La Pinacotheque de Paris. Hiroshige/Van Gogh Temporary Exhibit. 28, Place de la Madeleine. Paris, 8
On a winter day in Paris, the prospect of visiting a joint
Hiroshige/Van Gogh exhibit is irresistible. So, you walk into Pinacotheque 1 (yes,
there are two buildings and it’s a bit complicated), with the faintest innocent
smile of one ready to be mesmerized. Instead, you find yourself shaking your
head in disbelief for a couple hours, shutting your eyes repeatedly (hoping
things will be different when you open them again). It is difficult to imagine that
an art show of such magnitude could be so poorly curated. Lavender blue and springtime yellow walls to
display Van Gogh’s homage to Hiroshige? Glass box displays that top at 5’3’’,
so the Japanese master’s work can only be enjoyed bending down and/or with a
wall indent on one’s forehead? Patronizing commentary – I quote: “ Everyone in
France is convinced that the most famous Japanese artist is Hokusai”. Right.
I am still shaking my head at the curators’ condescending
incompetence.
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