November 4, 2015–February 29, 2016
1 Esp. J4
13002 Marseille
France
From mountain ranges to Mediterranean coasts, certain places offer their visitors privileged points of view, which can provoke the feeling of dominating the world, possessing it, even dissolving it.
The word “panorama” was first used in England in 1787. It referred to a circular structure that placed spectators in the centre, where they could discover a landscape or a historical scene. Reproduced in an illusionary manner, it unfolded in 360° around them. The term later resurfaced in 1830s France, where it was simply an expression for sweeping landscapes or expansive views. Later, its meaning rebounded encompassing both the succession of images perceived by the mind as a complete vision and the almost exhaustive study of a subject.
These different meanings convey the very essence of the panoramic phenomenon: the central role of perspective, a certain appropriation of the world that follows, the feeling of dominating a situation simply due to having a wide and complete view—or by creating an illusion of reality that even competes with it. Indeed, the different forms of panoramas pose the question of the construction of perspective.
The exhibition I Love Panoramas, fruit of a close collaboration between the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva and the MuCEM in Marseille, seeks to demonstrate how the notion of the panorama surpasses typical categories of representation (fine arts, contemporary art, photography, cinema, industry, amateur practices, etc.). Stemming from scientific and military logic prior to being appropriated by the society of the spectacle, the panoramic experience poses the question of our relationship to the landscape and to the world, mastered or unknown, to mass tourism, and to the consumption of formatted points of view as a source of entertainment.
From the first drawing of a panorama, filed by the American inventor Robert Fulton at the Institut National de la Propriété Intellectuelle in Paris in 1799, to 360° room for all colours by the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, created in 2002, this exhibition offers a wide chronological range. In bringing together works by artists such as Jeff Wall, Peter Greenaway, David Hockney, Vincent Van Gogh, Gustave Courbet, Gerhard Richter, Jan Dibbets, François Morellet, and Ellsworth Kelly, it highlights the diversity of the artistic proposals influenced or marked by the notion of the panorama.
From photographic surveys of the Alps to those of battlefields by way of wallpapers, postcards and films, records, mediums and worlds mix and renew the way we look at the world and the role of the viewer.
This temporary exhibition is organised jointly by the MuCEM and the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva.
Commissioners: Jean-Roch Bouiller, Chief Curator, Head of Contemporary Art at the MuCEM, and Laurence Madeline, Chief Curator, Head of Fine Arts at the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva
Scenography: Adrien Rovero Studio
Graphic art: Camille Sauthier, Atelier Valenthier
Reservations and information
T +04 84 35 13 13 / reservation@mucem.org / mucem.org
Access
Fort Saint-Jean lower entrance: 201, quai du Port.
Panier entrance: Square of Église Saint-Laurent.
J4 entrance: 1, esplanade du J4.
Metro: Vieux-Port or Joliette.
Tram T2: République / Dames or Joliette.
Bus 82, 82s, 60 stop: Fort Saint-Jean / nightline 582.
49: Église Saint-Laurent
Paid parking: Esplanade du J4 / Vieux-Port / fort Saint-Jean et Hôtel de Ville.
Hours
Daily except Tuesdays
Fall (September 2–October 31): 11am–7pm
Winter (November 1–April 30): 11am–6pmh
Spring (May 2–July 3): 11am–7pm
Summer (July 4–August 31): 10am–10pm
Friday nights (May 2–October 31): until 10pm
Closed on the following holidays: May 1, December 25
