Posts Tagged ‘Paris’
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
© Francesco Vezzoli, Natalie, with Vezzoli's mother's eyes Courtesy of Prada's 24 Hour Museum
Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli’s latest media ploy has been to design a pop-up museum, open for 24 hours, in collaboration with Prada and AMO, Rem Koolhaas’ think tank in Paris’ Palais d’Iéna. The temporary event will welcome the public in to the traditionally historic building for a night of magic, like a Cinderella’s ball, before it is dismantled the next day.
The theatrical premiere is organized into three event spaces, historic, contemporary and the forgotten, the first being a showcase of Vezzoli’s works enclosed in neon-lit metal cages on the ground floor of the building. Vezzoli poses his portraits of Hollywood divas in the style of classical Greco-Roman sculptures on marble pedestals – the sculptures wear masks with Vezzoli’s mother’s eyes. With these works, Vezzoli continues his exploration of red-carpet rituals of celebrity and stardom that will be further exploited with a party staged in conjunction with the event, and which will be live streamed on the internet. Also, on Facebook, the artist intends to have an interactive game in which he frames people’s faces in classical composites.
© Francesco Vezzoli, Cate Courtesy of Prada's 24 Hour Museum
Tags: AMO, Ballets Russes, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Carsten Höller, Diaghilev, Frank Gehry, Lady Gaga, Paris, Prada, Rem Koolhaas, Sharon Stone
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Friday, December 2nd, 2011
The first air show at the Grand Palais in Paris, France. September 30th, 1909. Photographed in Autochrome Lumière by Léon Gimpel
While art fairs have become common, attracting patrons the world over – they are still a long way off from the extravagant theatricality of events from the past century.
An example is Paris’ Grand Palais, a building that was designed as the venue for singular happenings in the 19th c. and became a host for world fairs for over a hundred years.
Salon de locomotion aerienne 1909 - Grand Palais, Paris
Anish Kapoor Leviathan at Grand Palais, 2011
Tags: Art Fair, Grand Palais, Paris, Universal Exhibition, World Fair
Posted in Architecture, Art, Design, Photography, Sculpture | No Comments »
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
Anish Kapoor – Leviathan – Interior view of the artwork
© MONUMENTA 2011- Anish Kapoor – Leviathan – Interior view of the artwork. Photo Didier Plowy – All rights reserved Monumenta 2011, French Ministry for Culture and Communication.
Anish Kapoor’s massive sculpture Leviathan is a reference to the giant beast that lurked in the depths of ancient seas, and a metaphor for the primordial fear of the unknown. Elements of sea-serpents, whales, giant squids were figuratively mythologized into this magical beast that induced terror in the heart of ancient sailors but also signified the fear of drowning, of being swallowed by storms, sucked under by tempests at sea.
The following is a video of Richie Hawtin’s performance in front of Anish Kapoor’s sculpture on June 21st.
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Tags: Anish Kapoor, Grand Palais, Leviathan, Monumenta, Paris, Richie Hawtin's
Posted in Architecture, Art, Sculpture | No Comments »
Friday, April 8th, 2011
By Kiša Lala
©Chris Marker, Untitled # 200, 2008-2010 Color photograph mounted on white Sintra 22 3/4 x 31 1/2 in. (57.8 x 80 cm) Printed 2011 Edition of 3 Courtesy of Peter Blum Gallery
French photographer and filmmaker, Chris Marker (b.1921), best known for his conceptual films Sans Soleil and La jetée, has a show of recent photographs at Peter Blum gallery entitled Passengers.
As an avid documentarian Marker had found an ideal recording device which could candidly photograph people in public spaces: a camera embedded in a wristwatch. Armed with this device he could pretend to check the time while discreetly capturing passersby on film. In this new series, taken in the Paris metro, he uses various photo devices to get a similarly candid feel.
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Tags: Chris Marker, Kisa Lala, new york, Paris, Peter Blum Gallery
Posted in Art, Books, Film, Photography | No Comments »
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
By Kiša Lala
Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, Adams Theater, Detroit
Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre met online in 2002, drawn by their love of contemporary ruins. Meffre was only aged 15 when he met Marchand, and they began visiting ruins in the suburbs of Paris to capture the lost grandeur of old movie theaters and document architecture in decline. In the beginning they took images separately, but after investing in a large format 4×5, they began their collaboration. They spoke to me recently from Paris about their photographic project, “Detroit in Ruins,” published by Steidl in 2010.
Their visions of Detroit are the record of a fallen empire. What makes the duo’s work different from Robert Polidori’s photographs of post-deluge New Orleans and Chernobyl is that their focus is not a record of the aftermath of a natural disaster but of slow decay, caused by neglect. The photographs reveal the exotic in the ordinary and observe what is overlooked: dilapidated habitations, the hidden backs of dwellings, obsolete machinery, utilities in disrepair, the absurdity of once hi-tech systems, the extravagance of architecture devoid of function. The simple poignancy of a disused dentist’s chair seems to reflect on the collective failure of a civilization to rise. But Detroit is only one of many world cities, and these images are universal in their depiction of the fragility of human empire-building.
© Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, Detroit in Ruins, Ticket Lobby Michigan Central Station
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Tags: Architecture, Detroit, Detroit in Ruins, History, Kisa Lala, Los Angeles, new york, Paris, Photographs, Romain Meffre, Steidl, theater, Urban Development, Yves Marchand
Posted in Architecture, Art, Environment, Interview, Photography, Publishing | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
By Kiša Lala
Video Still, "Joie de Vivre" by Ruth Hogben for Gareth Pugh, Courtesy of Ruth Hogben, 2010
At the opening of Paris’ Fall fashion week Gareth Pugh opted out of the usual runway display and showcased his designs instead with an eleven minute video done in collaboration with filmmaker Ruth Hogben. Hogben came to my attention through her earlier work for Celine and Pugh with her original use of lighting and texture, which emphasized the sensuality of both the fabric and the wearer.
Hogben had worked with Nick Knight on Alexander McQueen’s last show, and also on videos for Lady Gaga’s recent stage performances. I asked the young filmmaker about her inspirations and aspirations for carving out a new medium for herself.
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Tags: alexander mcqueen, Allen Jones, Fashion, Gareth Pugh, Helmut Newton, Kisa Lala, Lady Gaga, Lily Cole, London, Man Ray, Nick Knight, Paris, Phillipe Starck, Ruth Hogben, Simon Chaudoir, Visionaire
Posted in Design, Fashion, Film, Interview, Performance, Photography | No Comments »
Friday, August 6th, 2010
View of the The Louvre's Ceiling by Cy Twombly Photo: Christophe Ena
Giotto's star-ceiling in the Cappella Scrovegni, Padua.
Cy Twombly’s newly commissioned ceiling at the Louvre in Paris is monumental in scale, and covers more than 350 square meters. It was painted with the assistance of several artists and apprentices in a warehouse outside Paris before being affixed like wallpaper to the ceiling of the Salle des Bronzes. Looking up one sees an immense blue sky, painted with spheres and white insets inscribed with the names of leading Greek sculptors from the 4th century: Cephisodotus, Lysippus, Myron, Phidias, Polyclitus, Praxiteles and Scopas. The round shapes appear like shields, planets, or coins, while the blue background evokes either the sky or the sea.
Cy Twombly is the third contemporary artist invited to install a permanent work at the Louvre. He follows in the footsteps of a long lineage of artists including Le Brun, Delacroix, Ingres that have been honored in this tradition. In the 20th century, the invitation has been extended to Georges Braque, (who has painted a ceiling with black birds against a starry midnight-blue sky ) and more recently to François Morellet, and in 2007 to Anselm Kiefer.
Though Twombly is American born, he has been living in Italy since 1959, and this work not only evokes the spirit of the Mediterranean, but also the colors of Chinese prints, and the lapis lazuli paint used by Italian Renaissance artist Giotto – who the artist says he has also been inspired by.
By Kiša Lala
Tags: Anselm Kiefer, Cy Twombly, François Morellet, Giotto, Kisa Lala, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Posted in Architecture, Art | No Comments »
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
By JRS
Diane Detalle
French-born artist Diane Detalle has very unique conceptions about the creative process. A trader-turned artist, Detalle now lives and paints out of an elegant Tribeca loft whose walls are adorned with her sizable canvases. Sitting in her office, she effortlessly describes her paintings with a far-away look in her eyes, whimsically re-creating their emergence.
With a range of up to 4 years to finish and a base of collectors reaching Buenos Aires, Paris, London, and Toronto, Detalle is an emerging talent that is being recognized the world over. SPREAD ArtCulture visited her studio for a tour and a synopsis of her work, influences, and background. (more…)
Tags: Artist, Buenos Aires, Diane Detalle, Goya, London, MoMA, new york, Paris, Pollock, Rothko, Toronto, Tribeca
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