Centre Pompidou is a modern and contemporary art museum located in Paris. There we can see several famous artists such as Maurice de Vlaminck, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, among others. A place to admire Cubism, Surrealism and other avant-garde with all its ambiguity and mysterious motifs. After spending about three hours exploring the permanent exposition of the museum I started wondering about the purpose of modern and contemporary art. Differently from the baroque art, the contemporary one is many times only abstractions, often of a psychological nature. As said Constantin Brancusi (a modern painter): “It is the texture of the material itself that dictates the theme and form, both of which should emerge from the matter, not be imposed upon it from the outside.”
Art changes along with the times and explores different facets of reality. While painters would take weeks to portray someone’s face or a landscape some years ago, it can now be done within two seconds in a camera. But technology cannot create abstract scenes. Today’s art is interpretation and each one of us can have different impressions upon the same art.
One of my favorite pieces of the museum is “Automobile in a corsa” from Luigi Russolo. It is a futurist composition that has everything combined to convey the powerful acceleration of the engine and its vibrations. This abstract yet simple painting evokes my imagination and makes me so immerse in the art that is almost surreal.
The contemporary section of the museum features sculptures, paintings and even photographs. They all try to portray life in its simplicity and routine. It shows life in its roots, without spectacle or special scenes to be portrayed. What I like the most in contemporary art is the way it tries to show us how our day by day life can be also a piece of art. In the “Plight” by Joseph Beuys, for example, through its acoustic, olfactory, thermal and visual experience, we can become physically aware of the depth and benefits of silence. Enjoying contemporary art is more than finding something appealing to the eyes, it is finding something incredible about your own life in someone’s else art. What is your interpretation of a certain art? It can be so different from mine. And that is the purpose of this kind of art. It is the voice of the subconscious that speaks.
Contemporary art teached me that every moment of my life is a piece of art. It is not needed to see God or a King to be a special moment worthy of becoming an inspiration. Anything can be art and it is only up to us to see everything that surrounds us as a kind of artistic manifestation. May your routine inspire you.
Luftbahn 