NICK FYHRIE

I came across an intriguing article today in the New York Times Art & Design section titled On a Mission to Loosen up the Louvre by Carol Vogel published on October 9^th.

The article examines the transformative efforts of Henri Loyrette, the Louvre’s director, to not only break annual visitor records, but also add American contemporary art to its collection.  Before you know it, tourists are not just going to flock to see the famed Mona Lisa, but Joseph’s Kosuth’s 15 sentences in giant white neon tubing in the museum’s 12^th century catacombs and Cy Twombly’s painted ceiling in the 16^th century Salon des Bronzes.

In a nutshell, Loyrette has caught on to what seems to be a trend of major museums today: to put on a show! It is comparable to what most Met visitors encountered for the past few major exhibitions: The Pictures Generation, but have you been on the roof to see the Jeff Koons shiny balloon sculptures?? And now Vermeer’s sex-charged (well it’s at least aimed that way – a curatorial or advertising idea?) exhibition featuring his famous “Milkmaid” painting, but have you seen those shiny steel trees on the roof (Roxy Paine’s Maelstrom)?? The average tourist nowadays needs to be told where to go and what to see. We are all tragically suffering from ADD one hour visits to major museums that have much to offer, but unfortunately leave many with a “hook” exhibition that gets them in only to leave without really exploring permanent collections and forgotten wings. In all fairness, Loyrette stresses this disappointing fact and is proposing major changes for the most visited museum in the world. He wants to up the visitor numbers from an already impressive 8.5 million annual attendance record in 2008 to an expected 10 million annual visitor record by 2014. He also wants to offer free admission on Friday nights to anyone under the age of 26, comparable to the Guggenheim and MOMA’s free admission evenings every month. I, however, object to the fact that they are going to open a McDonald’s with a McCafé next to the Louvre in the following month – I think Paris has enough real cafés in the 1^st Arrondisment to satiate American tourists!

Monsieur Henri Loyrette

Vogel points out that “While there is a long and ingrained history of philanthropy in America, not so in France, where until recently it was assumed that the government was responsible for the country’s museums.” Loyrette is certainly reaching out now beyond the French government to places like the High Museum of Art in Atlanta that includes seven temporary exhibitions from the Louvre’s collection in exchange for a $6.4 million donation earmarked for the refurbishment of the Louvre’s 18th-century French furniture galleries – a deal Loyrette worked out in 2004. In addition, Loyrette also made a deal two years ago with Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to create the Louvre Abu Dhabi — a 260,000 square-foot museum designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel and expected to open in 2013 on Saadiyat Island, off the city’s coast. It is also from Abu Dhabi, where Loyrette is to receive funding to pay for a new $67 million wing to house the Louvre’s world-class collection of Islamic art.

Henri Loyrette is most certainly a good businessman and I think it is refreshing to make changes that allow for the Louvre to be more accessible. But how accessible is too accessible, and is the American angle to draw more visitors simply about making money? I like a good show as long as it isn’t spoiled by the mass influx of tourists blocking my view and I don’t think the French citizens will be all to happy about getting I.M. Pei to construct a larger pyramid to accommodate 10 million people.

Speaking of a good show and accessibility, the CHANEL fashion show in Paris this past week has received rave reviews! I came across pictures and a post link from the Sartorialist to the Garance Doré blog for the show. Everyone cannot get enough of CHANEL these days! Karl Lagerfeld is another good businessman who used American appeal to put on a spectacle. The stage was turned into a barn with hay and signature CHANEL “C’s” branded on burlap and wood. Lily Allen, although not American yet in the pop vernacular, put on a concert amidst models for the collection including a performance ménage a trois simulation in front of Lagerfeld (Please read and see the entire Garance post for reference). While I cannot resist the glamour of CHANEL and did not see the show myself, I wonder how long the show’s “wow factor” lasted. Branding today is not just about a traditional runway show or relying on a name alone. It seems ironic to me that Loyrette is focusing on American artists and philanthropy to improve the Louvre and Lagerfeld used a rock star approach (Don’t get me wrong, the man can do whatever he likes) to a runway show to up the fashion ante while America itself is going through one of the worst economic crisis in history. These formulas for success are becoming ADD in their own right. It’s about bigger and better, more and more and I hate that France is falling victim to the American model of consumer capitalism that places desire at the forefront of self-destruction. CHANEL does not need to be maxed out like the “LV’s” of Louis Vuitton! I like the CHANEL alphabet, but let’s make sure it stays in French, not English! Creating something fresh and new also calls for making new formulas.

Let’s see how the Kosuth installation in the Louvre and the post CHANEL craze this fashion week play out…