THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSEUM
Hello and welcome to The World's Biggest Museum.
France is the world's biggest open-air museum.
We're on the piazza in front of the Pompidou Center.
Georges Pompidou is the President of France
in the early 1970s
and he gradually introduces modern art to his Élysée office.
One day, he passes through here in his Citroën DS with his wife
and looks at the future Pompidou Center site
which is just a large, quite ugly parking lot
and he says: "We'll build a second Louvre here
"dedicated to modern art."
And he adds: "We'll shock the middle-classes."
A few months later, there are 450 architectural projects on his desk
and the judging panel, including Georges Pompidou, will choose
a project by two young architects: Rogers and Renzo Piano.
What will eventually spring from the ground is what surprised Parisians
will call, "the refinery"
or, "the gasworks" or, "the petrol factory."
Pompidou will never know this factory because he went on to die in 1974
but, 30 years later,
this place had to be recognized as an international benchmark
in the field of modern art
and one of Paris's most popular attractions.
Now I suggest we listen to this short testimony
from Claude Pompidou, President Pompidou's wife,
who emotionally tells the story of how her husband thought up this project.
Even though it caused a scandal at first,
now people are used to it.
It still looks very modern.
But the idea came to my husband in the 1950s, so, a long time ago.
It wasn't at all his area of expertise.
Back then, it was just a dream
to create a cultural place in the center of Paris
where maybe you could bring together
fine arts and a library.
He'd already thought about the Beaubourg site
because we used to drive by it
and, back then, it was deserted and substandard.
I think that if he hadn't been the French President,
it would've been impossible.
It had to be an act of Government.
My only regret is that he never saw it.
That was, of course,
a painful moment.
Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to Anna.
Hello, Anna. - Hello, sir.
How are you? - I'm well, thanks.
What you don't know is that Anna has been here for a mere 30 years.
She arrived in 1977. - Exactly.
What was it like in 1977?
In 1977, the people who were recruited here...
RECEPTIONIST
...had a passion for this Center.
It felt like one big family.
Did people come here to insult you and criticize the building?
Yes, of course.
We heard it called, "the gasworks" hundreds of times
or "the petrol factory," but it doesn't matter.
"The refinery" and "the petrol factory!" - Yes.
But, there were so many interesting things inside
that we also made discoveries.
It was all new to me too.
Which nationalities are drawn to this place the most?
The nationality of our visitors has evolved
as borders have opened up.
I've noticed that in recent years, there are many Russians,
Eastern Europeans
and, in the last three years, also a lot of Chinese.
It's very varied.
What's your attachment to here? Do you like it?
At first, I found it a little cold and weird.
I didn't feel at ease in all these vast spaces.
And now I have a totally different approach when I come here.
Perhaps habit plays a part,
but there are so many things in here, that I find it very warm.
Thanks, Anna. You're a great ambassador.
You should be in charge of this great place.
Thanks a million. - Thanks for telling us about it.
Bruno Racine, thanks for meeting us.
You're the CEO of the Pompidou Center,
a multidisciplinary place, with many activities,
so much so that, the public can get a little lost.
Can you describe it in a few words?
Georges Pompidou wanted something very original:
A library, arts center, museum and music research center under the same roof.
POMPIDOU CENTER CEO
Actually, in the Pompidou Center you find all kinds
relating to the cultural sphere.
Georges Pompidou's gamble paid off.
Yes, as, before the opening, we envisaged 5,000 visitors per day.
But, in fact, it soon rose to 20,000.
Over five million people visit the Center every year,
two million of whom visit the library
which is a favorite among people from the Paris region
and young people.
I like the air vents on the outside, they're original.
I was too young to witness people's reactions to the Beaubourg.
It's the most monumental error of the century.
A carcass springs to mind and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
Everyone I speak to in the neighborhood is of the same opinion.
A nightclub or a prison
like somewhere you'd conduct inhumane experiments
like in mental hospitals.
It contrasts well with the city of Paris.
It doesn't clash with Notre Dame at all.
The architecture still shocks people
but they have become a minority.
Thirty years ago, it was the overriding feeling
but, today, Paris without the Pompidou Center
is like Paris without the Eiffel Tower.
How is the Center perceived by overseas visitors like Anglo-Saxons,
or by new tourists like the Chinese, etc.?
It reflects the image of a creative and modern France
and not just something Louis XV-style
or from the traditional way of life.
People are fascinated by its combination of modernity
with the beautiful view of Paris.
How do you prevent this place from becoming gentrified?
How does it remain at the cutting edge of artistic imagination and innovation?
When, for our 30th anniversary, we offered the public free access
to the Hergé exhibition, attracting hundreds of visitors,
and, on that occasion, the comic strip accessed
works of art that were displayed in the museum,
we are loyal to the cause:
taking a risk with boldness and modernity.
The Pompidou Center is stepping outside of its context
to conquer the overseas "artistic" corner of the market
but also setting up in Metz in the Lorraine region.
We're going to open a Metz Pompidou Center
with architecture in the same vein as the central Paris Center,
innovative and original
and designed by a Franco-Japanese team.
An average of five million visitors per year. Who are they?
The average visitor is on the young side, under 35 years of age,
there are slightly more female than male visitors
and 80% of them are French or people who live in France.
Only 20% of our visitors are tourists,
differentiating us from the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay
who depend more on tourism.
A large majority come to visit the library
where residents of the Parisian region and students often spend time.
Thanks for setting the scene for us, Mr. Racine.
Thanks for coming here.
We're going for a walk. - Have a stroll in the museum.
The Pompidou Center owns around 52,000 works of art
but, due to the amount of space, only around 2,500 can be exhibited.
That means that the others are stored away or on loan.
Several hundreds of pieces are permanently on loan overseas.
This place is a paradise of Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism.
The whole range of artistic expression from 1905 to the 1960s is here.
Around 1,300 pieces are on display on the fifth floor.
Now, let's go meet Yannick.
Don't drop Matisse's painting!
No, it's hanging firmly on the wall. - Hello.
Yannick, you're in charge of hanging the pictures here
on the fifth floor of the Pompidou Center,
the National Museum of Modern Art.
I'm in charge of coordinating the hanging of historic works.
To hang the works on the fifth floor...
CURATORS' ASSISTANT
...it took 18 months on site and 7 months' preparation.
So, like today, when you're hanging
this Matisse painting here,
it requires months' of work beforehand? - Yes.
This piece isn't here for an exhibition
which means it's here permanently and won't be going anywhere.
Theoretically, it hangs here for a year and a half.
You tell me that there's an overall mindset here
which contrasts sharply with Parisian museums in general.
It's very much a living museum,
not in terms of this more long-term historic display,
but, over 18 months, the pieces will change frequently.
Did you hang this René Magritte painting here?
Yes, it was our hanging team.
It was difficult because it's a very heavy painting.
It has to be fastened on well so that it doesn't fall on our visitors!
Come with me, Yannick.
I love this place!
Those who don't know the Pompidou, might not know this.
It's a wall of André Breton's objects.
It's a reconstruction of André Breton's wall
that was in his workshop.
It contains masterpieces:
a Miró, a Picabia, a Picasso...
This wall alone
took us ten full days to hang.
What satisfaction do you get from this job?
I have the privilege that you don't have
of taking Dali's painting of William Tell
and holding it, touching it and looking at it.
You never get tired of it.
Thanks for showing us around the fifth floor of the Pompidou Center,
the National Museum of Modern Art.
My pleasure.
Two seconds... Take this.
Do you know where I can find Franck from packing?
Yes.
Where? - Very close by!
PACKING WORKSHOP MANAGER
It's extraordinary. Here you pack and unpack all day long.
All the time. - What's going on there?
We are wrapping a piece that's for a new exhibition.
Ladies and gents, this is the work in question
which has just been acquired.
What exactly are these pieces?
It's the shelving with all the pieces and the display case.
The display case too?
Why are you wrapping it? You've just bought it.
It's going to be stored away.
Where? - In a storeroom.
Have you finished wrapping? - It doesn't take long.
Why don't you fix it on with sticky tape?
You're tying cute little knots, but...
Tape can damage it.
PACKING ASSISTANT
There's glue on adhesives.
We avoid it, but it doesn't make life easy.
May I lift it out? - Yes.
Look at his work, folks!
That's how you wrap!
You must be the best wrappers in Paris!
Where is the display case?
In its box.
There? - Yes, we put it together.
That's extraordinary!
You're telling me that you've made a special box,
especially crafted to hold this English artist's display case?
Yes.
Considering how crazy some artists are,
I imagine you've had to put together some odd packaging.
A car, for example.
You once had to package a car? - Yes.
That's some size!
You had to make a box for it?
Yes.
I'm not pretending to be an expert,
but isn't that a Chagall?
Yes? - Yes.
Where did you get it from? - It's being returned to us.
How do you know that they're actually the originals being returned?
We check the back.
Ah, you check the back. To see if...
If it hasn't been dismantled.
Will I get in trouble if I drop it? - Yes.
There you go. Splendid.
The Pompidou Center does a lot for youngsters.
Notably, there's free access for under 18s.
Now let's see images of the ground floor,
in the Kids Gallery, just next to the reception.
On Wednesdays, they organize workshops here
for the younger generation, like the one running now
called, "BD Reporters." Let's go.
KIDS GALLERY
We're going to look at the work of several artists
who report on...
CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP LEADER
...and draw the places they discover.
The exhibition is just behind here. We'll have to go out again
and we're heading to this exhibition.
Everyone will choose a postcard.
In the exhibition, you need to find
the image on your postcard.
This exhibition is aimed at children between 7 and 77 years of age.
HEAD OF THE "BD REPORTERS" EXHIBITION
I've been working in the Pompidou Center for 30 years.
It's fascinating work
because we invent different forms
aimed at different audiences
and we also create exhibitions within the Pompidou Center.
The "BD Reporters" workshop,
is a specific monthly workshop
which accommodates for two to five year old children
in the various exhibitions of the Pompidou Center.
We have a digital camera for each child
and we help them take photos
in places that are not strictly family-oriented.
The original idea came from the fact that children
love forbidden objects.
PROJECT LEADER
When they're born, they're fully equipped
to immerse themselves in the works of art.
So, I used these two ideas.
I grabbed the cameras and shook them for a while
and one click and out it comes!
I founded it very amusing to invite little ones
to a place aimed at grown-ups.
Look, out it comes!
Out it comes!
One Wednesday per month, we run two workshops,
one in the morning and one in the afternoon,
especially reserved for young children.
The world's biggest, ladies and gentlemen,
museum, ladies and gentlemen.
Once we've said that the Pompidou Center is the Mecca of modern art,
we think we've said it all. We haven't.
Above all, the Pompidou is a diverse place,
a multifaceted place,
which is not so easy to grasp.
Allow me to give you a few statistics.
Firstly, last year, the Pompidou Center had five million visitors.
That's an average of 17,000 visitors per day.
Next, the temporary exhibitions.
There were 18 last year
and they attracted 1,600,000 from all over the world.
Slightly to the right.
Take this.
That's not bad, yes.
Is it OK on the other side?
It's better on the other side.
Come a little closer, but it's not bad.
There you go. - Hello, sir.
Sorry for disturbing you.
What exactly do you do here?
Do you take photos of the pieces from the Pompidou?
Yes, absolutely.
Generally, the pieces that are in the store room.
PHOTOGRAPHER
We do it on request. This is for a catalog.
I think this picture is being sent overseas
and they need a good photo of it
for the exhibition catalog.
Are there permanently photographers in this studio
to take pictures of the pieces?
Is it an ongoing activity? - Absolutely.
Not just pictures, also sculptures,
architectural models, maps,
architects' tracing paper sketches...
Anything that anyone gives us.
What's it like being an artist taking photos of pieces by artists?
We accurately reproduce the pieces in terms of color and perspective...
PHOTOGRAPHER
...when they are sculptures or objects
to avoid distorting the object.
With little room for interpretation.
I heard that you've been here for many years, Georges.
For 32 years.
I was 23 when I started.
For over two years, I saw this Center being erected,
appearing from the hole in the ground.
It was quite impressive after.
All the shapes, colors and lights
were magnificent.
Why do pieces come here?
Why do you get asked to photograph them?
It's a request that comes
from different departments.
PHOTO STUDIO MANAGER
It could be for the collections or publications.
It could be a request following
an accident with a piece or a picture.
In that case, a report is needed.
The piece is brought here for the report
before and after restoration.
I imagine you must've photographed the Pompidou Center often.
Quite a lot of times in 32 years, yes.
This one is splendid. I really like it.
It was taken at a lady's house just above the building.
She was kind enough to lend me her apartment so I could take it.
You were staking out the Pompidou Center like the paparazzi!
Did you take it at dawn?
No, I think it's the afternoon.
It's in two parts like all the photos of the Center.
It's so big that we can't capture it in one shot.
This one is superb.
Is it taken in the middle of the night? - At nightfall
when the Center starts to light up
and the sky starts getting dark.
There you go. - Is it your favorite?
Yes, it's not bad with its transparent effect.
We're two floors below ground,
on Level -2 of the Pompidou Center.
I suggest we take a tour of the framing workshop here
where José and Daniel work.
Ladies and gents, José and Daniel from the framing workshop.
Nice to meet you.
What are you working on? - On a Giacometti piece
which is going out on loan.
So, we're replacing the frame and the back
and protecting it with a transparent sheet.
FRAMING WORKSHOP MANAGER
You're now going to see this Giacometti piece, folks.
I'm also seeing it for the first time.
It's the famous portrait of Isaku Yanaihara,
bought from the artist in 1965
and it was completed in 1956.
So, we've framed it,
we've put a mi-regard on it to remove any reflections.
That's this so-called anti-reflective sheet.
Here on this Orlan photo,
there's no anti-reflective.
It's ordinary Perspex, so it's reflective.
Today, we tend to use anti-reflective sheets.
It would be a good idea to use that here.
Yes, but it depends on the demand and the cost.
José, you also restore photos here
or rather, photographic protection. Yes, indeed.
These aren't pictures, they're photos.
FRAMER
It's a photo taken on film
which is lit up by an electric system behind it.
Ah yes, underneath. - Yes, underneath.
It's a neon system.
The Perspex is very damaged. You can see scratches on it.
So, we've been asked to change it. - OK.
Are you a contractor or a temporary worker here?
I'm a contractor.
Tell us about it. It's quite impressive
to be working here in this temple of modern art.
That's true. I like it a lot.
What I also like is that you always see the pieces
in art history books
and, suddenly, we have them lined up here for us.
We make the most of it.
That's almost better than going to the museum.
It's like they're in our house.
Like they're hanging on your walls at home.
Have you worked on any Picasso pieces? - Yes, I have.
What does that make you feel? - Respect.
Admiration.
It blows your mind!
On Matisse pieces, too.
Many thanks for sharing so passionately, José.
What an incredible view from the fifth floor!
What should we remember about the Pompidou?
Firstly, its success.
Around 200 million visitors
have gathered here since 1977,
the year of its inauguration.
Secondly, is this architectural testament to the 1970s,
one of the rare testaments to this architecturally absurd decade
that we're handing down to our children.
The Pompidou Center is like turning the human body inside out.
Inside, the museum spaces are free from clutter
and, on the outside, you have the blood vessels, that is, the pipes.
That's the rather revolutionary and crazy idea
of the architects, Piano and Rogers.
And, finally, this place has babies.
In 2008, in Metz,
a baby Pompidou Center will be opening.
It's small but very bold in terms of its architecture and the artwork on display.
It's going to open sometime during 2008.
Have a good week. See you next week.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be