An exhibition? A Concert? Who knows what I will want to share but whatever it is, I hope you will share it with me.
BEAUTIFUL MUSIC - Chapter 1
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I wasn’t too sure how I would react to the Chagall exhibition as I have seen so much of his work. Would it be a repeat of what I know? Up until now I had not visited The Philharmonie de Paris exhibition centre. Laurent and I were off to see Marc Chagall: "The Triumph of Music" which explores the artist’s creations for the stage, the décors and architectural works he was commissioned to produce, all somehow tied to music.
There was a marvelous video on the ceiling and music on off playing for
each one of the works shown in the monumental painting. It really is a
stunning tribute to the composers who have marked the history of music. This is not quite the one, but certainly worthwhile watching - in any language..
Maquette for the wall painting in the Metropolitan Opera - New York - 1966
As above
Final design for Garnier, Paris 1963
Final design for Garnier, Paris 1963
The show brings together some three hundred artworks (paintings, drawings, costumes, sculptures and ceramics), with multimedia installations featuring the ceiling of the Paris Opera thanks to extraordinary technology developed by Google Lab, and photographs (for the most part previously unpublished), including those of Marc Chagall’s studio taken by Izis in the 1960s.
The exhibition starts at the end of his life and finishes with the panels Chagall painted for the Jewish Theatre in Moscow in 1920, conserved at the Tretyakov Gallery, form a universal décor, encompassing the different arts (Music, Dance, Theatre and Literature)A “total” approach to art, while celebrating Yiddish culture and language through the amalgam of vernacular theatre, music, rhythm, sound and colour.
Self Portrait, 1907 (Beaubourg)
Self portrait in Green: 1914: Beaubourg
Painter at the Crucifixion, 1968 (P.C.)
Double Profile, 1964
Final design for the Synagogue, Jersualem : 1959-60
La Bete fantastique, 1952
The world in red and black, 1951
Adam and Eve with the Snake, 1965
David and Bethsabé, 1966
Profile d'arlequin au cheval vert, 1970
Cavalier soufflant dans une trompe, 1948
Le Clown au fond bleu, 1928
Later, when Chagall fled Europe for the United States, his discovery of the spaciousness and monumental scale of American architecture and landscapes inspired a new direction in his work for the stage. He created the scenery and costumes for the ballets Aleko in Mexico in 1942 and The Firebird in New York in 1945, renewing his connection to Russian music.
Costume for Aleko, 1942
Costume for Aleko, 1942
Chagall eventually returned to France, where the Paris Opera commissioned similar work for Daphnis et Chloé in 1958 (1959 for the Paris Opera premiere). His collaboration with the Paris Opera culminated in 1962 when the presiding Minister of Cultural Affairs André Malraux commissioned Chagall to paint the ceiling of the Palais Garnier Opera House.
Avant le Chevalet de ma vie,1922
The Coque, 1947 (Beaubourg)
The dancer, 1934-35 (Beaubourg)
Couple with red goat, 1970
Clown playing a violin, 1941-42
Theme on La Flute enchantée, 1966-67
Design for "Daphné et Chloé" curtain: act11, 1958
"Papageno" - a Flûte enchanté", 1967
Design for Daphné et Chloé - the Pan, 1958
Design for "L'oiseau de fer" Curtian - 1945
But how could I forget La Fonataine's Fables? And all from private collections. Lucky people!
The Cock and the Fox, 1926
The Miller, his son and the donkey, 1926
The Cat and the Two Birds, 1925-26
The two Pigeons, 1926
There were just too many people there and we were more than taken back by the crowds. I will certainly go back and see the exhibition again but before a concert. I virtually knew none of his work for the theatre. It was a complete surprise and so rich - that’s why my second visit (providing there are less people) will be so interesting…..Oh, forgot to say that no photographs allowed, so I ordered the catalogue over Internet this morning. The Beaux Arts magazine was fascinating but lacking in information and that pushed me toward the catalogue.The choice of photographs was very difficult. They are not necessarily in function of the text either - but one point: l would think that 80% of these paintings or works came from private collections - so we wont necessarily see them elsewhere. I tried not to choose the museum collections and have mentioned if they came from those.
Another point that should add, the exhibition is in two parts. Paris and « La Piscine » in Roubaix. Yes, you have guessed. I am off to see it next week and that will be the next chapter!
Over the years, I have gone on discovering Wifredo Lam. He has been mentioned in different Blog chapters but always within permanent collections. I have to admit today that in the early years, I took one of his paintings for a Picasso….and seeing certain paintings of his today, it didn’t really surprise me. Especially as I learnt that he knew Picasso…This though was a retrospective of his work at the Beaubourg. Wifredo Lam (1902-1982) was a precursor of a cross-cultural style of painting, infusing Western modernism with African and Caribbean symbolism. He must have been one of the very rare artists who was in contact with all the movements of his time …and all those that I follow. Cubism, surrealism, CoBrA…but he never lost sight of the world around him and took on the struggle to paint the drama of his own country, Cuba. The above photo plunges us at once into the exhibition. Was he an attractive man? I think there are later photos which make him look less brutal….but in my book, ...
Fautrier left me somehow puzzled. Why this time more than with other painters. Perhaps that his pallet was so varied and an artist which could not be identified so easily. The questions that came to mind. « Why am I so intrigued with abstract art? » « Why do so many of the realist artists and of no particular period, leave me indifferent? » That doesn’t mean to say that I don’t appreciate their work but most of the time, the paintings are reassuring and have an immediate identity. Many of my friends can’t understand my attraction to abstract work. « Squiggles. » « Paint splashed onto a canvas » Don’t know what I’m looking at »…and the comments go on. Perhaps that is why I am so attracted to abstract work. For me, there are so many hidden images and colours which intermingle giving way to space or sometimes crowded into a small space. They make me « study » a painting. Realism doesn’t. So what would it be now? Where had time gone? Da...
Onto Naoshima…In my mind today I am somewhat confused by what transport we took. The men had taken me in hand and I followed them both meekly! (More or less). Sometimes we had a reserved place in a train but a lot of the time we didn’t. This is perhaps why I am confused. I’m certain that we didn’t take the Bullet train to Naoshima ( Naoshima is an island) but when I saw it for the first time, I was taken aback. A huge streamlined Duck. Pristine clean inside and out not to mention how comfortable and fast it was. The Shinkansen as it is known also known is a network of high speed railway lines in Japan. The maximum operating speed is 320 km/h (200 mph). Hate to say it, but it’s more comfortable than our TGV and certainly more spacious. In simple terms, I would describe Naoshima as an Art island It is known for its many contemporary art museums. In all, there are five major sites on the island - and although we arrived on a Sunday mid-afternoon we were to discover that most ...
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