Roberto Rossellini
07 Jun - 21 Oct 2012
Le Centre Georges Pompidou (Museum), April 1977. Producer: Jacques Grandclaude.© Jacques Grandclaude – iMotion Films - Studio L’EQUIPE – Studio Francis Diaz
ROBERTO ROSSELLINI
Filming Beaubourg
7 June - 21 October 2012
In January 1977 the Centre Georges Pompidou opened its doors for the first time in Paris. Its construction entailed the comprehensive redevelopment of a large area in the city centre. The historic Les Halles market was demolished in order to build this ambitious cultural facility. Three months later, Roberto Rossellini completed his film Le Centre Georges Pompidou. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had chosen the neorealist master to celebrate the opening of the building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. But in what would be his last film, Rossellini offered a sceptical vision that explains the film's limited impact. Unearthed by the Fondation Genesium and deposited at MACBA, it now allows us to reopen a debate that spans beyond the actual building. The redevelopment of the Parisian neighbourhood and the construction of the Centre Pompidou were exported as a model for the instrumentalisation of culture.
The film is shown alongside additional footage of the filming process and the debates led by Rossellini at the Cannes Film Festival, also in 1977. The exhibition also includes sound recordings that captured spontaneous snippets of the conversations of visitors in the first few days after the new Centre Georges Pompidou opened. The ensemble makes up a triptych on the paradoxes of the democratisation of culture and the creation of new audiences, while emphasising the working process of the filmmaker and his team.
Filming Beaubourg
7 June - 21 October 2012
In January 1977 the Centre Georges Pompidou opened its doors for the first time in Paris. Its construction entailed the comprehensive redevelopment of a large area in the city centre. The historic Les Halles market was demolished in order to build this ambitious cultural facility. Three months later, Roberto Rossellini completed his film Le Centre Georges Pompidou. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had chosen the neorealist master to celebrate the opening of the building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. But in what would be his last film, Rossellini offered a sceptical vision that explains the film's limited impact. Unearthed by the Fondation Genesium and deposited at MACBA, it now allows us to reopen a debate that spans beyond the actual building. The redevelopment of the Parisian neighbourhood and the construction of the Centre Pompidou were exported as a model for the instrumentalisation of culture.
The film is shown alongside additional footage of the filming process and the debates led by Rossellini at the Cannes Film Festival, also in 1977. The exhibition also includes sound recordings that captured spontaneous snippets of the conversations of visitors in the first few days after the new Centre Georges Pompidou opened. The ensemble makes up a triptych on the paradoxes of the democratisation of culture and the creation of new audiences, while emphasising the working process of the filmmaker and his team.