Traces du sacré
07 May - 11 Aug 2008
Through a large selection of paintings, sculptures, installations and videos, Traces du Sacré brings together some 350 major works including a number of pieces displayed for the first time in France by close to 200 internationally-renowned artists.
The asserted play of the multidisciplinary approach, around the Traces du Sacré, makes use of all of the Centre Pompidou's components – Videodance, the Cinemas, the spoken Reviews, Society Forums, Live Entertainment, the Ircam (Institute for Music/Acoustic Research and Coordination) and the Public Information Library – to provide films, videos, a show, concerts, a cycle of conferences and a literary colloquium with the exhibition.
At the end of the period commonly known as "disenchantment of the world", a section of modern art reinvented itself in a landscape of overturned beliefs, which continues to contribute to the invention of contemporary forms. Following a journey that embraces the entire history of art in the 20th century, from C.D. Friedrich to Kandinsky, from Malevitch to Picasso and from Barnett Newman to Bill Viola, the exhibition investigates the way in which art continues to demonstrate, often in unexpected forms, a vision that goes beyond the ordinariness of things and how, in a completely secular world, it remains the secular outlet for an irrepressible need for spirituality.
Art would seem to be a characteristic of Homo sapiens; since prehistoric times, it has always appeared in close conjunction with our fundamental interrogations on the questions of who we are, where we come from and what will happen to us. This link between spiritual disquiet and creativity has been deepened by all the great religions. Since the 18th century, in the Western world, the relationship between art and religion has changed considerably. The Reformation, the growth of capitalism, the ideas of the Enlightenment, the cult of reason, and the expansion of cities all led to what Max Weber called "disenchantment of the world". At the same time, the feeling of withdrawing from God as expressed by the Romantic artists, then the announcement that God was dead by Nietzsche at the end of the 19th century, plus the beginnings of psychoanalysis, and advances in physics and Marxism, all led to a rethinking of Man's place in creation, and as a consequence his relationship to religion.
Into this landscape of overturned beliefs, modern art was born. Although during this long process, the secularisation of society delivered artists from their subjection to the Church, the religious crisis did not mean the disappearance of metaphysical questioning. The thesis of this exhibition is that a section of modern and contemporary art was born out of these preoccupations.
The objective of the exhibition is therefore to explore the meanings of the persistence of this investigation throughout the 20th century and to show how – as an essential key to understanding the history of modern art – it continues to contribute to the creation of contemporary forms.
A new system for visitor guidance and participation
- Collaborative annotation system
- Multimedia guides
- Educational tutorials
To enrich the exhibition Traces du sacré (Centre Pompidou, May 7th - August 11th 2008), a new multimedia system is accessible to listen to curators and figures from the world of culture and the art. Visitors can also record their own comments, using the multimedia guide or their mobile phones. Afterwards, visitors will be able to access their audio comments on Internet, modifying, annotating and indexing them, thanks to the software Lignes de temps, before publishing them on a collaborative web site developed for this event.
The asserted play of the multidisciplinary approach, around the Traces du Sacré, makes use of all of the Centre Pompidou's components – Videodance, the Cinemas, the spoken Reviews, Society Forums, Live Entertainment, the Ircam (Institute for Music/Acoustic Research and Coordination) and the Public Information Library – to provide films, videos, a show, concerts, a cycle of conferences and a literary colloquium with the exhibition.
At the end of the period commonly known as "disenchantment of the world", a section of modern art reinvented itself in a landscape of overturned beliefs, which continues to contribute to the invention of contemporary forms. Following a journey that embraces the entire history of art in the 20th century, from C.D. Friedrich to Kandinsky, from Malevitch to Picasso and from Barnett Newman to Bill Viola, the exhibition investigates the way in which art continues to demonstrate, often in unexpected forms, a vision that goes beyond the ordinariness of things and how, in a completely secular world, it remains the secular outlet for an irrepressible need for spirituality.
Art would seem to be a characteristic of Homo sapiens; since prehistoric times, it has always appeared in close conjunction with our fundamental interrogations on the questions of who we are, where we come from and what will happen to us. This link between spiritual disquiet and creativity has been deepened by all the great religions. Since the 18th century, in the Western world, the relationship between art and religion has changed considerably. The Reformation, the growth of capitalism, the ideas of the Enlightenment, the cult of reason, and the expansion of cities all led to what Max Weber called "disenchantment of the world". At the same time, the feeling of withdrawing from God as expressed by the Romantic artists, then the announcement that God was dead by Nietzsche at the end of the 19th century, plus the beginnings of psychoanalysis, and advances in physics and Marxism, all led to a rethinking of Man's place in creation, and as a consequence his relationship to religion.
Into this landscape of overturned beliefs, modern art was born. Although during this long process, the secularisation of society delivered artists from their subjection to the Church, the religious crisis did not mean the disappearance of metaphysical questioning. The thesis of this exhibition is that a section of modern and contemporary art was born out of these preoccupations.
The objective of the exhibition is therefore to explore the meanings of the persistence of this investigation throughout the 20th century and to show how – as an essential key to understanding the history of modern art – it continues to contribute to the creation of contemporary forms.
A new system for visitor guidance and participation
- Collaborative annotation system
- Multimedia guides
- Educational tutorials
To enrich the exhibition Traces du sacré (Centre Pompidou, May 7th - August 11th 2008), a new multimedia system is accessible to listen to curators and figures from the world of culture and the art. Visitors can also record their own comments, using the multimedia guide or their mobile phones. Afterwards, visitors will be able to access their audio comments on Internet, modifying, annotating and indexing them, thanks to the software Lignes de temps, before publishing them on a collaborative web site developed for this event.