Salvador Dalí at the Centre Pompidou

The girls have two weeks off of school.  We began our adventures at Centre Pompidou.  Last year, we began our vacation adventures in much the same way.  You can check that out here.  The Dali exhibit has been hugely popular.  As you can see, it is open most nights until 11:00.  The girls and I got there before the museum opened and waited in line.  Once the museum opened, we were able to walk right into the exhibit.  However, the exhibit was so busy that it was hard to see much.  By the time we left the museum, they were announcing that there was a hour and a half wait to enter the Dali exhibit.

Before going to the exhibit, I did a little research and learned that Dali was even stranger than I had thought.  He was obviously a talented artist and some of the painting were amazing.  He was prolific and there was tons of stuff, including movies and very bizarre sculptures.  There is a lobster phone, which I guess is quite famous.  There was also a mannequin bust with a plastic baguette on her head and a fancy pen holder on top of the baguette.  I am sure this is all worth a lot of money.  The Wikipedia entry on Dali talks about how he liked attention.  He went to a New York City party dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his friend went as his kidnapper. 

This Year

                                           Last Year

 

The view from the escalator is worth going into the museum.  Unfortunately, although it was a sunny day the pollution dimmed the view.  The cranes are all working on the new version of Les Halles.

Tutto by Alighiero Boetti (this is just a little piece of it)

We took a little time to investigate some of the permanent collection.  It seemed very calm after the frenzied Dali exhibit.

 

We stopped just here at the time by Ernesto Neto

 This is truly bizarre.  The sacks are filled with some sort of spices so that it is supposed to also be an olfactory experience.

 1024 Farben [350-3] by Gerhard Richter

Lillian said this reminded her of the paint swatches that she and Sylvia used to like to take from Home Depot

On the way out, we stopped at the new hands-on kids' area

  

Last year's photos of the fountain are better because it was a few weeks later and the fountain was filled and functioning.

There are usually lots of buskers and lots of activity in the square surrounding Centre Pompidou.  We ate some ham and cheese crepes, enjoyed the sun, and contemplated the scene.