Dali Exhibit

We tried to see the Dali exhibit on Saturday...

paper collage/sketch of Dali stuck to a pillar
outside the museum...artist??

but the line up to get in was 1.5 hours...

line up at the Centre Pompidou in Paris

plus the security guard told us there was another line inside to buy the tickets and still another one to get to the exhibit so we went back on Sunday morning at 9am.

The exhibit is closing this weekend
It is open for 24 hours on March 22, 23,24
and till midnight on March 25! That's Paris!

We waited for 45 minutes in the freezing cold and the line didn't even move. So with frozen toes and sore throats we went to have coffee and croissants instead!

It is on tomorrow until midnight...very tempting. They say it is really well done.

If you want to see other things that I have seen at the Centre Pompidou click here.

Holes, Shapes and Shadows

Sculpture, Paris, Centre Pompidou

Paper work, Oakville, World of Threads Festival

Studies in interlacement, xylem and phloem, 2012
(Xylem and phloem are complex tissues 
that perform transportation of water and food in a plant)

Sculpture, Paris, Centre Pompidou

Paper work, Oakville, World of Threads Festival

kozo paper, fibre reactive dyes

Sculpture, Paris, Centre Pompidou

Paper work, Oakville, World of Threads Festival

From the exhibit, De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)

Sculpture, Paris, Centre Pompidou by Marc Fornes and THEVERYMANY.


Paper work, Oakville, World of Threads Festival by Lizz Aston.

Tutto , 1987

Artist: Alighiero Boetti (1940-1994)

This is one of the textile pieces I saw at Centre Pompidou in Paris this summer.

Tutto, 1987
embroidery floss on linen

In the 1980s, Boetti started a series, of which Tutto is part, and had the embroidery done by Afghani women who arrived in Pakistan as refugees after the Soviet invasion. 

Tutto, detail

There are 84 colours in this piece and every colour is used in the same amount.

You can see the embroidery stitching. It's very fine.

The following three images show Afghanistan embroidered squares that were integrated in textile art works as part of a European initiative to help Afghanistan women affected by the Afghan war.

Lemon Trees in Town
by Italian artist Daniela Cassani
(Afghanistan embroidered square: lemon tree, left)

Rosso Ciliegia (Red Cherry)
by Italian artist Maria Teresa Sansotta
(Afghanistan embroidered square: center top)

Farida's Garden
by me!
(Afghanistan embroidered square: seed, far right)

To see more about the Afghanistan embroidered squares, click here.

Metal Tapestries

One of El Anatsui's work is part of the permanent collection at the Centre Pompidou. He gained international recognition in 1990 when he represented Africa in the Venice Biennale.

About two years ago, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, hosted a 40-year retrospective of his work.

Sasa, 2004

This monumental work can be displayed in different configurations which the artist leaves to the curator to decide.

Its size is very powerful.

His metal tapestries recall the golden shimmer of Klimt paintings, evokes weaving and cloth and even sculpture.

He used flattened liquor-bottle tops and "sews" them together with copper wire. His medium, introduced by Europeans, hints at the relationship between Africa and the Western world.

Dutch Lace

Galvanized steel wire chain-link fence woven to resemble traditional Dutch lace, Centre Pompidou, in Paris.

The Demakersvan partnership has teamed up with an Indian company to marry industrial production to manual skill.

I will be posting more about what I saw at Centre Pompidou. Their collection is really spectacular.

Moving Art

The dance begins.

The end.

(recently acquired video by Centre Pompidou. Anonymous. Danse Serpentine, d'apres la choreographie de Loïe Fuller)

Modern Architecture

You don't expect the view of the Centre Pompidou as you come out of Rue Saint Merri onto Rue du Renard.

I am told many Parisians have "trouble" with the architecture from the 70's.

It houses the biggest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe.

I loved the gallery spaces and the wide hallways.

You have one of the best views of Paris from the top floor.

The main entrance looked like a subway station, in my opinion. My son said it looked like Yorkdale Mall in Toronto!

Their permanent collection is amazing -more on that in later posts. I was so inspired!

I want to go home to create and sew right now!

Jean-Luc Moulène (1955)
 part of his 24 objects of protest