Pompidou Museum

The Pompidou Museum The Pompidou Center contains more than 70,000 pieces of art making it the greatest collection of modern art in all of Europe. The building itself could be considered a piece of artwork. It was designed by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and it became an icon of architecture in the 20th century. I was impressed by the way the building seems to be turned inside out and by the bright red color used for the stairs. The museum was open to the public on February of 1977 and was also used as a library and a place where visual arts could be exposed. I was not expecting the building to be as big as it was. I was completely overwhelmed by the eight story building. We began our visit by going to the last floor where we were able to obtain a great view of the city. From there, we could see the Sacred Heart of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. After the usual photo session, we proceeded to the permanent collection in the museum. Previously, I had never been attracted to modern art. This was due to my lack of knowledge of the subject. It was completely different to observe the pieces of artwork after reading and discussing the significance of Modernism and Post-Modernism. Modernity flourished after Darwin’s theory of evolution drastically changed the way humans thought of themselves as a “magnum opus” made by God. It was after this that artists began to search and expose human vulnerabilities. It is evident, as you walk through the halls of the museum, that artists were seeking to set themselves apart from each other. There is also a great change in technique for now artists were free to use new technologies which were now available to them. There was a piece of artwork made from neon lights that were not available until after 1917. Post-Modernity was also found at the Pompidou museum. This movement was nihilistic. It was a period where art did not need to have a meaning and where artists did not believe in any specific thing. It was because of this that I was not surprised to see a piece of artwork that had nothing but blue paint on the canvass. The artist had no other intention but to show the bright blue paint he had created. The museum of modern art helped me redefine my concept of art. Many pieces of artwork at the museum went against what we may normally consider to be pretty and pleasing to the eye. Marcel Duchamp’s urinary is a great example of this. It is because of art like this one that we begin to analyze and attempt to define the boundaries of art. I was able to understand that art can be found anywhere and it is just a matter of a person’s perception. It can be anything from a flower to a building or a pile of trash, but if a person really wants to they can find beauty in anything they find no matter if it is appealing to other people.