Pompidou Center: Outside

Like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Pyramid, the Pompidou Center was reviled by most Parisiens when it was completed in 1977 but has since been embraced by locals and tourists alike. Its skeleton rises outside the building, allowing maximum space within the structure and the colors have practical meaning. White means support, red signifies electricity, blue is for climate control and green is plumbing.

Just slightly south of the main building, we discovered the kinetic fountains at Stravinsky Place.  Fountains spurted out of spinning wheels and rotating pipes, while colorful mosaic creatures stood guard.  The broad plaza to the west of the building proved a popular hangout. Teens and tourists strolled and watched international entertainers such as a lady blowing a brown sapling that made digiridoo sounds, a Chinese man singing American songs while strumming an acoustic guitar and an elderly European couple playing stringed instruments.

Cafes and souvenir shops ringed both areas. We found our favorite Amorino Gelato in front of the plaza. We enjoyed our gelato on an outdoor table after our tour of the museum.

Pompidou Center: Inside

The Pompidou Center celebrates modern art with sculptures, paintings, photographs and assemblages.

And I didn't understand most of it.

Art requires that the artist express himself in a language that the viewer can understand. For much of history, both artist and viewer used a common language. Maybe that required learning the language, but once that happened, the art could be appreciated.

With modern art, the artist can use his own language to express himself, and not care whether the viewer understand. The question then becomes what's the point of viewing modern art, if you have no idea what the artist is saying.  It's a little like an English speaker trying to understand someone who speaks only Chinese.

In this regard, Picasso seems quaint. I could at least recognize human figures and the irreverence in his work, however distorted.

La Pisseuese by Pablo Picasso

And some of the art I could admire because it was technically proficient and attractive. Such as Double Metamorphosis by Yaacov Agam, which looked like a black painting from the side but revealed colors and shapes as you walked by an looked through slats.

Double Metamorphosis III by Yaacov Agam

But what could I make of assemblages of garbage, or random squiggles on canvas or random materials and shapes thrown on the floor. These were neither comprehensible nor attractive, and much of the Center's art was like that.

If you like modern art, then you'll enjoy the Pompidou. If your have a Museum Pass or can otherwise enter the museum for free, spend an hour or two inside, just to say you were there, and so you can see some great views of Paris from the top floor. Otherwise, don't pay to go in and instead enjoy the outdoor spectacle.