"If the echo of their voices should fade, we shall perish." --Paul Éluard
I began drafting this post in transit to Prague while listening to US news, cringing as more stories of book bans, fear mongering against drag, and the tightening grip on the throat of women's reproductive rights command the headlines. Everything screams backward, not forward. Me over We.
Not what you expected as the opener to an art and architecture piece, right? But these topics are inextricably linked. All the art and architecture around us is telling a story these cities want us to hear and remember. Rooted in a motivation that in itself is - to me - as fascinating as the finished product. They also convey a sense of permanence; either at conception or by collection or restoration, from celebration to condemnation, they were meant to stand the test of time.
We live in the disposable era. The FOMO era. Or maybe better said the FOBIU era: Fear of Being Ignored and Unseen. Combatting that fear? Fire hose, temporary, disposable content flooding our screens. We're in a volume game because we can be. We can each opine how good or bad that is, but in my view it makes so much of what we do utterly forgettable and temporary.
The temperament of this article centers on a simple question: what if these walls could speak? In an era of fast and forgettable, what lessons are these long-standing structures and works of art saying to us?
Enjoy the spaces, places and objects that spoke to me in Lyon and what I heard.
National Art Museum of Catalunya and the Gothic Quarter
Allow me a brief Barcelona revisit. I enjoyed the Museum's collection in part for staying true to the region in it's selection of artists and eras. I'll preface these comments by saying I'm not an art expert, just a curious fan. To all you experts reading this, if I'm grossly off the mark, DM me.
The museum had a substantial collection of Gothic era art. I was surprised how graphic various violent acts were represented, especially related to the martyrdom of the 12 apostles. It was as if priority was placed on conveying the violence more than the individuals.
In the Quarter, the city has preserved full or partial structures, including 4 pillars from the first inhabitants dating back to 1 BC, by incorporating them into more recent structures. I saw some of this in Toulouse; rather than salvage and isolate a structure, it is incorporated into another structure. It remains a living part of the community.
These murals and their underlying structures were salvaged from churches and are being restored in the museum. The exhibition recreates the structure - domes, small chapels, archways - that would have originally existed.
In the Gothic Quarter, a few structures remain accessible and parts are restored, but some buildings retain their war scars or are restored from private funding, so you see the effects of 700+ years of aging.
The image below (and atop this post) is a quote from French Surrealist poet Paul Éluard about the importance of ensuring the voices of the Jewish community, members of the French resistance, and their lived experiences, were ever-present and never forgotten in post-WWII life.
Lyon was one of the largest cities in the Vichy region when France split its loyalties in WWII. The Resistance Museum was intentionally built in buildings the Nazis used to arrest, try and deport Jews, other foreigners and members of the Resistance. It is another sobering reminder of how swiftly toxins spread in society.
I was struck by one of the Nazi propaganda posters; Hitler's tactic was to blame others - the Jews, the Free Masons, the "big lie" - for the economic challenges of that time. And in France where those same challenges existed, the blame campaign had a welcome audience.
I'd like to say we've learned our lesson from that, but current events would say otherwise. Book banning, cultural assaults, "witch hunt" rhetoric...sickeningly similar.
The walls of the Resistance Museum weren't whispering, they were shouting how quickly a toxic spark can become a tragic flame.
The Confluence Museum
A bit of this will overlap my previous Lyon post, so apologies to those reading both...
What I loved about the Confluence Museum was the effect it had on me. It was the exact opposite of the Museum of Natural History in NYC. Granted, I have not visited that museum in nearly 10 years so I may be unfairly comparing.
The MNH/NYC has tons of animal species. Room after room, hundreds of specimens. However they came to be - excavated, recreated, stuffed - they are static. We slow-jam the halls which are always packed.
The Confluence Museum, at it's inception, wanted to move away from the static and create interactive, blended experiences. Sure, there are some traditional exhibits and descriptions, but the majority of the space takes visitors on a journey over time, or through a region or era, connecting past to present and future.
Mini movie cubicles, interactive exhibits, large rooms designed into a sequence of smaller, more intimate stages to host small group talks...the architects and exhibition designers did an exquisite job. Sprinkled throughout most exhibits are small video or learning areas related to climate change but without worrying about the scientific terms: why forever chemicals are bad, how new farming practices can make the planet healthier, etc.
This museum is located in Lyon's growing eco-community, a part of the city I thoroughly enjoyed and hope others mimic. I heard - and applaud - the climate change, healthy planet message loud and clear!
Musée des Beaux-Arts
This museum reminded me of a slightly smaller Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Ranging from ancient Egyptian and Greek artifacts to 21st century works, it was a great 4-hour visit.
I confess: this museum had been on my list since Day One. It's France, I've been an Impressionist era fan since I was a teen, and I anticipated this museum would have a lovely collection where I could get my fix. It did. I was pleasantly surprised to see a multiple Rodins and a Della Robbia (below - Firenze sculptor, a personal fave) en route to the hall with the late 19th century French pieces. All my version of eye candy.
The MdBA whispered reminders what a small group of people yearning to break out of traditional norms are capable of achieving. Like the Catalan Modernists, the French Impressionists left an enduring imprint despite, by comparison, a relatively brief period of time.
Love Della Robbia and always happy when I see one unexpectedly.
Ruins and Murals
During my friend Amanda's fun visit, our 20K step day brought us to some very famous exterior walls made fully accessible, for free, to visitors. Both are designed to remind us of past inhabitants and their contributions to Lyon's current importance as an international commerce hub. The Roman ruins are still used as seating for outdoor performances. Over a dozen murals can be found throughout the city. We found two, one that celebrates many of Lyon's famous citizens (including my favorite, Saint-Exupéry) and one that celebrates the Croix-Rousse neighborhood where Lyon's silk workers lived.
Roman ruins atop Old Lyon
The famed Lyonnaise. Zoom in near the bottom right corner to see Saint-Exupéry and le petit prince.
The silk workers' mural
Now to Prague!
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