Views from above
May 17–October 7, 2013
Centre Pompidou-Metz
1, parvis des Droits-de-l’Homme
Metz, France
T 0033 (0)3 87 15 39 39
contact [at] centrepompidou-metz.fr
Centre Pompidou-Metz presents the exhibition Views from above, which considers how the vertical view, from the first aerial photographs of the 19th century to satellite imagery, has transformed artists’ perception.
Some 500 works spanning painting, drawing, photography, film, architectural models, installations and publications by over 160 artists including Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Delaunay, Harun Farocki, Sam Francis, Paul Klee, Zoe Leonard, Kasimir Malevitch, László Moholy-Nagy and Robert Smithson offer a new perspective on modern and contemporary art.
There has been a considerable regain in interest in the aerial view over recent years. From the success of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Earth From Above to the popularity of satellite images, we are fascinated by the bird’s-eye view as much for the beauty of the landscapes it reveals as the feeling of omnipotence it inspires. The exhibition draws on this popularity to return to the origins of aerial photography and explore its impact on the work of artists and, consequently, the history of art.
When Nadar took his first aerial photographs from a hot-air balloon, circa 1860, he gave artists their first indications of the world they knew but had never seen from so high. An elevated perspective blurs landmarks and relief, slowly transforming the land into a flat surface whose visual reference points are no longer distinguishable one from the other. Right up to today, painters, photographers, architects and filmmakers have continued to explore the aesthetic and semantic implications of this extraordinary vantage point.
Views from above gathers works from the most prestigious public and private collections in France, Europe and the U.S.A. Many works will be drawn from the collection of Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne.
Curator: Angela Lampe, curator at Musée national d’art moderne, Centre Pompidou
Associate Curators:
Alexandra Müller, research officer at Centre Pompidou-Metz
Alexandre Quoi (contemporary art), research officer at Centre Pompidou-Metz
Teresa Castro (cinema), lecturer at the University of Paris III
Thierry Gervais (photography), assistant professor at Ryerson University, Toronto, and manager of research at Ryerson Image Centre
Aurélien Lemonnier (architecture), curator at Musée national d’art moderne, Centre Pompidou
Current exhibitions
Sol LeWitt. Wall Drawings from 1968 to 2007
Until August 12
Centre Pompidou-Metz presents the largest retrospective ever shown in Europe of Sol LeWitt wall drawings.
Sol LeWitt as a collector. An artist and his artists
Until August 18
Focusing mainly on works on paper, often acquired through trade rather than purchase, the exhibition—organized in close collaboration with the LeWitt Collection (Chester, CT)—presents an ensemble culled from the artist’s exceptional private collection.
Coming soon
Allen Ginsberg / Beat Generation
May 31–September 9
Centre Pompidou-Metz presents the Saga of the Beat Generation, via the manuscripts, books, films, photos, live performances of Allen Ginsberg and his associates in a large-scale digital exhibition, the first of its kind. This multimedia show will occur simultaneously in four European institutions:
–Fresnoy-Studio National des Arts Contemporains in Tourcoing (France)
–Champs Libres in Rennes (France)
–ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe (Germany)
–Centre Pompidou-Metz
Hans Richter, the crossing of the century
September 28, 2013–February 24, 2014
Centre Pompidou-Metz stages the first exhibition in France of the drawings, paintings and films of Hans Richter (1888–1976). Organized in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the exhibition will examine Richter’s fascinating career as both an innovator and an artist who thrived on collaborative practice.
The exhibition is presented at LACMA from May 5 to September 2, 2013. After its venue at Centre Pompidou-Metz, it will be shown at Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, from March 27 to June 30, 2014.
Centre Pompidou-Metz is only 82 minutes from Paris via high-speed train.
*American photographer and journalist Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971) perches on an eagle head gargoyle at the top of the Chrysler Building and focuses a camera, New York, 1935. © Oscar Graubner / Time Life Pictures / Getty Images.
