Finally, another museum visit, close to the hotel and conveniently scheduled during our stay. The 20th-century art lines the walls of the Center Pompidou1, showcasing everything I like.
The classic facade was in front of us. The red parts were on the long escalator. The queue below was all the shorter. Just a fraction of the one we stood in at the Louvre.
Maybe it was something else that attracted, what do I know? Short queues and a reasonable ticket price and large areas for fewer visitors were a big advantage during the visit.
My excitement went from my chest to my pupils the closer we got to the exhibit. The large entrance hall with shops on either side was what I so eagerly expected. Books at one and souvenirs at the other. Let the adventure begin.
It was the master of contemporary art I was looking for. Kahlo, Mondrian, Miró, Kandinsky, and others. Everyone was there, so to speak. Even Picasso, Warhol, and Jackson Pollock had found their way there.
I could next feel myself floating along the room, as if floating on clouds. Everyone was there. The ones I wanted to see and meet.
It was as if I walked in there with one of my favorite books from university in my hand. I could almost feel a weight in my arms from the heavy book. H.H. Arnason – History of Modern Art (Fifth edition 2003)
I myself floated forward, upright, not upside down like New York City2, I guess. If not this one too, has been hanging upside down for years. That in view of the discovery that New York City I (1941) has been hanging upside down for years.
More and more of the masters of contemporary art lined up like a panorama in front of me. It was she I was looking for, exactly her.
Like a ferret in search of food, I searched for what made my day. The Mexican contemporary art queen was there. With her back to the wall and a determined gaze, she stares at us with her thick, interlocking eyebrows. (The Frame 1938)3.
The hunt for the masters continued. The adventure in the jungle of contemporary art was not over. This was despite finding what I was looking for. My gut feeling sailed on the ocean of art science. It navigated us onward. There were plenty of goodies in the gigantic museum.
From nowhere along the corridor’s long wall, hang artworks by Picasso, Pollock, and Warhol. Everyone wants to be seen. The tired visitor mostly wants to find the elevator down to the entrance. But not me.
I wanted more, I didn’t want it to end. I knew Marie was waiting for us. She wanted to be freed before being taken away to the Place de la Concorde. We know from history what happened there during the French Revolution (1789-1799).
After a quick look at Pollock’s abstract lines and Warhol’s classic celebrity faces, we noticed more eroticism. This time it was from Picasso (La Pisseuse 1965)4. Afterward, we would visit Marie Antoinette at the Palais de Justice.
Maybe it would be like coming back to where we started the journey. Marie Antoinette existed as a royal apparition at Versailles and later this day as an imprisoned one.
It was with sadness that I left the Centre Pompidou and immediately wanted to return. I’m going there again, that’s for sure. The gallery I would like to work at – but my French isn’t that good 😉
In summary, it was a street race through its large exhibition halls. I got to see many of my favorite artists’ creations. I saw works by Frida Kahlo, Piet Mondrian, as well as Jackson Pollock and Joan Miró.
The mobile camera drained the battery. Ideally, I wanted to go there again the next day. I didn’t buy anything in the souvenir shop. Well, nothing actually.
The next day, more of what stands out, or rather up in the sky in different formats, materials, and shapes.
©️ Björn Blomqvist 2024-06-30
- National museum of contemporary art, located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The museum opened in 1977 on the initiative of French President Georges Pompidou. Art from the 20th century onwards is displayed here. In addition to the permanent exhibition, a number of temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art are offered. ↩︎
- oil-on-canvas painting by Piet Mondrian, completed in 1942 ↩︎
- The Frame Kahlo’s self-portrait in oil on a sheet of aluminum framed in glass which she purchased from a market in Oaxaca, Mexico 1938 ↩︎
- Oil-on-canvas painting by Pablo Picasso – april 1965 ↩︎
Blomman – Some Kind of Word Artist 
Comment