Contemporary Art

“Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path

always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.”  - Voltaire

In case anyone was wondering....yes, I am actually attending school here in Paris, not just sightseeing, eating, and having a great time! I have 18 hours of class per week, compared to the 14-15 hours of class time back at Washington State University. Living in Paris, facing the constant distractions of this wonderful city, I have to remind myself that I’m also here for school. I am enrolled in four classes: French language, Contemporary Art, European Union, and Politics, Economy & Society of France. Taking courses about France and Europe while living in Paris is a unique educational experience. Even though I’ve only been here a little over a month, I have learned so much.

I am not an art major at school, but I am really happy that I decided to take my Contemporary Art class. Paris is home to galleries and museums that hold some of the greatest masterpieces in the world. In this very mobile class, we are able to travel to visit museums and see these works of art up close and personal. On our second day of class, we went to the Musée d’Orsay and spent a couple of hours looking at works by impressionists such as Manet, Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, and Cezanne. Seeing these paintings on a slide show or in a book is NOTHING compared to looking at them in person. On another class day we had the chance to explore Paris a little during class time, touring a couple of galleries near our school, viewing more modern art work.

This week we visited Le Centre Pompidou and the Musée National d'Art Moderne, National Museum of Modern Art, the largest museum for modern art in Europe, with the second largest collection of modern and contemporary art in the world. This museum houses a permanent exhibit, and traveling exhibitions are displayed here as well. During our tour we saw two traveling exhibitons. The first was “Réinstallations” by François Morellet, a founding member of the Paris-based, Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV), part of the emerging optical and kinetic art movement. He has a broad range of talent, from painting to installations. The second was “My Way” by Jean-Michel Othoniel, a French contemporary artist. This exhibit shows a variety of his works, including glass work, sculptures made of sulfur, and metal works. In addition to these exhibits we briefly walked through the museum's permanent exhibit and saw works by famous contemporary artists such as Matisse, Braque, Picasso, and Signac.

When the Pompidou Center opened in 1977, many Parisians were outraged by this modern structure built in the heart of the historic Marais district; however, this is now the third most visited Paris attraction. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to take an art class in a city like Paris.