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Press Kit 13.06 centrepompidou-.fr > 05.11.14 en partenariat médiaen avec partenariat

Constantin Brancusi, L’Oiseau dans l’espace, 1936, , Musée national d’ moderne, . © ADAGP, Paris 2014 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- / Philippe Migeat Graphic design: Bastien Morin BAT_DP_COVER_v1.indd 3-4 09/05/12 11:56 Simple Shapes

Contents

1. General Presentation ...... 02

2. Structure of the exhibition ...... 03

3. Interview with Jean de Loisy, PIERRE-ALEXIS DUMAS

and Laurent Le Bon...... 06

4. List of the artists...... 08

5. Lenders...... 09

6. Echoing "Simple Shapes": "simple gestures" ...... 11

7. Credits ...... 12

8. Centre Pompidou-Metz and Fondation d'entreprise Hermès...... 14

9 . partners ...... 15

10. Visuals for the Press ...... 17

1 Simple Shapes 1. general Presentation simple Shapes F rom 13 June to 5 November 2014 Galerie 2

The exhibition Simple Shapes brings to the fore our The exhibition draws on the senses to explore the fascination with simple shapes, from prehistoric to appearance of simple shapes in art, nature and tools. This contemporary. It also reveals how these shapes were poetic approach is balanced by an analytical view of the decisive in the emergence of the Modern Age. twentieth century's history.

The years between the 19th and 20th centuries saw the return It connects scientific events and technical discoveries with of quintessential shapes through major universal expositions the emergence of modern shapes. Subjects pertaining which devised a new repertoire of shapes, the simplicity of to industry, mechanics, mathematics, physics, biology, which would captivate artists and revolutionise the modern phenomenology and archaeology are equated with objects philosophy. They introduced, within the evolution of modern from art and architecture, which are in turn alongside art, both an alternative to the eloquence of the human body their ancient predecessors and natural objects. and the possibility that shapes could be a universal concept. The Fondation d'entreprise Hermès is joint producer and Nascent debates in physics, mathematics, phenomenology, patron of Simple Shapes. biology and aesthetic had important consequences on mechanics, industry, architecture and art in general. While A catalogue accompanies the exhibition. visiting the 1912 de la Locomotion Aérienne with Constantin Brancusi and Fernand Léger, stopped short before an aeroplane propeller and declared, "Painting is dead. Who could better this propeller?" Curator: Jean de Loisy, President of Palais de Tokyo These pared-down, non-geometric shapes, which occupy space in a constant progression, are no less fascinating Associate curators: today. Minimalist artists such as and Sandra Adam-Couralet, independent curator Richard Serra, spiritualist artists such as Anish Kapoor, Mouna Mekouar, independent curator metaphysical artists such as Tony Smith, or poetic artists such as Ernesto Neto are as attentive to simple shapes as Exhibition design: were the inventors of modernity. Laurence Fontaine

2 Simple Shapes 2. Structure of the exhibition

1. Before shape 4. Who could better this propeller?

There are no simple forms in this initial group. Instead, Forms created by the constraints imposed on them; forms it introduces one of their characteristics: the emergence adapted to the forces they exert in order to perform their of the latent form within a still disorganised matter. function. The product of technique, they are beautiful Movements, silhouettes, faces push their way to the surface, because they are the perfect fulfilment of a need. Primitive caught in the act of transformation; not yet fully formed tools such as a bow or a boomerang already display the but already instilled with life. The works in this section perfection which, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, display an energy that shapes the world, stirs its fecundity, would be that of aero-mechanical engineering, and would accentuates its evolutions. Ritual objects, , captivate artists. At the 1912 Salon de la Locomotion photographs or drawings, they neither duplicate reality nor Aérienne with Constantin Brancusi and Fernand Léger, represent the visible, but mimic or question the vital force Marcel Duchamp would thus stop short before an aeroplane that pulsates within all things. propeller and declare that "Painting is dead. Who could better this propeller?" Part of the appeal which simple forms held for artists in the twentieth century comes from 2. The moon this fascination with lines that eschew subjectivity; which appear to mould themselves to the forces imposed on them. The mechanism of the world follows a mysterious dynamic, made evident to us by the very simple form of the Moon. Since the dawn of time, Man has contemplated the Moon 5. Breath whose constant transformation has produced multiple legends. Celebrated by poets, hinted at in ceramic, painted, The expression of life, breath gives form to glass in its observed, photographed and ultimately brought within temporary molten state. Because of the symbolic nature reach, it is the very first simple form. Whether the poet’s of this vulnerable substance, this operation takes on metaphorical Moon or the scholar’s algebraic Moon, it vital meaning as soon as these two fragile elements are suggests an autonomous process of transformation which combined. To create a three-dimensional form using characterises form as a suspended state, a hiatus in time. breath is to inject the content of our own body into the object, so as to give it its final shape. It is, by virtue of its plastic qualities, as though suspended between material and 3. Flux immaterial.

Form, any form, is a transitional state, a temporary stabilising of matter. A diffusional, expansive energy, it is 6. To contain the materialisation of a permanent activity that resonates deep within elements: stone, fire, air, water. It is this To contain is to mould the properties of a content with form, discernible vitality which the monk must meditate, or the or rather to stretch or swell so as to duplicate the precious artist whose gestures, breathing and rhythm will align to weight held in check. Form symbolises how emptiness and express the vibrations of the cosmos as he experiences fullness are mutually engendered; how surface tension or imagines them. Many spiritual doctrines take root in the is determined by the nature of what is inside and by the belief that a concordance exists between objects, beings effort made to prevent it from spilling outside its contours. and the world including, in the early modern era, the The dynamic simplicity of archaic forms provides modern Gnostic and theosophical movements inspired by Oriental silhouettes with a repertoire suited to industrial processes. philosophies. 7. To cut

To cut is a symbolic act whose importance is underscored by the quality of the objects associated with it. They are both tools and emblems that derive their prestige from the finite nature of the act they are designed to perform. Symbolising the original decision, the separation between day and night, life and death, determinate and indeterminate, intimate and cosmic, the blade – and the cut it makes – is a simple form with a powerful theological and political content which, after the Second World War, enabled art to break free and found a new aesthetic.

3 Simple Shapes

8. Beyond geometry 10. mathematical shapes

Geometry studies, ex nihilo, the properties of space by By giving form to functions that reveal the invisible expressing in numerical form the relationships between movements and physical consequences of their calculations point, line, plane and volume. A mathematical and symbolic using mathematical objects first described in the 1870s, instrument, geometry serves to depict, calculate and scientists invented an unexpected repertoire of forms understand how the world is organised and the properties of that prompted a sudden shift in artistic references, things. Since the age, Man has invented complex an abstraction prior to abstraction. Artists' interest in forms to express combinations and figures that would mathematics goes far back, to the invention of perspective. become the basis for creation, the best-known example In the twentieth century, mathematicians' new hypotheses being the five Platonic solids. While artists in the twentieth gave credence to the ideas of the cubists, constructivists century believed that geometry, because of its apparent and surrealists. As this desire to represent imperceptible objectivity, could be the path towards a new and universal dynamics grew, new simple forms emerged. art, Euclidian geometry is here referred to from a different perspective. Simple forms appear to belong not to the mental permanence of concepts but to the dynamic of life. 11. Nature, biomorphism Their presence is influenced by evolutions in geology and advances in non-Euclidean geometry. They invite us to Since , and more specifically over the last venture beyond traditional geometry. two centuries, living things, the life cycle of plants, their morphogenesis, cellular development, diversity, reproduction and decline have given rise to biological 9. Shapes-forces studies, illustrations and photographic representations which identify and develop models for their essential Forces mastered by new material physics and the stages. The physiological mechanisms of plants' cellular and subsequent possibilities thrown open by the ingenuity molecular functioning were described in the early twentieth of engineers were of critical importance to art. Whereas century. Artists took inspiration from this new repertoire of proportion had always been central to architecture, forms, seizing upon the leaf's contours, pliancy, decorative or construction now revolved around analytical reasoning, symbolic value, or the maturation of a piece of fruit. These the being an iconic example. New materials are analogies, not representations, which give a newly poetic such as iron, steel and reinforced concrete, the feat these form to the principles that presided over their creation. constructions represent, as well as economies in materials and means produce effects of constraint, tension and balance, and the new emotions they convey became an 12. generating shapes inspiration for artists. The forces of fertility are often symbolised by forms that are associated with generation and the sacred. The cosmic egg, lingam and standing stones express causal principles that are worshipped in numerous religions. The forms which represent them are pure, perfect - like the ovoid form of the egg - and transitory, because they contain life in evolution. Artists of every period have seized upon these forms and made them the subject of symbolic reflection, even though the fundamental principles of fertilisation and embyrogenesis were not understood until the nineteenth century.

4 Simple Shapes

13. Human Silhouettes 16. Weight of things

Ancient civilisations offer many examples of how the Certain forms appear to result exclusively from the destiny human body can be depicted with extraordinarily simplicity, of the substance from which they are made and which, whether Cycladic heads or the silhouettes of predynastic allowed to move freely in space and time, is frozen where Egypt. These pure forms immediately captivated western it falls. This section shows forms which, like a dress whose artists when they were rediscovered at the very end of the elegant drape we admire, through the effect of gravity, nineteenth century. Sculptors such as Constantin Brancusi create new figures. In doing so they show how the materials and reproduced Cycladic idols whose that compose them resist or accommodate the laws of stylised, dynamic contours are a condensation of the human physics. form. By representing the body in its most essential aspect, the artist forgoes the notion of identity in favour of a synoptic expression of human vitality. Silhouettes and faces 17. Enigmas no longer represent a single individuality but humanity as a whole. The form offers itself fully, in all its simplicity. Nothing is withheld, yet whoever contemplates it cannot help but see in it a symbol, a carefully composed mystery, an enigma. There 14. animal Silhouettes is an order, it seems, to its facets yet these mute figures continue to greet us with haughty silence, refusing to deliver These animal silhouettes contain and condense the the solution. Astonished by such enduring fascination, we impression of speed associated with their representational read a primordial complexity into this simplicity, as though form. Certain oceanic stones, in their natural or barely the very necessity which seems to have presided over their transformed state, embody power and sacred energy in their creation had instilled in them an essential revelation which pure, zoomorphic line, the repository of an ancestor or a could never be put into words, and which is the ultimate divinity. This energy, which defies the image and takes over explanation of their power of attraction. space, enables the artist to capture its principle through elision, conserving only the alert and powerful efficiency of life. The simple or simplified form suggests the animal as it leaps or flees. It relates movement in exactly the opposite way to chronophotography which, in the late nineteenth century, multiplied the number of views to capture the many details of the animal in motion.

15. Objects with poetic reaction

There is an imperceptible stage at which the mind spontaneously completes the as yet still absent form. This is the fragile moment when a stone is still completely a stone, yet already something else; the moment when it is both matter and form. The stones which collected are symptomatic of those objects which from ordinary become "objects of poetic reaction", to borrow Le Corbusier's phrase, because they contain analogical and metaphorical propositions. Whereas found objects are eroded by nature, used objects are eroded by the forces that pitilessly fashion them. New forms appear, intended as the perfect tool, shaped through repeated gestures, carved through matter rubbed against matter. Through the very weakening inflicted by time, the form grows stronger. It relates the persistence of time on matter that elicits emotion, and the ghosts of those who used them appear in the ultimately rarefied material.

5 Simple Shapes 3. Interview with JEAN DE LOISY, PIERRE-ALEXIS DUMAS and LAURENT LE BON JEAN DE LOISY, PRESIDENT OF PALAIS DE TOKYO AND CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION SIMPLES Shapes PIERRE-ALEXIS DUMAS, PReSIDENT of FONDATION D’ENTREPRISE HERMÈS LAURENT LE BON, DIRECToR of CENTRE POMPIDOU-METZ

How did the Simple Shapes project come about? They are neither simplistic, nor negative, nor rapid, nor minimalist. They are, perhaps, in fact highly complex shapes Pierre-Alexis Dumas: From the very beginning of the beneath a seemingly simple appearance. Hermès foundation, we wanted to work with cultural establishments on the conception of an exhibition. It's J. L.: The simple shape is determined by the artist's important for us at the Foundation to be able to develop arbitrary choices and by the rules of physics. It is always projects and bring them to fruition. The exhibition is the caught between the two, and this tension is central to the result of our meeting Jean de Loisy, and the discussion that exhibition. followed on this notion of the simple shape.

Laurent Le Bon: It's actually a triangle… Jean de Loisy, Modern artists have seized upon these shapes, but where who'd had this idea in mind for a while, mentioned it to me do they originate? just as we, at Centre Pompidou-Metz, were putting together a programme of themed exhibitions that would consider art J. L.: Historically speaking, these shapes were very much history from a particular perspective. The project then came in evidence in archaic societies, then disappeared in the together around the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, almost west around the fifth century B.C. They then reappeared – three years ago. and in this respect the subject is modernity – in the late eighteenth century under a threefold influence. Firstly the Jean de Loisy: That's right. I'd spoken to Laurent Le Bon archaeological discoveries which fascinated artists, from about this idea which was going through my mind. When I Egyptomania to the important excavations undertaken in met Pierre-Alexis Dumas, it was still just an intention which Greece in the nineteenth century, one consequence of which had yet to take shape. It came up in the conversation, and was the rediscovery of Cycladic civilisation. Then technology the exhibition developed on three pillars: art, the hand (the and all that engineers were able to achieve, Eiffel being a tool, if you will) and nature. foremost example, as well as a sort of gnosticism which sparked renewed interest in primordial shapes that express the relationship between man and the cosmos. Lastly What is a simple shape? mathematics and science, particularly biology which at that time was especially focused on the growth of bones, cells, J. L.: Certain shapes give the impression they have an inner plants, etc. There are some very precise references whereby energy. They go beyond their geometric definition without such and such a biologist influences Henry Moore, or one or losing their unity. other engineer Brancusi.

P.-A. D.: I would say the simple shape results from a sum P.-A. D.: The re-emergence of simple shapes is also linked of constraints which are imposed on the material. It is the to disciplines such as anthropology, with the discovery of minimum equilibrium between constraints and function; other cultures and an influx of objects from Oceania or a mystery, and a constant source of wonder and emotions. , for example.etc. L. L. B.: I'm tempted to explain simple shapes by antithesis.

6 Simple Shapes

J. L.: Absolutely! The rediscovery of these archaic J. L.: Whether it's an Arp, a Matisse, a Brancusi: these are societies… inaugural shapes. Brancusi's Bird in Space is an example. Such a shape had never been seen before, yet it feels P.-A. D.: …certain of which are still alive. Every culture incredibly familiar. We aren't surprised by what we see and has its archetypal shapes which have come through the still we cannot take our eyes off it. We can say the same of centuries as small objects, forming an unbroken thread. It's the moon or the sea: these are shapes that hold our gaze. fascinating.

J. L.: That's one reason these shapes are so captivating. Is there a universal quality to the exhibition? They are the present aspect of what is generally a very ancient memory. J. L.: The utopia which underpinned the invention of the simple shape, in the 1910s and 1920s, developed as part of the hypothesis that a universal modernity did exist. This will How did this exhibition fit with programming at Centre be very much in evidence in the exhibition: every culture is Pompidou-Metz? mentioned at some point or other, not because we want to give an exhaustive view, but because a Japanese bowl, an L. L. B.: Simple Shapes will coincide with our fourth Egyptian vase, an Iranian shape or a Syrian idol will feature anniversary. It's more than a symbol; since Masterpieces? in the same way as a modern work. An axe which has been in our first year, each summer has been marked by a major polished in New Zealand, the Pyrenees or the Negev desert event on a specific theme. Simple Shapes is a part of this is almost the same. There is an attention to shape which all polyptych which, I think, is gradually forging our identity as cultures share. part of the Lorraine region.

Is the concept of beauty part of the exhibition equation? How is the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès contributing to the organisation of this exhibition? J. L.: In this instance we're looking at a very particular, calm beauty; one that appears as obvious to us as a piece L. L. B.: This is a long-term partnership and a project of fruit. More than beauty, I prefer the theme of fascination centred on dialogue. The Foundation is attentive and has in the sense that we should be moved by something which been present from the moment we put the very first ideas on seems devoid of complexity. The simple shape affects us paper. I believe the future of cultural adventures lies with with an evident modesty: the artist's ego is absent. Of strong, ethical publicprivate partnerships. course we recognise an Arp, but were we to place it next to a Brancusi and an archaic Greek , the difference P.-A. D.: This idea of a collective work is extremely would be hard to spot. This is why the foremost artists have important to us at the Foundation. We are an active approached the simple shape knowing they must relinquish contributor to the project at Centre Pompidou-Metz but a part of their personality with no involvement in artistic content or programming. It's highly motivating at a time when we are working to promote P.-A. D.: The individual gives way to an archetypal shape, a form of patronage that is as virtuous as possible, meaning using their talent to bring a shape into the world. In my one that is truly in the public's interest. mind, beauty is very much present but it constantly eludes us.

The exhibition design emphasises sensations. What What do you hope to convey to the public? prompted this choice? J. L.: I want the public to think about why they are J. L.: Because works which have simple shapes appeal fascinated by these shapes. There is something that is directly to the collective sensibility, even if their particular beyond intellectual comprehension, something which can theoretical or historical background can be complex. only be grasped intuitively

L. L. B.: It's also a very structured layout which draws on P.-A. D.: I hope this exhibition will intrigue people and Centre Pompidou's rich collections. Each section has its invite them to reflect on the question of form. We live in strengths: if one were missing, the whole architecture would a material society, surrounded by objects, and so it seems collapse. The same is true of the two hundred works in healthy that we should look again at form. the exhibition: there isn't a single one that could be easily replaced by another. J. L.: The exhibition stages a conversation between artists up to twenty thousand years apart. What matters is to P.-A. D.: Certain shapes are deeply moving. There are show how, using different techniques, they continue to ask several ways to approach the exhibition; most of all though, themselves the same fundamental questions about man's it will inspire contemplation. I cannot imagine that anyone presence among matter, the universe and nature, and that will be indifferent to the works on show. they can answer these questions with different shapes.

This article first appeared in d’Hermès, n° 64, January 2014. Interview by Marylène Malbert.

7 Simple Shapes 4. List of Artists

A J R ARP Jean Janssens Ann Veronica REDON Odilon Richter Gerhard B K ROME DE L'ISLE (de) Jean- BACKER Jacob Adriaensz Kapoor Anish Baptiste Louis BÉOTHY Étienne (Béöthy István, KELLER FRÈRES (Jean- ROSSO Medardo dit) Balthazar and BILL Max Jean-Jacques Keller, dits) S BLOSSFELDT Karl Kelly Ellsworth Saulnier Emmanuel BRANCUSI Constantin KLEIN Yves SALVIATI Francesco BRASSAÏ (Gyula Halász, dit) KRULL Germaine Scheidegger Ernst KUPKA (František Kupka, dit) SCHWITTERS Kurt C SÉRUSIER Paul CAGE John L SETSUDÕ Joun CÉSAR LE CORBUSIER (Charles- José María CÉZANNE Paul Édouard SMITH Tony CORMÉRY Jean-François Jeanneret-Gris, dit) STEICHEN Edward Couturier Marc LE RICOLAIS Robert STRÜWE Carl Cruz-Díez Carlos Sugimoto Hiroshi M D (Emmanuel T DOMINICIS (DE) Gino Rudzitsky, dit) Tillmans Wolfgang DUCHAMP Marcel MAPPLETHORPE Robert Tosani Patrick DÜRER Albrecht MAREY Étienne-Jules Tsai Charwei MATISSE Henri E McCall Anthony U Eliasson Olafur MCCRACKEN John Ufan Lee EVANS Walker McElheny Josiah MOHOLY-NAGY László V F MOKUAN Obaku Verdier Fabienne FONTANA Lucio MOORE Henry Fritscher W N WESTON Edward G Neto Ernesto GABO Naum Neu Patrick Y GESSHIN Wada NEWMAN Barnett Yonezawa Jiro GIACOMETTI Alberto P H PAIK Nam June HEPWORTH Barbara PERRET FRÈRES (Auguste and Gustave Perret, dits) PERRIAND Charlotte PEVSNER Antoine

8 Simple Shapes 5. Lenders

Germany

AVIGNON BERLIN Musée Calvet Neugerriemschneider

Universität der Künste CLAMART

Fondation Arp HANOVer

Sprengel Hannover, Sammlung NORD/LB in der Niedersächsischen CONCARNEAU Sparkassenstiftung Musée de la Pêche COLOGNE LES EYZIES-DE-TAYAC Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur Musée national de Préhistoire

LYON BELGIum Bibliothèque municipale de

Musée des Confluences ANtwerp Musée du quai Branly Collection Sylvio Perlstein Musée national des asiatiques Guimet

Musée Rodin United states Muséum national d’histoire naturelle

SAGE Paris CHICAGO

The Field Museum METZ

Musée de la Cour d’Or LOS ANGELES

Centre Pompidou Foundation PARIS

Archives Perriand NEW YORK Bibliothèque nationale de France American Museum of Natural History Centre national des arts plastiques Andrea Rosen Gallery Centre Pompidou Collection Bobbie Foshay César Estate Courtesy Tanya Bonakdar Gallery Cinémathèque française Collection Gian Enzo Sperone Cité de la Musique – musée de la Musique Sperone Westwater Gallery Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine The Museum of Modern Art

9 Simple Shapes

Collection André Magnin SÉLESTAT

Collection Antoine de Galbert Frac Alsace

Collection David Fleiss TOULOUSE Collection FAJ Les Abattoirs Collection Galerie Maeght

Collection Jean-Christophe Charbonnier United Kingdom École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts

Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti LEEDS Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, for the work Souffle, created on special Leeds and Galleries order by Susanna Fritscher, with Les Cristalleries Saint-Louis

Fondation Le Corbusier LONDon

Galerie Chantal Crousel Lisson Gallery

Galerie Kamel Mennour Tate

Galerie Le Minotaure The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

Galerie Mor.Charpentier University of the Arts London –Archives and Special Collections Centre – London College of Communication Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

Galerie Tornabuoni Art OXFORD

Institut Henri-Poincaré Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology

Les Arts décoratifs PERRY GREE Mingei Arts Gallery The Henry Moore Foundation Musée Cernuschi, musée des Arts de l’Asie de la Ville de Paris

Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris SWITZERLAND Musée des Arts et Métiers – Cnam

Musée d’Orsay GENeVa Musée du Collection Ahrenberg SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE ZURICH Musée d’Archéologie nationale et Domaine national de Saint-Germain- Fondation Hubert Looser en-Laye Galerie Gmurzynska

10 Simple Shapes 6. Echoing Simple Shapes : simple Gestures F rom 18 September 2014 to February 2015 La Grande Place, musée du cristal Saint-Louis

The mind makes the hand, the hand makes the mind. The gesture which does not create, the empty gesture, provokes and defines the state of consciousness. The gesture which creates exerts a continuous action on inner life. The hand wrenches the sense of touch from its merely receptive passivity and prepares it for experience and action. It teaches man to conquer space, weight, density and quantity. It fashions a new world and leaves its imprint everywhere upon it. It pits itself against the matter it transforms, the shape it transfigures. Educator of man, the hand multiplies him in space and time.

Henri Focillon, In Praise of the Hand (1934)

Beginning September 18th 2014, La Grande Place, Musée du Since 2008, Fondation d’entreprise Hermès has initiated Cristal Saint-Louis in Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche will present exhibitions in its six gallery spaces (Brussels, Berne, New Simples Gestures as a counterpoint to Simple Shapes. York, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo). Simple Gestures will be the first in a programme of exhibitions at La Grande Place, Simples Gestures highlights man's ability to invent or repeat Musée du Cristal Saint-Louis in Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche. gestures from which a work, dance, language or other will Each year, the Foundation will propose two exhibitions originate. In doing so, it emphasises the importance of whose main focus will be contemporary creation. Thematic Action when creating a form. group shows for the most part, they will consider glass or techniques, although the door will remain open to other The exhibition is staged inside Cristalleries Saint-Louis themes. whose mastery of the art and techniques of crystal is beyond compare. Whereas Simple Shapes focuses on the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès will invite a cultural fascination exerted by the objects themselves, Simple institution in the Lorraine region to curate three consecutive Gestures will instead bring to the fore the ephemeral lines exhibitions in this space. drawn by man in the course of this Action. Centre Pompidou-Metz is the guest institution for 2014 and The artists chosen for this exhibition show how a gesture 2015. can become music, dance or sculpture…

Curators : Jean de Loisy, President of Palais de Tokyo Sandra Adam-Couralet, independent curator

11 Simple Shapes 7. Credits Simple shapes is a Centre Pompidou-Metz And Fondation d'entreprise Hermès Coproduction. exhibition Sacha Menasce Metz Métropole Representatives Qualified Contributors Public Relations Manager Jean-Luc Bohl Frédéric Lemoine Curator Clémence Miralles-Fraysse President Chief Executive Officer of Wendel Jean de Loisy Head of project Arlette Mathias Patrick Weiten Manon Renonciat-Laurent Vice President President of Department Associate curators Head of project Margaux Antoine-Fabry Council Sandra Adam-Couralet Community Councillor Mouna Mekouar Staff Representatives SIMPLE ShapeS Team Patrick Grivel Djamila Clary Project manager Associate Councillor Pierre-Alexis Dumas Chargée des publics et du Éléonore Mialonier Hacène Lekadir President développement des ventes Community Councillor Scenographer Catherine Tsekenis Élodie Stroecken Pierre Muel Laurence Fontaine Director Chargée de coordination du pôle Associate Councillor Manon Renonciat-Laurent programmation Lighting Design Patrick Thil Head of project Julia Kravtsova and Vyara Community Councillor Frédéric Hubin équipe du Stefanova Head of Editorial Image and Centre Pompidou Representatives Centre pompidou-Metz Graphic design Publications Alain Seban Atelier Bastien Morin, Sacha Menasce President Management Gilles Beaujard, Julie Lecœur Public Relations Manager Denis Berthomier Laurent Le Bon [Julie Gilles] General Director Director PRESS Jean-Marc Auvray Claire Garnier Director of Financial and Legal Personal Assistant and Project Fondation d'entreprise Philippe Boulet Affairs Coordinator Press Officer Hermès Bernard Blistène Ina Delcourt Director of Cultural Development General Secretariat The Fondation d’entreprise International Press Office Catherine Guillou Pascal Keller Hermès supports people and Annelise Catineau-Franchet Director of Visitor Services Interim Secretary General organisations seeking to learn, Head of Internation Press Brigitte Léal Hélène de Bisschop perfect, transmit and celebrate Caroline Schwartz-Mailhé Deputy Director of National Legal Advisor the skills and creativity that Head of France Press Museum of Modern Art and Émilie Engler shape and inspire our lives today, collections curator Secretarial Assistant and into the future. Guided by Centre pompidou-Metz Anne Horvath our central focus on artisan Lorraine Region Representatives Secretarial Assistant expertise and creative artistry in Centre Pompidou-Metz is Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé Cécilia Zunt-Radot the context of society’s changing an Établissement Public de Regional Councillor Chargée de mission auprès du needs, the Foundation’s activities Coopération Culturelle (public Josiane Madelaine Directeur et du Secrétariat général explore two complementary establishment for cultural Vice President avenues: know-how and cooperation) whose founding Jean-Pierre Moinaux Department of Administration and creativity, know-how and the members are the French Vice President Finance transmission of skills. State, Centre Pompidou, the Rachel Thomas Rodolphe di Sabatino Lorraine Region, Communauté Vice President Pierre-Alexis Dumas Head of Department d’Agglomération de Metz Roger Tirlicien President Jérémy Fleur Métropole and the City of Metz. Regional Councillor Catherine Tsekenis Chief Accountant Director State Representative Mathieu Grenouillet BOARD OF DIRECTORS Claire Avignon Nacer Meddah Accounts Assistant Executive Assistant Alain Seban Prefect of Lorraine Region, Defence Audrey Jeanront Blandine Buxtorf-D’Oria President and Security Area of Eastern Human Resources Management Head of project France (Zone de Défense et de Assistant Jean-Marie Rausch Frédéric Hubin Sécurité Est), and Moselle Alexandra Morizet Honorary President Head of Editorial Image and Public Contracts Coordinator City of Metz Representatives Publications Jean-Luc Bohl Véronique Muller Dominique Gros Clément Le Duc Vice President Accounts Assistant Mayor of Metz, home city of the Head of project Establishment William Schuman Associate Councillor

12 Simple Shapes

Department of Building Christine Hall Anne-Marine Guiberteau Constat d'état des œuvres Maintenance and Operation AV and IT Technical coordinator Youth Programming and Pascale Accoyer Philippe Hubert Thibault Leblanc Educational Activities Officer Élodie Aparicio-Bentz Technical Director Live Performance Technician Benjamin Milazzo Artwork Insurance Mouhamadi Assani-Bacar Éléonore Mialonier Visitor Relations and Membership Blackwall Green : Robert Graham AV and IT Assistant Project Manager Officer and his team Christian Bertaux Fanny Moinel Anne Oster Head of Building Maintenance Project Manager Schools Relations Officer Inspection Sébastien Bertaux Marie Pessiot Dekra Industrial : Émilie Chief Electrician Live Performance Production Officer Accountant Grandclaudon Vivien Cassar Irène Pomar-Marcos Jean-Eudes Bour Security Technical Coordinator Project Manager Groupe SGP Jean-Philippe Currivant Pouille Trainees Lighting Technical Agent Works Manager Morgane Bielmann Fire Safety Christian Heschung Julie Schweitzer Élise Blin Service départemental d’Incendie et Head of Information Systems Project Manager Marie-Claire d’Aligny de Secours de la Moselle Stéphane Leroy Jeanne Simoni Mélissa Hiebler Mediation Operation Manager Project Manager Mélodie Saillard Phone Régie André Martinez Amandine Such Sophie Smenda Head of Security Production Assistant Nettoyage Jean-David Puttini external service Lustral Painter Department of Programming Hélène Guenin providers Friends of Department of Communications and Head of Department Museographic Layout Development Claire Bonnevie CENTRE POMPIDOU-METZ Lumidéco : Bruno Ischia and his Annabelle Türkis Editor team Friends of Centre Pompidou- Head of Department Géraldine Celli Metz is a non-profit organisation Charline Burger Auditorium Wendel and Studio Painting whose purpose is to accompany Communication and Events Officer Programming Officer Debra Frères : Jacques Debra the Centre in its cultural projects, Noémie Gotti Hélène Meisel and his team and to enlist the support of Communication and Press Officer Research and Exhibition Officer Electrical Set-up and Lighting the business world and private Marie-Christine Haas Alexandra Müller Cofely Ineo GDF Suez : Christophe individuals who wish to make Multimedia Communications Officer Research and Exhibition Officer Lere and his team their contribution. Anne-Laure Miller Dominique Oukkal MPM Équipement : Laurent Capron Communication Officer Manufacturing Coordinator Jean-Jacques Aillagon and his team Amélie Watiez Élodie Stroecken Former Minister of Culture Communication and Events Officer Coordination Assistant AV Installation President JCD Groupe : Fréderic Pernot and Ernest-Antoine Seillière Department of Production Pôle publics his team Vice President Olivia Davidson Aurélie Dablanc Cottel : David Cottel and his team Philippe Bard Head of Department Head of Department President of Demathieu & Bard Shipping and Packing Charline Becker Fedoua Bayoudh Treasurer André Chenue S.A. : Julien Da Costa Project Manager Visitor Relations and Tourism Lotus Mahé Noble and his team Alexandre Chevalier Officer Secretary General Galleries Registrar Djamila Clary Hanging Services Lisa Cartus Jean-Pierre Del Vecchio Visitor Relations and Sales Officer Artrans Axal : Pierre Heinrich and Assistant to the Secretary General Systems and Networks Jules Coly his team Administrator Visitor Relations, Information and Installation, framing and basing Jennifer Gies Accessibility Officer Version bronze : Patrick Ribeiro and Project Manager his team

13 Simple Shapes 8. Centre Pompidou-Metz and Fondation d'entreprise Hermès

Centre Pompidou-Metz and Fondation d'entreprise Hermès Fondation d'entreprise Hermès is concerned with the have joined together to devise and produce Simple Shapes. creativity man employs to shape an object, a tool or an artefact. The Foundation and Centre Pompidou-Metz have Centre Pompidou-Metz is the first offshoot of a major therefore joined together to give a wide audience a new French cultural institution, Centre Pompidou, in partnership view of objects in their purest shape, and of the creative with regional authorities. An independent body, Centre energy released through the interaction of man and nature. Pompidou-Metz benefits from the experience, expertise and international reputation of Centre Pompidou. It shares with Fondation d’entreprise Hermès supports people and its older sibling values of innovation and generosity, and the organisations seeking to learn, perfect, transmit and same determination to engage a wide public through multi- celebrate the skills and creativity that shape and inspire our disciplinary programming. lives today, and into the future. Guided by a central focus on artisan expertise and creative artistry, the Foundation’s Centre Pompidou-Metz produces temporary exhibitions activities explore two complementary avenues: know-how which draw on loans from the holdings of Centre and creativity, know-how and the transmission of skills. Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne. With more than 100,000 works, it is the largest collection of modern and The Foundation develops its own projects: exhibitions in Europe and the second largest in the and artists' residencies in visual arts, the New Settings world. programme for the performing arts, the Prix Émile Hermès international design award, the Skills Academy, and Centre Pompidou-Metz also develops partnerships with projects in favour of biodiversity. It also supports partner museums around the world. A programme of dance, music, organisations working in these areas around the globe. films, lectures and children's workshops further explore themes raised in the exhibitions. The Foundation's unique mix of programmes and support is rooted in a single, underlying belief: Our gestures define us. www.centrepompidou-metz.fr www.fondationdentreprisehermes.org

14 Simple Shapes 9. partners of Centre Pompidou-Metz

Centre Pompidou-Metz is the first offshoot of a major French cultural institution, Centre Pompidou, in partnership with regional authorities. An independent body, Centre Pompidou-Metz benefits from the experience, expertise and international reputation of Centre Pompidou. It shares with its older sibling values of innovation and generosity, and the same determination to engage a wide public through multi-disciplinary programming.

Centre Pompidou-Metz produces temporary exhibitions which draw on loans from the holdings of Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne. With more than 100,000 works, it is the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe and the second largest in the world.

Centre Pompidou-Metz also develops partnerships with museums around the world. A programme of dance, music, films, lectures and children's workshops further explore themes raised in the exhibitions.

Financial support is provided by Wendel, its founding sponsor.

GRAND MECENE DE LA CULTURE

15 Simple Shapes

Founding Sponsor

GRAND MECENE DE LA CULTURE

Wendel, Founding Sponsor of the Centre Pompidou-Metz

"A Founding Sponsor since 2010, Wendel is extremely proud to pledge its fiveyear commitment to the Centre Pompidou-Metz, an initiative which will enable the company to support a flagship project for the Lorraine region, birthplace of the Group and its founding families. We wanted this partnership to adhere to our corporate values of long-term investing, which is a synonym for loyalty and solidarity in our commitments, innovation, which we believe is key to creating not only economic value but also human and artistic activities, and the ambition to step up our international influence in a French region located in the heart of Europe," highlighted Frédéric Lemoine, President of Wendel’s Executive Board, and Ernest-Antoine Seillière, Vice President of the Friends of the Wendel Foundation and a benefactor of the Centre Pompidou-Metz.

Wendel is one of the leading investment companies in Europe, acting as an investor and professional shareholder, promoting the long-term development of companies which are global leaders in their sectors: Bureau Veritas, Legrand, Saint-Gobain, Materis, Stahl and Mecatherm.

Founded in 1704 in Lorraine, Wendel Group was committed during 270 years to the development of various activities, especially of the steel industry, before beginning a long- term investor in the late .

The Group is supported by its reference family shareholder, made up of more than one thousand individual Wendel family shareholders, who are united in the family company Wendel-Participations, which owns 35% of Wendel.

Press Relations: Christine Anglade-Pirzadeh : + 33 (0) 1 42 85 63 24 [email protected] Christèle Lion + 33 (0) 1 42 85 91 27 [email protected]

www.wendelgroup.com

16 Simple Shapes 10. Visuals for the Press

Visuals of works in the exhibition, amongst them the Login: presse images below, can be downloaded at the following address: Password: Pomp1d57 centrepompidou-metz.fr/phototheque

Pyramidion of Ben-neben-sekhaef, K UPKA (Kupka Krantisek, known Charwei Tsai, Circle II Etienne Béothy (Beöthy Istvan, Egypt, 21st Dynasty, 1069-945 B.C. as), Abstraction Noir et Blanc known as), Rythmes entrecroisés, [Black and White Abstraction], Colour video, silent, 56 seconds 1937 [Interwoven Rhythms] Limestone, 47 × 48 × 50.5 cm circa 1930-1933 Courtesy of the artist and galerie Mor.Charpentier, Department of Egyptian , Musée du Paris Amaranth wood, 115 × 27.3 × 26.5 cm Louvre, Paris Black and white gouache and graphite on paper, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, 28.3 × 28 cm © Charwei Tsai Paris © Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais - © Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Georges Poncet Paris © ADAGP, Paris 2014 Gift from Ms Eugenie Kupka, 1963 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- Grand Palais / Philippe Migeat © ADAGP, Paris 2014 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- Grand Palais / Jean-Claude Planchet

Constantin Brancusi, L'Oiseau dans Constantin Brancusi, L'Oiseau dans GE90 Design Team, Jet Engine Fan Barbara Hepworth, Single Form, l'espace [Bird in Space], 1936 l'espace [Bird in Space], black Blade (model GE90-115B), 2011 Holly wood, 1937 marble, vers 1936 Plaster, 183.5 × 14 × 15.5 cm Composite fibre resin, polyurethane coating, Holly wood, 89,8 x 28 x 17,6 cm Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, titanium, 121.9 × 58.4 × 43.2 cm Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery) Paris Paris The Museum of Modern Art, New York Bequest from Constantin Brancusi, 1957 © Bowness, Hepworth Estate © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © 2014. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, © ADAGP, Paris 2014 Grand Palais / Jacques Faujour New York/Scala, Florence © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © Adagp, Paris 2014 Grand Palais / Philippe Migeat

17 Simple Shapes

Rhyton, Italia (?), second half of Ist Marcel Duchamp, Air de Paris [Air Kandéla, 3Grèce, Ancient Cycladic I Anthony McCall, Line describing a century A.C. from Paris], 1919/1939 (3200-2700 B.C.) cone, 1973

Mouth-blown glass ; height 20 cm, diameter 6 cm Miniature reproduction of the original, edited for Marble, 28 x 28 cm Cinematic installation, varying dimensions Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman la Boîte-en-valise Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Collection of the artist Antiquities, Musée du Louvre, Paris Glass, 4 x 2,5 x 2,5 cm Antiquities, Musée du Louvre, Paris Collection E. Durand, 1825 Collection David Fleiss, Paris Anonymous gift in memory of E. Bizot, 1993 © Anthony McCall Galerie 1900-2000, Paris © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Hervé © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Tony Lewandowski © Succession Marcel Duchamp / Adagp, Querrec Paris 2014

Barnett Newman, U ntitled (The Top, Borneo Island, Dayak people, Anonymous, Steel piece for a plane, Robert Le Ricolais, Pre-tensionned Break), 1946 undated vers 1943 Monkey Saddle, 1958

India ink on rag paper pasted on canvas, 91,5 × Sculpted wood, height 13,5 cm, diameter 23 cm Silver gelatine print, 20,6 x 25,4 cm Lacquered and bent steel tube, tension cables, 61 cm Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, 18.5 × 53 × 55 cm Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris Paris Centre Pompidou Foundation Paris Donation , 1989 ; location: Les Location: Musée national d'art moderne, 2010 Gift from Ms Annalee Newman, 1986, through Abattoirs, Toulouse Bequest from Constantin Brancusi, 1957 Art and Culture Foundation © ADAGP, Paris 2014 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMNGrand © All rigths reserved © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © 2014 The Barnett Newman Foundation / ADAGP, Palais / Jean-Claude Planchet © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- Grand Palais / Bertrand Prévost Paris Grand Palais / Philippe Migeat © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Jacques Faujour

Yonezawa Jiro, Bridge, 2007 Max Bill, U nendliche Schleife, Man Ray (known as), Radnitzky José María Sicilia, The Instant, 2013 version IV, (1960-1961) Emmanuel, Objet mathématique Bamboo, cane, cedar roots, lacquer, 21 x 103,5 [Mathematical Object], 1934-1936 Gold (18 kt), bird song (nightingale), 3.50 x 12.20 x 13,6 cm Grey granite from Wassen, 130 × 175 × 90 cm x 7.50 cm Mingei Arts Gallery, Paris Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Silver gelatine print, 30 × 24 cm Paris Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Courtesy from the artiste and Galerie Chantal © Photo Pascal Goetgheluck Purchase by the State, 1962 Paris Crousel, Paris © Mingei Arts Gallery, Paris Bequest, 1994 © ADAGP, Paris 2014 © Rebecca Fanuele © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris 2014 Grand Palais / Jacqueline Hyde © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- Grand Palais / Georges Meguerditchian

18 Simple Shapes

Jean Arp, Bourgeon [Bud], 1935 Jean Arp, Coquille formée par une Karl Blossfeldt, Aristolochia Karl Blossfeldt, Equisetum main humaine [Shell formed by a clematitis. Aristoloche clématite, hyemale. Prêle d’hiver, Extrêmité Plaster, 40,5 x 19 x 20 cm human hand], 1935 Pointe foliaire [Leaf Point] d’une jeune pousse [Winter Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Horsetail. End of a Young Shoot], Paris Plaster, 47 × 74 × 43 cm Silver gelatine print, 30,1 x 20,1 cm avant 1926 Seizure by the Customs Administration, 1996 ; Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Archives, collection Karl Blossfeldt, Université location: Fondation Arp, Clamart Paris des Arts, Berlin ; location: Die Photographische © L’Université des Arts de Berlin, Archives, Seizure by the Customs Administration, 1996 ; Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Collection Karl Blossfeldt, en dépôt de longue © ADAGP, Paris 2014 location: Fondation Arp, Clamart durée à Die Photographische Sammlung/SK © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © L’Université des Arts de Berlin Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Grand Palais / Adam Rzepka © ADAGP, Paris 2014 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © L’Université des Arts de Berlin Grand Palais / Adam Rzepka

Edward Steichen, Le Syros Group, Head of a female Constantin Brancusi, Le Poisson Brassaï (Gyula Halász, known as) Commencement du monde [The figurine from Keros,Greece, ancient [The Fish], 1924 Oiseau 2 [Bird 2], 1960 Cycladic II (2700-2300 B.C.) Beginning of the World], 1920 Bleached plaster, 13,5 x 43 x 2,5 cm Black marble, 11 × 5.5 × 1.5 cm Marble, 27 × 14 × 10 cm Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Silver gelatine print, 25,6 x 20,1 cm Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Paris Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Antiquities, Musée du Louvre, Paris Bequest from Constantin Brancusi, 1957 Paris Paris Gift from Rayet, 1873 Bequest from Constantin Brancusi, 1957 Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Hervé © Palais / Adam Rzepka © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- Grand Palais / Georges Meguerditchian Lewandowski © ADAGP, Paris 2014 Grand Palais / Guy Carrard © Brassaï Estate © The Estate of Edward Steichen / Adagp, Paris, 2014

Standing stone, Syria, Tell Brak, Man Ray (known as), Radnitzky Mortar and pestle, Abri des Odilon Redon, Le Boulet [The Ball], middle Bronze age (600-1400 av. Emmanuel, Lampshade, 1919-1954 Marseilles (Dordogne), Middle vers 1882 J.-C.) Magdalenian, (15th-14th millenniums Painted aluminium, 152,5 x 63,5 cm B.C.) Musée d'Orsay, Paris Basalt, 73 x 53 x 40 cm Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'Art moderne Location: Musée du , Paris Department of Oriental Antiquities, Musée du Bequest, 1994 Limestone, 34 × 28 cm Louvre, Paris Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, musée national de © RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Michèle Gift from Cdt Muller and father Poidebard, 1930 © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris 2014 Préhistoire Bellot © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN- © Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Grand Palais / Jacques Faujour © MNP, Les Eyzies, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Etienne Revault Philippe Jugie

19 Simple Shapes Notes

20 BAT_DP_COVER_v1.indd 3-4 09/05/12 11:56 , 2011, The Museum of Modern Art

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ngine Fan Blade (model G ngine Fan

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et 90 Design Team, J 90 Design Team, E Jean Pigozzi, – The Pigozzi Collection CAAC / image courtesy Palais RMN-Grand Mnam-Cci, Dist. Pompidou, © Jean Pigozzi / Centre Musée national d’art moderne, Paris Pompidou, Centre © 2014. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence York/Scala, image, The Museum of Modern Art, New © 2014. Digital Morin design: Bastien Graphic G

Contacts presse Press contacts Centre Pompidou-Metz Claudine Colin Communication Annabelle Türkis Noémie Gotti Annabelle Türkis Diane Junqua Head of Communications and Development Communications and press Officer +33Responsable (0)3 87 15 du 39 pôle 66 +33 (0)1(0)3 42 87 72 15 60 39 01 63 [email protected] et Développement [email protected]@centrepompidou-metz.fr +33 (0)3 87 15 39 66 [email protected] Noémie Gotti Chargée de communication et presse +33 (0)3 87 15 39 63 [email protected]