Paris in August can be a little too quiet. Fortunately the museums are there to compensate. This summer has had its share of interesting shows, provided you're good at weaving your way through hordes of tourists (but more on that later).
One highlight is the excellent Lucio Fontana retrospective at the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Argentinian-born Fontana started out as a sculptor, and a gifted one (though his early expressionistic figures in glazed ceramic may not be to everyone's liking). Gradually, he transitioned into painting, and found his signature style by carving into his pictures. Inspired by the mysteries of the cosmos and man's explorations of outer space, he perforated the canvas, creating dotty depictions of the galaxy. Eventually, he took out his penknife, making the works he's now best known for. Here's a picture of Fontana in mid-slash:
Across town, the Pompidou Center has a clever new rotating display of its contemporary-art collections titled "A History" where recent art is used to chronicle events of the last 30 years. The curating is first-rate: Works are shown in coherent thematic clusters, and it all makes sense. There's Chris Marker's video montage on the Ceausescu trial, Goncalo Mabunda's powerful sculptures made of used Mozambican weaponry, plus some cool Isaac Julien videos from the 1980s. Pompidou: always one to watch.
Over at the Louvre, meanwhile, the tourist swarm is horrendous. This was the scene around the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa yesterday:
Over at the Louvre, meanwhile, the tourist swarm is horrendous. This was the scene around the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa yesterday:
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I caught one male tourist running his hands over a marble bust, and another in shorts and slippers exposing his soiled feet across from the Leonardo's. An Italian family was once seen picnicking with sandwiches on the floor in front of the Mona Lisa.
Museums are not churches. But a minimum of decorum and respect for art would not be out of place. I hear the Louvre's new president Jean-Luc Martinez is looking to introduce some form of crowd control. If that's true, he has my vote.
Museums are not churches. But a minimum of decorum and respect for art would not be out of place. I hear the Louvre's new president Jean-Luc Martinez is looking to introduce some form of crowd control. If that's true, he has my vote.
