Musings on a Glass Box is a complex work created by the designer Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The work made in onor of the 30th annisersary of the Fondation Cartier will occupy the entire ground floor where a disturbance in the ceiling will trigger a surprising reaction.
From October 25, 2014 to February 22, 2015, the
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will continue
to commemorate its 30th anniversary with Musings on a Glass
Box, a new installation created especially for the occasion by
the internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary design studio
Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The Fondation Cartier building
designed by Jean Nouvel will be used as raw material for
their work, a first in the history of the institution. Musings on a
Glass Box is a complex work occupying the entire ground floor
of the Fondation Cartier, where a disturbance in the ceiling
will trigger a surprising reaction. The result is an immersive
environment, including an integral acoustic component by
American composer David Lang and sound designer Jody Elff,
that works with the building’s architecture to raise questions
about transparency, perception, and one’s relation to space.
Musings on a Glass Box
« Jean Nouvel’s distinctive glass exhibition spaces in the Fondation Cartier have been a provocation to artists and curators for two decades, upending the conventions of the white box gallery and pushing the limits of architecture. The large, transparent walls of the building were at the forefront of glass technology in the ‘90s, aspiring to one of Modernism’s highest goals: to dematerialize the wall and seamlessly connect interior to exterior.
Musings on a Glass Box empties the ground floor galleries in order to put them on display. Their visual and acoustic qualities are heightened through a few strategically placed interventions in the building’s plumbing, electrical, and facade systems. Using a cliché of time lapsed and the appearance of neglect, the project begins with a single, mischievous leak from the ceiling. A response ensues with the aid of a bucket, a chorus, sensors, robotics, remote communications, video, and real-time sound processing. The two ground floor galleries interconnect in a feedback loop. Small gestures in the large gallery are amplified in the smaller one, making the familiar seem uncanny and turning the banal into the grotesque. »
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Press contact:
Matthieu Simonnet and Maïté Perrocheau Tel: +33 (0)1 42185650 Fax: +33 (0)1 42185652
simonnet.matthieu@fondation.cartier.com - perrocheau.maite@fondation.cartier.com
Opening 25 october
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
261, boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday 11am–8pm
Tuesday 11am–10pm