THE ART OF THE MUSEUM by Paul Clemence
Consulate General of Switzerland New York City June 2018
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“Architecture is more than just constructing buildings. It’s a way of thinking, a way of seeing the world.” -Paul Clemence
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Introduction Ambassador AndrĂŠ Schaller, Consul General of Switzerland in New York Page 11
The Museum as Art Paul Clemence, artist Page 13
Time and Space Tracy L. Adler, Johnson-Pote Director, Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, New York Page 16
Why Paul Clemence’s Photography is Important Madhav Raman, curator, architect, principal at Anagram Architects Page 21
Building Unfurling Robert Landon, author Page 25
Museum Guide Aksel Stasny, artist and filmmaker Page 52
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Introduction What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Switzerland? Heidi, chocolate, cheese, watches? But anyone who has visited Switzerland knows a more nuanced story. With four national languages and diverse customs and traditions, Switzerland is a unique melting pot located in the heart of Europe. Cultural life in Switzerland displays a tremendous variety and the arts are as diverse as the country itself. But regardless of the region or language one encounters, a continuous thread is evident: a dedication to excellence, precision and innovation, an appreciation for aesthetics, art and design as well as the harmony with the natural environment. It is precisely this essence that Paul Clemence has so beautifully captured in The Art of the Museum. Through Clemence’s trained eye, we are taken on a journey through a selection of Switzerland’s most renowned museums to discover the magnificent built environments and their natural surroundings by star architects such as Mario Botta, Renzo Piano and Christ & Gantenbein. The photo essay was shot while Clemence worked on a video project commissioned by Switzerland Tourism and Art Museums of Switzerland (AMOS) in 2017 portraying the architecture of twelve prestigious Swiss museums. Located across Switzerland, the museums depicted by Clemence emphasize the unique beauty of the varied landscapes. This symbiosis between nature and architecture threads through the entire exhibition. Each image featuring the mere detail relates to the whole with an emphasis on precision, aesthetics and harmony. The exhibition is comprised of a combination of structural details as well as exteriors and interiors that interplay with their natural surroundings. Abstract, even ambiguous at times, the images are always elegant and rooted in their environment. The opening image of the exhibition, for example, depicts a close-up of the arched roofs of the museum Zentrum Paul Klee by Renzo Piano in Bern. The elegant metal curve reaches up into the flawless azure sky reminiscent of a nearby mountain basking in the sun freed from the dreary weather of the lowland. It is a clear and minimal image that grasps the elegance and precision as well as the nature of its place. Clemence has captured not only the beauty of the architecture but is able to transpose us to its place. It is a harmonious journey that provides the viewer with a varied and nuanced picture of Switzerland so rarely seen by the outside world. -Ambassador André Schaller, Consul General of Switzerland in New York 11
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The Museum as Art Museums are one of today’s most high-profile building typologies. They are places embedded with the notion of expanding creativity and sensibilities, places we go to transcend the mundane everyday life. Thus ideal places for architects to experiment and exercise their design concepts. A commission last year by the organization Art Museums of Switzerland to create (in collaboration with partner Aksel Stasny) videography of the 12 museums part of the organization, allowed me an extraordinary opportunity to observe and explore a variety of approaches to that typology. It was fascinating to examine how the different design concepts influenced the connection with masterpieces by artists like Monet, Andy Warhol, Giacometti or Tinguely. But beyond that was also evident the idea of how these buildings are all unique expressions of creativity, whether through their use of space, materials or connection with surroundings. And they all manage to achieve this with a sensibility, aesthetic and craftmanship that is undeniably very Swiss: subtle, yet of very high, exacting standards. Many believe that, when it comes to museum design, the Architecture should not compete with the Art. I think that museums are places we go to enter a different and new state of mind, to acquire knowledge, to express and expand our sense of being. The images in this exhibit are my attempt to show how these structures are enablers for that experience, and in that way, works of art themselves. -Paul Clemence
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Time and Space
We all know the world is getting faster. This speeding up, this concentration of time, can be attributed to numerous factors—not least of which is technology, which allows us unprecedented access to information that is constantly updated in real time. We are caught in a news cycle that is both ever-changing and never-ending.
This phenomenon pervades how we live, love, and perceive the world. It affects how we communicate, how we come to know one another, how we learn about developments across the globe. There are many voices, images, and moments to be captured and viewed. We have become accustomed to navigating a sea of countless information outlets and focus on those which we perceive as reliable, compelling, or alluring. In the end, we only take in what draws us in most. So how do we have an authentic experience in a world made up of speed, change, and conflicting viewpoints? How do we shape our own aesthetics? To look at it from a different angle, if interacting with the world comes with a host of associations, how can we see the world differently? How can we stop time, be still, and have a moment to react intuitively, emotionally, and intellectually as individuals rather than as part of a manufactured universal identity? One thing that strikes me about Paul Clemence’s work is how he attempts to stop time and offer this kind of authentic experience. As a photographer, he finds a way to see our built environment through the individual architectural elements that comprise it. In this way, the parts are equal in importance to the whole. Seeing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City less as a spiral and more as arcs in space with shadows, sky, and apertures allows us to experience it anew. The same holds true for the fluted columns of M.I.T.’s architectural façade, which Clemence reveals as a kind of elaborate patterning that recedes in space. When we think about great architecture, we cannot help but consider the concepts that molded these buildings and the events that allowed them to come into being. By contrast, through abstracting the original form
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into its own composition—one that stands alone, unfettered by context— Clemence asks us to respond to the photograph, or singular element itself, rather than structure our associations around our knowledge of the completed work it represents. In this way, Clemence’s work is reminiscent of great modernist photographers such as László Moholy-Nagy and André Kertész. Their goal was never to be mimetic or even representational but rather to create a work that highlighted the originality of the composition itself. Highly abstracted, their images are “compositions” in the truest sense of the word—as arranged elements in a field. This is particularly evident in Clemence’s newest photographic body of work focusing on the architecture of some of Switzerland’s top art museums by some of the most renowned architects of our time including Mario Botta and Renzo Piano. These images were created as an extension of a film commission project realized by Clemence in 2017 with collaborator Aksel Stasny entitled “12 Impressions.” They highlight some of the most dynamic architectural elements of esteemed institutions such as the Kunstmuseum Basel; Museum Tinguely, Basel; Beyeler Fondation, Basel; Le Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Genève; Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana, Lugano; Kunsthaus , Zurich and the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern. Here, Clemence introduces a serene and complex elegance to his subjects. Whether it’s a reflection of the garden in a pond on the grounds of the Beyeler which echoes a nearby monumental Claude Monet on view in the museum, or features such as walls, beams, stairwells and lighting fixtures—the abstract architecture of the museums are brought to the fore. These are elements we might glimpse out of the corner of our eye as visitors to the place. In these images the details become the focus. We see the art that makes up the design. We appreciate the gestures and that we’ve been given a pause—a moment—to just look.
-Tracy L. Adler .
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Why Paul Clemence’s Photography is Important.
Paul Clemence’s oeuvre of architectural photography is multivocal. It speaks to very many people, as is evidenced by its remarkable online popularity, and it speaks of many things. However, the chord it strikes that resonates the widest is that his work seeks and expresses the abstract in the built. Photography is important to architecture because it registers space and objects in time and light, revealing materiality, occupation and relations with landscape and occupant(s). Further, photographic intent can complement and, perhaps more usefully, critique architectural intent. Paul’s work is important because it examines architecture closely, very closely. His lens lunges towards architecture, visually unpacking it in entirely different and delightful ways. I can attest that architects tend to view buildings as assembled objects, surfaces as territories, and spaces as outcomes of form and scale manipulations. We naturally tend to look for these in photographs of architecture. The proximity at which Paul scrutinises architecture dissolves the edges that define these preconceptions of the eye. His works occupy an elastic universe, which he creates by completely compressing or infinitely stretching the depth of his images. It is in this terrain that he seeks colours and patterns in material textures, revealed by the play of light. It is here that, with surgical precision, he extracts detail, space and component bringing them into their own. His work carries with it the energy of the urban experience. He pauses moments in movement across cities and passages through and past buildings. While the works stand as subliminally expressive framed compositions, they truly captivate because they reveal the subliminal ways in which architecture is experienced. He decentres the objectness of buildings and shares an awareness of architecture as an omnipresence. Ultimately, to my mind, Paul Clemence’s photography of architecture is important because it is a meditation on architecture. It takes one into a state unconcerned by the immediacy of architecture but focussed on the intimacy of it. -Madhav Raman
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Building Unfurling I have always loved architecture. However, it is Paul Clemence — as friend, as mentor, and, above all, as photographer — who keeps showing me how to see what I love anew. Paul’s architectural photographs are not just beautiful. They raise questions, force you to look again, to interrogate what you are seeing. They seek not to illustrate the building itself, but our unconscious experiences of them: textures half-noticed, the meeting of light and form that lurks at the corners of vision. In this way, he manages to express in two dimensions the experience of passing through three-dimensional space. They are stills that suggest movement. They are single frames that suggest the flux of perception—and of time and space themselves. Museums are the perfect subject for Paul’s work, because they are places that invite us to slow down, to see, to see again, to remember that buildings too can be sensitively crafted works of art. If only more of them were! I had the good luck to visit several of the Swiss museums featured in this show in Paul’s company. In a country one-tenth the size of California, the quality and diversity of its museums are extraordinary, but for me the standout is Renzo Piano’s Zentrum Paul Klee. Paul and I didn’t make it there together, but we both ended up visiting on our own. Seeing Paul’s photos remind not only of the building itself, but of the series of unfurling surprises it provides—the perfect tribute to Klee himself. It is delightful to experience these sensations again, through Paul’s work.
-Robert Landon
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THE ART OF THE MUSEUM
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12 Impressions
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Museum Guide When browsing with Paul through the buildings of our twelve museums we first began to collect our impressions of each room. Later we would try to boil it down to the most essential aspects and compositions of each museum. At the time I would have described it as a very subjective experience. A personal perception of architecture and spatial relations. But the further we delved into these grand buildings of art, the more I happened to realize how the architect him(her)self skillfully guided our view. Instead of directing the video pieces, we had been directed by the architect all along and our so-called subjective impression had actually been fabricated by design. Upon that realization the work became more intuitive and at moments I felt lucky to have understood fragments of the art of architecture a little bit more. -Aksel Stasny
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FONDATION BEYELER, BASEL
MUSÉE D’ART ET D’HISTOIRE, GENEVA
MASI, LUGANO
KUNSTMUSEUM BASEL
MUSÉE DE L’ÉLYSÉE, LAUSANNE
FOTOZENTRUM WINTERTHUR
MUSEUM TINGUELY, BASEL
KUNSTMUSEUM BERN
KUNSTHAUS ZÜRICH
MAMCO, GENEVA
ZENTRUM PAUL KLEE, BERN
MUSEUM FÜR GESTALTUNG, ZÜRICH
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IMAGE INDEX Cover: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Inside Front Cover: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 2 & 3: Fondation Beyeler, Basel Page 6: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Page 8 & 9: Museum Tinguely, Basel, by Mario Botta Page 12: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Page 14 & 15: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 18 & 19: Kunstmuseum Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Architects Page 22 & 23: Fondation Beyeler, Basel, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 26 & 27: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Page 30: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Page 31: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, by Christ & Gantenbein Page 32: Museum Tinguely, Basel, by Mario Botta Page 33: Museum Tinguely, Basel, by Mario Botta Page 34: Museum Tinguely, Basel, by Mario Botta
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Page 35: Museum Tinguely, Basel, by Mario Botta Page 36: Fondation Beyeler, Basel, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 37: Fondation Beyeler, Basel, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 38 & 39: Fondation Beyeler, Basel, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 40: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 41: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop Page 42: MAMCO, Geneva, by Erwin Oberwiler Page 43: MAMCO, Geneva, by Erwin Oberwiler Page 44: Kunsthaus Zürich Page 45: Kunsthaus Zürich Page 46: MASI, Lugano, by Ivano Gianola Page 47: MASI, Lugano, by Ivano Gianola Page 48: MASI, Lugano, by Ivano Gianola Page 53: “12 Impressions” announcement Inside Back Cover: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, by Renzo Piano Building Workshop
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CONSULATE GENERAL OF SWITZERLAND IN NEW YORK
Exhibitions at the Consulate The Art of the Museum by Paul Clemence marks the 5th exhibition in the waiting area of the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York curated by Elena Baenninger and Lisette Müry. Since December 2015, the exhibition series Art@The Consulate presents the work of emerging Swiss artists living in the United States. Past exhibitions include paintings by Chrissy Angliker, photography by Reto Sterchi, poster design by Julian Bittiner and Stéphane Rodriguez as well as sculptural works by Regi Müller. The Art of the Museum is a special edition featuring a selection of architectural photography taken during the making of a video series about Swiss art museums, a project commissioned by Switzerland Tourism and AMOS (Art Museums of Switzerland) in 2017. The exhibition is presented with the kind support from LAUFEN.
Cultural Affairs The Consulate General of Switzerland in New York is committed to strengthening the cooperation of Swiss artists and Swiss cultural institutions with their counterparts in New York and other cultural centers within its consular district. The Consulate General facilitates and promotes exchanges and cooperation in all areas of the arts and culture. It does so by leveraging its network and partnerships with cultural and educational institutions as well as by promoting cultural events and projects through its newsletter and social media channels. We believe that the arts and culture are essential vehicles to foster mutual understanding among communities and nations.
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Paul Clemence is an award-winning photographer whose work deals with issues of space and perception through architecture focused images. He works in a variety of formats, from classic B & W prints to conceptual books and cutting edge large scale photographic urban installations. He has exhibited at important cultural events such as Venice Architecture Biennale, ArtBasel/Design Miami, Milan’s FuoriSalone and the Indian Arch Dialogues. His art work can be found in both public and private collections. A published author, his book “Mies van der Rohe’s FARNSWORTH HOUSE” remains to this day the most complete photo documentation of the iconic modern residential design, a selection of these photos is part of the Mies van der Rohe Archives housed by MoMa. He is also the founder and editor of the Facebook photo blog “Architecture Photography” a photography, art, architecture and travel community that currently counts close to one million followers worldwide. Recently, in collaboration with filmmaker Aksel Stasny, Clemence expanded his space sensibility to moving image, capturing the atmosphere and character of Switzerland’s top art museums in a video series called “12 Impressions” . Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil he now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Gabriel Miranda is a Brazilian-American photographer, video maker, multi-media artist and book designer. His work mixes the genres of socialdocumentary, photojournalism and fine-art through books and exhibition projects. He has participated in both solo and group exhibitions in Brazil and the United States. He has studied Industrial Design at the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Brazil and Photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Originally from Niterói, Brazil, Gabriel currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can learn more about Gabriel and his work on his personal website: www.gabrielmiranda.net
Special thanks to Elena Baenninger and Lisette Müry of the Consulate General of Switzerland for curating and organizing the exhibition. Exhibit photos printed by WhiteWall.
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