Nicolle's Travels: La Fondation Louis Vuitton

The non-profit Fondation Louis Vuitton was created in 2006 to promote arts and culture. The museum in Paris was opened in October 2014. The building was designed by American architect Frank Gehry and is located in the Bois de Boulogne (park) in the 16^th arrondissement. The purpose of the museum is to “discover contemporary artistic creation”. Entry to the museum also gives the visitor access to the Jardin d'Acclimatation (a children’s amusement park – opened in 1860 by Napoléon III ….. it has an interesting history in itself, if you wish to read about it, here is a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_d%27Acclimatation)

As described in the museum “Welcome Map” handout: the “Geometric curves and lines match the shapes of the garden and the twelve glass sails play with the light and reflections of water from the basin in which the building stands. The building is a constant interplay of outside and inside and invites the visitor on a walk through a space of shifting perspectives to create a unique architectural experience”.

The waterfall (water basin) at the base of the buidling structure

The building is white with the white/silver glass panes representing sails – there are 12 of them – which were inspired by the glass dome of the Grand Palais built in 1897 (Paris), and the Palmarium built in the Jardin d'Acclimatation in 1893. There are four levels of gallery space and a fifth level of outside terraces. Currently the galleries are dedicated to “China” showing ‘Chinese works’ featuring paintings, sculptures, installations and video works by 11 artists.

The "Fondation Louis Vuitton" (Photograph taken from Google Images)

While the galleries hold works dedicated to Chinese artists the building itself has become the canvas for an art piece. Opening earlier this year, a temporary site-specific work of French artist Daniel Buren titled “The Observatory of Light” was installed on the sails. Buren had been asked to contribute art to the museum and he spoke to Gehry asking if he could modify the actual building for his art piece. His idea was to add color to the sails. Gehry’s response was that it was only a building and that art should be used in any way to express the artists commitment to their craft – therefore the “twelve panels are covered with colored filters set out in a staggered pattern and themselves punctuated, at equal distances, by alternating white and clear glass stripes … Inside or outside, from the terraces or in the spaces, projections and reflections appear and disappear and change and shift constantly, following the weather, the time of day and the season. With minimal gesture, the artist radically transforms the building, and to maximum effect, renewing our way of looking at its architecture and instigating a new approach”.

The "Fondation Louis Vuitton" with the Buren art installation

I never saw the building before the Buren installation – only pictures of the white/silver sails. After having seen the sails with the colored panels I have to say that I prefer them with the color. The original design is a bit too monochromatic for my tastes, although the building is in itself quite appealing. I loved how the colored panels would display upon the corridor walls between the galleries and on the terraces where the color would move as the sun or clouds moved in the sky. I don’t know how long the Buren installation will be at the museum but I am glad that I was able to experience it in person. (Below are different views of the sails from various terraces of the building).