I saw one of the most amazing museums I think I have ever seen: The Pompidou Center. This is the building that has all the pipes, escalators, etc., on the outside of the building- and I really wanted to enter it center just to see what the architecture was like. But I have to say- the exhibits were some of the best I have seen!
The building itself houses four different programs: art gallery, museum, cinema, and bookstore. You enter the building by graded plaza one level below street level. I purchased my ticket in the massive lobby and proceeded up the exterior escalator. The first two floors consisted of a public library, followed by two floors of gallery space, and then an outdoor restaurant at the top of the building. We took the escalator all the way to the top in which there is a large walkway the length of the building to view the entire city.
Paris is a unique city in that there really aren't many building taller than 4-5 stories. The main reason for this is because of it's pure age- when it was originally built, there were no elevators to carry you and your groceries up to the top floor. Because of this- the few taller buildings of the city (which in Chicago these buildings look swallowed), provide amazing panoramic views of Paris.
After the view, we saw the amazing views of the art. There were many strange, scary, and outright disturbing pieces, but there were also some amazing works of art that took my breathe away. One of those was Duchamp's Urinal. Yes, I know, this sounds like it shouldn't be art, but the act of Duchamp merely turning the urinal on it's back made it a piece of art. He was making a point that you can make anything what you want it to be. You can turn something ordinary into extraordinary. We studied this urinal on an almost daily basis in my History of Modern Thought class as a metaphor for Modern architecture. Modern architecture is taking something simple and plain and making it art. I stood in awe at this urinal- yes- yes I did.
The Pompidou also exhibited Picasso, Matisse, Brzeska, Frida, and so so many more. It was worth every cent to enter- and one of those places I am definitely taking my mom! Anyways, I miss you all back at home and I wish you could have all been with me to see the museum today! Miss you all!
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