Pompidou Center Plans to Fill a Colorful Circus Big Top with Art in Paris |
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| Written by Jenny Barchfield |
| Saturday, 07 November 2009 01:19 |
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Only part of the necessary funding has been raised and no itinerary has yet been drawn up. Visiting the roving Pompidou will be free, and the project's priorities are rural regions and the poor, crime-ridden suburbs that ring France's cities but are often largely cut off from the cultural offerings there. "It's about bringing art to the people to awaken their desire to go toward the art," the Pompidou's president, Alain Seban, said in a statement. "It's a sign of our openness." Architect Patrick Bouchain, whose firm specializes in circus tents and other collapsable structures, showed sketches of his design for the new Pompidou structure at a presentation Thursday: several triangle-shaped modules that can be fitted together to create different structures fitted to the different environments in which the museum will pitch its tent. "It has to be adaptable anywhere, from a parking lot at a suburban shopping center to maybe a country lot or field," Bouchain said. Inside the high-tech canvas structure, solid glass and plastic encasements will protect the artwork from vandalism and theft and keep the temperature and humidity constant, Bouchain said.  Henri Matisse's 1941 painting "Nature morte au magnolia" (Magnolia
Still Life) — among the French artist's personal favorites — could rub
proverbial shoulders with "America, America," a 1964 neon sculpture of fingers
snapping, by Martial Raysse. The total cost of the 1,000-sq. meter (10,700-sq. foot) structure is estimated at euro3 million ($4.43 million) — of which euro500,000 has been pledged so far, Seban said. He's looking for sponsors to fund the balance. Provided they get the money, the mobile museum will hit the road starting at the end of next year, Seban said. The 10-15 works from the Pompidou's extensive permanent collection that are likely to go on display include Pablo Picasso's "Femme en Bleu" (Women in Blue), a 1944 post-Cubist painting in shades of indigo, and a primary-colored mobile by American artist Alexander Calder. The artwork on display will change as the museum moves across the country, with exhibits loosely focused around broad themes like primary colors and black and white, the human body, and the energy of the city, said curator Emma Lavigne. Three three-month-long stints will be organized per year, with regional governments footing the bill for the museum's operating costs, Seban said. The Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou was the brainchild of President Georges Pompidou who wanted to create an original cultural institution in the heart of Paris completely focused on modern and contemporary creation, where the visual arts would rub shoulders with theatre, music, cinema, literature and the spoken word. Housed in the centre of Paris in a building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, whose architecture symbolises the spirit of the 20th century, the Centre Pompidou first opened its doors to the public in 1977. After renovation work from 1997 to December 1999, it opened to the public again on 1 January 2000, with expanded museum space and enhanced reception areas. Since then it has once again become one of the most visited attractions in France. Some 6 million people pass through the Centre Pompidou's doors each year, a total of over 190 million visitors in its 30 years of existence. Visit : www.centrepompidou.fr/ Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. / By: Jenny Barchfield, Associated Press Writer Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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