Monday, November 12, 2007
It Might have been a hell gate for all of those who had to enter in the army (Do you remember that it was compulsory?), Metz is now a multi-awarded city of flowers, of history and now it is getting in trouble with contemporary art.
© CA2M / Shigeru Ban Architects Europe & Jean de Gastines / Artefactory
© CA2M / Shigeru Ban Architects Europe & Jean de Gastines / Artefactory
Historically/Architecturally designed as a fortress, Metz is getting experience in developing massive military infrastructures of all kind and this last one is loaded by the Centre Beaubourg (Paris) war machine itself. But let's have a look onto the technical features:
- The Magazine: A virtual capacity of 58,000 artworks that compose the biggest European contemporary art collection (Just for you to remember that France still get the first place on the podium concerning worldwide transactions weighted by countries with an astonishing 18,8% of the volume for the year 2006!!! (source artprice report http://img1.artprice.com/pdf/trends2006.pdf))
- A Barrel made of cultural decentralisation initiated in 1997 by Jean-Jacques Aillagon who wanted to fight cultural prejudices or something like that...
- Hammer: Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres head from the ministry of culture. Hmmm... Is this whole project only a strategy to knock over the dinosaur Jean-Marie Rausch at the head of the city since 1971!!!
- The design: Shigeru Ban... The best is simply to have a look on the result... A world class architect! "profiled by Time Magazine in their projection of 21st century innovators in the field of architecture and design".
The Target? You... Paris, the French reputation for cultural matters (which is rather bad especially since François Pinault the most influential figure of the contemporary art world, abandoned in Paris a full bag of amazing projects for purchasing the Palazzo Grassi on the Grand Canal in Venice... Ok fair enough...) This is not Tate Modern, nor beaubourg but it does not have any pretension... I believe this Chinese hat will have a lot to say to the people of Metz. Let's hope that the audience will be responsive! Good Luck!
OPENING IN 2009
The bullets? well let' s dream:
Francis Bacon, Three Figures in a Room, 1964, oil on canvas, 198 x 441 cm, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.
Dream on.............
1 comments:
More information found on the Saatchi online website:
THE POMPIDOU ANNOUNCES MAJOR PLANS FOR RENEWAL
Once one of the most exciting museums in Europe - with a building that was the envy of most museum directors - the Pompidou has been criticised by its new directors Alain Seban and Agnes Saal as being 'cut off, cumbersome, and complex', according to Bloomberg this week. In order to reassert its position on the international cultural stage the centre's new directors have announced an ambitious new programme and are waiting to receive the approval from the Ministry of Culture to its request for an extra 30 million euros. The new initiatives will involve the Palais de Tokyo becoming the Pompidou's contemporary art wing where artists will have over 9,000 square metres to exhibit their work. The new Trocadero wing at the Palais de Tokyo across from the Eiffel Tower - due to open by early 2010 - will free space in the center's own lobby for events aimed at teenagers, featuring video, fashion and digital design. There will also be a series of mini- Pompidous making temporary visits to culturally deprived rural and suburban areas of France. Pompidou Metz, slated to open in 2009, will be the museum's first external offshoot. An exhibition of Indian art is planned for 2010, with commissions of works by artists from the country, and the Pompidou also plans an offshoot in Asia - China, Singapore and Hong Kong are all on the cards.
viewed at http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2007/11/this_weeks_news_roundup_36.php on the 18/11/2007 16:24
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