The context

The Second World War turned Europe into a battlefield, and the era shifted from Paris or other European centres of culture and art to New York, USA.

Georges Pompidou became President of France in 1969 and made it his mission to create an innovative museum here that could compete with the USA.

The important point is that he created this novel building in the middle of a historic city. It is located in close to Notre Dame and the Louvre. At the time, the building was so unique that it attracted a lot of disagreement from the public. However, I could sense that it has now become a landmark in Paris when I actually visited the place.

After the building opened in 1977, an exhibition was held on the theme of ‘Paris-New York’ cultural exchange, which shows the awareness of New York.

The distinctive appearance

Staircases traversing diagonally from one end to the other greatly make the impression of the building. They add further originality to the distinctive building, with the structure and pipework exposed to the outside.

Not only is the back of the staircase tinted red, but the interior of the staircase is also lit up red at night.

In this building, blue indicates air-conditioning, yellow electricity, green water, white large structures/large air-conditioning units and red pipes for human circulation, such as escalators and lifts. This is an innovative idea that transforms plumbing, which was originally intended to be hidden, into a design.

The interior

The most part of the ground floor is free to enter and is a public space. Looking up at the ceiling, it is filled with blue piping (air conditioning). The yellow box (electricity) can also be seen on the right side of the picture.

With the structural frame exposed on the exterior, it was possible to eliminate all the columns that normally appear inside. The internal design is now free and large spaces have been created.

First floor to 3rd floor are public libraries. Get a local mood of what it feels like to be a Parisian.

Floors 4–6 are museums, with considerable exhibits, but also a cinema, shops and restaurants, so you’ll need a whole day to enjoy everything.

The square

The front of the Centre Pompidou is a square, where many people sit on the ground and enjoy conversation. In Europe, it is particularly common to see people sitting on the square and enjoying each other’s company. They use the public space very well in their own way, compared to Japanese.

The air conditioning ducts, protruding into the square, are also an interesting part of the design.

The exhibition

I would like to highlight some of my favourite exhibits.

1.Henri Matisse / Romanian blouse.

Collaboration between the great artists of the 20th century and Yves Saint Laurent. The paintings seem to have leapt out into the real world. At the same time, one cannot deny the feeling that one’s imagination has been restricted.

Matisse was a French painter who was nicknamed ‘The Magician of Colour’ for his unique use of colour.

2. Piet Mondrian / Composition composed of black vertical and horizontal grids and three primary colours on a white background.

In his magazine De Stijl, Mondrian advocated neoplasticism movement. It pursued horizontal and vertical lines, right angles, squares and rectangles, three primary colours, non-ornamentation and simplicity as opposed to conventional figurative art. Sculptors and architects also participated in the movement, which developed beyond painting into architecture, sculpture and all kinds of design.

He was born in the Netherlands and studied art in Amsterdam before moving to Paris. There he was greatly influenced by the cubism of Picasso and others, and the influence began to show in his work; in September 1938, in the face of the rise of fascism, he left Paris and moved to London. After further invasions, he next moved to Manhattan in the USA, where he spent the rest of his life.

I encountered a woman in a nice dress. Her bag is blue and the soles of her high heels are red. It is firmly composed of ‘De Stijl’.

A Locker room for storing luggage before browsing the exhibition. Lockers in use are red, unused lockers are green. The futuristic colour and light scheme was impressive.

End

As Mondrian’s life shows, Paris was originally a city where artists flocked. It would have been full of various artistic energies. Many things have shifted to the USA with the changing times, but I could feel the pride of Paris as a city of the arts from all parts of the city.

▶︎Video

▶︎Map

▶︎Official website of Centre Pompidou

Thank you for reading.