum — noted for its contemporary photography collection — has organized a new show about Henri Cartier-Bresson to coincide with the centenary of the legendary photographer’s birth. Cartier-Bresson has influenced generations of photographers (including us), with his 35mm snapshots of “captured moments,” that highlighted “real life” as art and re-defined the very notion of modern photojournalism. He had a deft ability to spot evocative images and hidden moments, and had the intuitiveness to click away on his trademark Leica. Think of him as the guy who started the “street-style photography” technique so prevalent nowadays in magazines and blogs.
More than 300 of Cartier-Bresson’s works are on display at the MEP, including his iconic 1932 black and white photograph, Behind the Gare St. Lazare, seen at right. As Bresson recalls, he heard the sound of splashing as people skipped over rubble and puddles near the railway station. He went over to investigate and took this picture while peeking through a gap in the fence with his camera. Many have suggested this particular image as one of the most fascinating and iconic photographs of the 20th century.
While you’re at the museum, make sure to also check out “Geometry and Passion” — the first-ever retrospective in France of Ferdinando Scianna’s work. These two exhibitions alone enthralled us for almost an entire afternoon and we highly recommend them both if you get a chance to visit Paris in the next few months. Details on all the exhibitions at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie can be found by heading online to www.mep-fr.org.
Tags: Ferdinando Scianna, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Maison Europeenne de la Photographie, Paris
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August 26th, 2009
Our creative director Peter has been in Paris for the past week, working on a couple photoshoots and interviews for Corduroy. But he’s also found some time to visit one of our favorite spots in the city, the Palais de Tokyo — a former 1930s-era art deco palace turned contemporary art museum. The building reopened in 2001 after an overhaul of its interior space by French architects Anne Lacaton & Jean-Philippe Vassal turned it into an expansive concrete-steel-glass hub for some of the most exciting and experimental works today. The museum is easily one of the most vibrant and creative venues in town, with a rotating collection of exhibits, installations and lectures throughout the year that project a kind of fearless audacity that challenges what “contemporary” art is all about.
We love the museum’s quarterly “PALAIS” magazine, which is handed out near the entrances and serves as part exhibition guide/catalogue and part dossier on the latest happenings in the world of art, writing and design. The museum also has a beautiful bookstore (or “librairie”) which features an extensive selection of books and magazines…including Corduroy.
The Palais de Tokyo is located in the 16th Arrondissement, right next to the Paris Museum of Modern Art. More information online at palaisdetokyo.com.
Tags: Palais de Tokyo, Paris
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