Disappearing act: artist JR makes IM Pei's Louvre pyramid vanish
![French photographer and artist](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kiFWFDJ9pc2JhD3mVYyWxb-415-80.jpg)
Last week, as a black and white simulacrum of the Louvre’s grand architecture began to mask IM Pei’s pyramid that stands in its forecourt, the person responsible could be found among those already taking photos. French artist JR had positioned himself at the point that the optical illusion – the ‘anamorphose’ – revealed a level of perfection that would have impressed and amused the kings and emperors who had once called this palace home.
JR has been making giant photographic gestures around the world for upwards of a dozen years, often focusing on human faces so that the favela rooftops of Rio di Janeiro or the outside wall of the Tate Modern project groups of people as iconic statements. He puts the graphic into demographics. Yet it’s safe to say this might be his most audacious intervention so far. Here, the glass and steel pyramid becomes camouflaged by an exceedingly precise scan of the Pavilion Sully rising in the background. Consider it an architectural throwback by street art’s most monumental portraitist.
The Louvre, which has a history of inviting contemporary artists to create a temporary site-specific work, began speaking with JR roughly around a year ago; and while the idea didn’t take long, working through the technical details did. The same specialists who worked on JR’s installation at the Panthéon in 2014 executed the installation of the film.
Up close, the arches, mullions and stonework become an abstracted pattern of Ben-Day dot pixilation (JR noted that the film will not leave residue on the glass once removed). Every element of the entry – from the recessed framing to the door pulls – has been covered with bits of the image to maintain total continuity. Something you won’t see: any corporate logos or sponsorship names. The project was self-funded, an aspect that JR says remains crucial to the way he works.
‘I couldn’t have been born ten years earlier in the sense that everything I do is with the media of my time. Taking digital photos, sharing them on social networks, traveling to all these destinations around the world, working without brands,’ he tells Wallpaper*. ‘The way in which I work reflects the time in which I live.’
Despite cancelling out a structure that has never won over all Parisians, JR says the project is not intended as a critical commentary. Rather, he’s encouraging people to interact differently with the pyramid, proposing an ephemeral twist to an institution anchored in preservation.
‘This polemic – was it better before – what does that actually mean? I did not know it before; I am of the generation who grew up with the pyramid. This is a question that largely depends on how people have lived with the pyramid,' he offers.
Still, a brief occasion to imagine the Louvre without its modern addition might fulfil a fantasy for some. For everyone else, because the anamorphic image only covers the pyramid’s outward side, JR’s disruption won’t preclude a view of Pei’s most famous creation in its original state.
But already, people have begun queuing at the spot where the ‘disappearance’ takes place. And for 24 hours from Saturday afternoon through Sunday, JR has invited a roster of artists including Daniel Buren, Felice Varini and Agnès Varda to participate in interactive programming – much of it open to the public.
In this way, the overall project transcends an ambitious stunt to become an part of the collective memory. ‘It’s a little like magic; how will people discuss and share and repeat it – and in a way that’s often changed or amplified from the reality,’ he says. ‘It fascinates me to think of how people will remember the image when it no longer exists.’
The Louvre, which has a history of inviting contemporary artists to create a temporary site-specific work, began speaking with JR (pictured) roughly around a year ago
Despite cancelling out a structure that has never won over all Parisians, JR says the project is not intended as a critical commentary. Pictured: advertising material for JR's installation.
Instead, JR is encouraging people to interact differently with the Pyramid, proposing an ephemeral twist to an institution anchored in preservation.
INFORMATION
JR au Louvre continues until 27 June. For more information on the 24-hour programme, visit the website
Photography: © jr-art.net
ADDRESS
Musée du Louvre
75058 Paris
France
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
‘Who has not dreamed of seeing what the eye cannot grasp?’: Rencontres d’Arles comes to the south of France
Les Rencontres d’Arles 2024 presents over 40 exhibitions and nearly 200 artists, and includes the latest iteration of the BMW Art Makers programme
By Sophie Gladstone Published
-
Matthew Barney draws on a sporting horror history with video installation ‘Secondary’
Matthew Barney revisits a haunting memory of violence and spectacle in his first institutional show in Paris in over a decade
By Hili Perlson Published
-
Nicole Eisenman explores the dimensions of sculpture and painting at Hauser & Wirth Paris
Nicole Eisenman presents ‘with, and, of, on Sculpture’, her first retrospective at Hauser & Wirth Paris drawing inspiration from political challengers to ABBA
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Van Gogh Foundation celebrates ten years with a shape-shifting drone display and The Starry Night
The Van Gogh Foundation presents ‘Van Gogh and the Stars’, anchored by La Nuit Etoilée, which explores representations of the night sky, and the 19th-century fascination with the cosmos
By Amy Serafin Published
-
Marisa Merz’s unseen works at LaM, Lille, have a uniquely feminine spirit
Marisa Merz’s retrospective at LaM, Lille, is a rare showcase of her work, pursuing life’s most fragile, transient details
By Finn Blythe Published
-
Josèfa Ntjam reveals mythical sculptures for her LVMH Métiers d’Art artist residency
LVMH Métiers d’Art presents ‘Une cosmogonie d’océans’, celebrating Josèfa Ntjam’s artistic residence
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Damien Hirst takes over Château La Coste
Damien Hirst’s ‘The Light That Shines’ at Château La Coste includes new and existing work, and takes over the entire 500-acre estate in Provence
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Ludovic Nkoth’s vibrant paintings reflect on migration
Cameroon-born, New York-based Ludovic Nkoth uses acrylic paint to strike a balance between abstraction and figuration
By Ugonna-Ora Owoh Published