Unless you have been living under a cultural rock lately, you must have heard about the new Louis Vuitton Foundation/Fondation Louis Vuitton museum designed by Frank Gehry, which has had major press in the last few months.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of the LVMH Group, and the richest man in France with an estimated personal fortune of 60 million euros, spent 13 years realizing his dream of opening a private museum in Paris. He chose superstar and controversial architect Frank Gehry to design the museum, obviously to give it the WOW- factor.
The staggering building located in the Bois de Boulogne on the outskirts of Paris is nicknamed “the iceberg” with 12 architectural sails with 3,600 glass panels. Gehry took his inspiration for the design from the Grand Palais, the massive glass structure from the 1900 Paris Worlds Fair. It took 100 engineers and 3,000 workers to complete the complicated and complex design. The inside contains 13,000 square feet of exhibition space with 11 galleries, which mostly feature works from Arnault’s highly regarded and extensive private collection. The final estimated cost of the museum was 143 million euros. For the opening there is a Frank Gehry exhibit.
I was not intending to go last week, as it was a school holiday and the opening week of the museum, figuring there would be massive crowds. Since the museum is a far walk from the metro, there are shuttle buses from Place Etoile/Charles de Gaulle that take you to the museum for 1 euro round trip. It was an unseasonably warm and sunny day last Friday and I was right by Place Etoile for an appointment, so on the spur of the moment I hopped the shuttle bus. (The line wasn’t too bad for the bus, about a 15-minute wait). Once I arrived, there was about a two-hour wait but luckily with my press pass I got in right away.
I was much more impressed with the outside of the building than the inside, which is frequently the case with Frank Gehry. In 2008 I went to Spain to visit the Guggenheim Bilboa (click here to read my review) and remembered how disappointed I was with the content and poorly executed exhibition spaces inside. The sun catching all the facets of the intricate mélange of glass, steel, and wood was great eye-candy and a visual feast for my camera and I madly clicked away, photographing every angle possible. There was some noteworthy art inside including Gerhard Richter and Ellsworth Kelly galleries, which contained some already familiar works, and installations by Pierre Huyghe and Christian Boltanski, but nothing really excited me.
Much has been written about, analyzed, criticized and philosophized about the museum. Local residents complained the building took away precious green space from the Bois de Boulogne, and the peaceful park will now be overflowing with crowds and noise. One writer accused the city of Paris selling out to crass commercialism more so than the U.S., comparing the building of the museum in the park the equivalent of building it in Central Park, which would never happen.
Critics questioned Arnault’s motives for opening the museum. My question is and a summary of what critics question is: Is the purpose of the museum to massage Arnault’s ego and an overblown and overpriced publicity move to boost Arnault’s less than stellar public profile or is it a true contribution to Paris and a bona fide, relevant cultural institution?
Like it or not, the building is a striking and dramatic piece of architecture looming on the Paris skyline and will be a source of heated conversation for many years ahead. The museum will be donated to the city in 55 years.
Fondation Louis Vuitton
8 Ave. du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, 75116
Open everyday except Tuesday
Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday 12PM-7PM
Friday till 11PM
Saturday & Sunday 11AM-8PM
Metro: Les Sablons
Shuttle buses run every 15 minutes from Ave. Friedland by Place Etoile/Charles de Gaulle. Cost: 1 euro each way
http://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en.html
New Venue for My Photos
I have been invited by a café to display my photos, so if you missed seeing them at my show last month they will be up till November 3.
Café Petit Luxe
29 rue Vaugirard, 75006
Metro: St. Sulpice
Open Monday-Friday 8:30AM-9:30PM,Saturday 8:30AM-6PM
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour
