George Pompidou Museum of Modern Art

Visited the Pompidou Museum of Modern Art today. It is named after the French president of the same name whose administration lasted during the late 1960's and early 1970's.

One thing I've learned is that it is very typcal for a French president to try to leave 'his mark' on Paris. For instance, take this museum built by Pompidou and the newest Paris museum, The Museum of Prehistoric Art, which was built under the auspices of the current president, Jaques Chirac.

The museum itself is fantastic, it looks like a giant, colorful erector set (think blast furnace in the morning) so it is very non-Parisian and is no doubt the scorn of many Parisians due to its nontraditional architecture.

The actual art exhibit is relatively small but has some great pieces by Man Ray, Matisse, Salvador Dali, Picasso, Jackson Pollock and others. The focus of the museum is, of course, modern art so there is some very different and interesting works done with film and photography.

The views from the top floor cafe and the famous escalator are fantastic. The link below has some more pictures from the museum. Class starts tomorrow...boo. Enjoy the photos!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59007731@N00/sets/72157594299038503/detail/