The Road Not Taken

“The road less travelled makes all the difference.” — Robert Frost, American Poet

Under the support of the Ministry for Culture, Pompidou Centre is going to undergo a five-year renovation, from 2025 to 2030. This programme of technical works notably allows the removal of asbestos from all facades, the enhancement of fire safety, the improvement of accessibility for disability, as well as the optimisation of energy efficiency for the whole building.

Staff went on strike. Cultural figures signed the petition. The general public attempted to ensure that this extraordinary engine of urban energy could continue operating, at least partially, during the renovation. In the late 1990s, a previous renovation had deprived Parisians of access for two years. The expected duration of this new 5-year project seems somewhat excessive.

Blue for air-conditioning. Yellow for electricity. Green for water. Red for pedestrian circulation. Its exoskeleton of tubes and periscope-like pipes were colour-coded. Promoting the futuristic structure, it was dubbed the first “inside-out” building. “Our idea was a museum that would inspire curiosity, not intimidate people, and that would open up culture to all.” said Renzo Piano.

An alien spaceship? Or an oil refinery? Call it what you want. Its radical design was derided by many, yet it has continued to influence the architecture of public buildings. Steaming up the escalators encased in transparent tubing afforded the panoramic views, reinforcing the museum's connection to the city. The adjacent piazza even chimed with new ideas of democratising culture.

“Paris has its own monster, just like the one in Loch Ness,” the French newspaper Le Figaro initially lambasted it. Creativity takes courage. Since its opening in 1977, Parisians began to appreciate the museum. Pompidou Centre is currently one of the most visited public institutions in Paris, which ranks behind only the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay in terms of visitor numbers.

Nothing could have prepared us. Everything could have prepared us. (Rien ne nous y préparait. Tout nous y préparait.)

Unfolding the premises of the Bibliothèque publique d'information, Wolfgang Tillmans invited us into his world, spanning nearly forty years of artistic creation and covering the entire spectrum of his practice. He integrates videos, music as well as printed matter and personal objects; and plays with the infrastructure to highlight the analogies between his work and the place.

Taken on a beach in France, it shows a downward view of his own body - T-shirt, shorts, and bare legs - surrounded by sand. It acts as a record of lived experience - a moment of self-affirmation that merges the personal with the pictorial.

Lacanau (self) (1986)

It depicts the roiling, turbulent surface of the sea - appearing as if it could erupt at any spot, at any place, and at any time. Tillmans sees this work as a response to the complexity, tension, and unpredictability of the political climate at this moment one decade ago.

The State We're In (2015)

The moon’s dark surface, softly reflects the earth’s glow on the area of the moon that is not lit by sunlight. It transcends mere representation, challenging us to reconsider the boundaries between what is known and what lies beyond, where human presence is fleeting, yet connected to cosmos.

Moon in Earthlight (2015)

Folded paper strips stand on the glass of his photocopier, whose three-dimensionality creates sharp lines on the edges of the strips and faint shadows around them. The darker fields derive from quickly floating a white sheet of paper over the strips during the scanning process.

Panorama, right, and Panorama, left (2024)