le sketch du jour: July 4th, 1980. Beaubourg, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, d’Estaing, some politics.

Centre Georges Pompidou, former meat district, Paris.

The Pompidou Center was a brand new building designed by architects Renzo Piano (Italian, Milan)and Richard Rogers (British, Yale) in 1980 when I was in Paris. It was one of many projects by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The complex, an Art Museum, is in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It is near les halles (the former meat market area), rue montorgueil (where hip Parisians shop, eat, are seen…there’s a Monet painting of this street) and the Marais (first wealthy planned urban shopping and dwelling, Place des Vosges which was mentioned in sketchbook on July 1st. The goal of this museum is very egalitarian, to bring in everyone, even those who would never go to an art museum. This is so different than so many other museums in Paris where I would generalize to say that beyond the tourist, the visitor already feels some degree of appreciation of art.

First, a word about le Centre Georges Pompidou, aka Beauborg. If you really want the architect’s intellectual discussion, here ’tis. But bear with me, if you are working in the field of architecture or construction, it’s useless.

The Photo of my angle from internet.

It was innovative in having services such as staircases, lifts, electrical power conduits and water pipes on the outside, leaving the inside open and uncluttered.

an excerpt from journal notes from 4 July 1980.

As you can see, I saw Pompidou Center commonly called “Beaubourg”. It is pretty exciting-it looks like a “big erector set” as Michael (my teacher from NYC and Parsons) said.  It is exciting because it is so big, so high-tech, and so different for this city.  People seem to really enjoy it because the square & inside of the center were packed.  Inside was a photography exhibit, an exhibit of old train cars, tents, paintings, Duane Hanson (people in car) – I think it was “leisure activities,” a restaurant on the roof, a museum in the majority of theh building, and an escalator that takes you up through that clear tunnel to the top.  I did all, but none of the museum, and I was there for 2 1/2 hours.  

In the square were bagpipes, mimes, dancers, beggars, some religious group, and a man with chaings aound him that passed around a bucket for money.  There was also a belly dancer.  Definitely a must of things to do in Paris, but it does take a whole afternoon. 

And here’s some politics about France if anyone cares. 

Beaubourg was initiated under Pompidou, but under d’Estaing’s leadership was completed along with Valéry’s other far-reaching infrastructure projects, the TGV and the turn towards nuclear power as France’s main energy source. He suffered from the economic downturn from the ’73 energy crisis marking the end of the “30 glorious years after World War II.” Official discourse stated that the “end of the tunnel was near”.

A bit of background, he was a centre-right politician and liberal on social issues in the Catholic country of divorce, contraception, and abortion. He was opposed by Mitterand, of the newly-unified left, and from a rising Jacques Chirac who resurrected Gaullis (with whom d’Estaing had broken ranks) on a right-wing opposition line and was not re-elected after his tenure in ’81.  He supported the United States of Europe and the later EU.

One quote of his in particular, from an article he wrote for Le Monde^[10] and published in that newspaper on 15 June 2007, that “public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals we dare not present to them directly”, was consistently highlighted by “No” campaigners (anti EU) as evidence of d’Estaing’s alleged agenda to fool the European public into his proposals. While the quote is accurate, it was part of a critique, taken out of context, of a suggestion made by some unnamed persons. In truth, he went on to reject this course of action by saying, “This approach of ‘divide and ratify’ is clearly unacceptable. Perhaps it is a good exercise in presentation. But it would confirm to European citizens the notion that European construction is a procedure organised behind their backs by lawyers and diplomats.”

He was a a teacher in Montréal in ’48, graduated from École Polytechnique and the École national d’administration from ’49-’51, worked with the Tax and Revenue Service, joined staff of Prime Minister Faure in ’56, sec’y of Finance from ’59-’62, he supported the winning candidate Georges Pompidou and returned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and in ’74 at age 48, he was elected to President,In 1974, he was elected President of France at 48, the third youngest president in French history, after Louis Napoleon Bonaparte and Jean Casimir-Perioer. He promised “change in continuity”. He made clear his desire to introduce various reforms and modernise French society, which was an important part of his presidency.

And, he was an elegant, articulate man of economics, seemingly free of sexual scandal (a little minor diamond smuggling liaison accusation, but we have money issues in America, too). Pretty amazing for a French politician. 

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