Grand Palais and Monumenta 2008
I am fairly up on art, sculpture, design–artsy fartsy kinds of things you might say. But I cannot tell a lie, I have never heard of Richard Serra. Or if I have it just isn’t registering with me right now and I will have to ask my resident art expert, my daughter, Taylor.
Richard Serra–he is an American minimalist sculpture and video artist known for his work in large scale assemblies of sheet metal. His installations span the globe and the reason I bring him to your attention today is because he is celebrating his opening of “Promenade” here in Paris.
His work is the subject of Monumenta 2008, a yearly endeavor that brings a contemporary artist to Paris to create pieces specifically for the very large exhibition hall in the Grand Palais. It is a beautiful, cavernous space, with graceful Art Nouveau inspired mullions supporting a ceiling of glass that lets in a magnificent amount of light which is softened by a filter of suspended dust particles that you’ll see floating around. That’s a pretty fancy sentence for me, but I was trying to bring back how I felt as I stood in the space when they first re-opened it in 2005. Overwhelmed would be an appropriate word. Just another amazing thing to be moved by during your visit to Paris.
Mr. Serra’s challenge was how to fill the space and create a dialog between what is, namely his artwork and what isn’t. Daunting to be sure. I found this video which is what prompted this whole post and you will see for yourself what he created and can decide how he did. (It’s in English with French sub-titles). If you are in town between now and June 15th, you might want to stop by. It’s things like this that make me love Paris.
Additional Information: Monumenta 2008
Photo credit: Personal collection
Click below for video.
Bande-annonceMonumenta 2008 – 07-05-2008
10 Comments
The nytimes also had something to say about it! (With fabulous photos) You’re oh so au courant.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/arts/design/07serr.html
Thank you Taylor. Don’t you agree, the space is fantastic. I happen to know that you’ve been there!
[...] at The Paris Traveler offers up Grand Palais and Monumenta 2008 about a showing by sculptor Richard [...]
Wow, this photo is fantastic. Definitely one of the best I’ve seen so far.
[...] at The Paris Traveler offers up Grand Palais and Monumenta 2008 about a showing by sculptor Richard [...]
[...] at The Paris Traveler offers up Grand Palais and Monumenta 2008 about a showing by sculptor Richard [...]
[...] at The Paris Traveler offers up Grand Palais and Monumenta 2008 about a showing by sculptor Richard [...]
I’m a Chinese editor and I want to introduce this fantastic subject to our readers.But I can’t find a e-mail address for me to ask for High-resolution picture to report.
Yishida
Go to http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=monumenta%202008&w=all. There are several photos up already by photographers who will allow you to use their work with attribution. You can download a number of different sizes. I think you will be able to find what you are looking for there. Good luck!
[...] at The Paris Traveler offers up Grand Palais and Monumenta 2008 about a showing by sculptor Richard [...]