Having walked for a good 45 minutes into what can only be described as surburbia ghost town (especially on a Sunday); considered the calmer residential hamlet of Marseille’s southern borders with its rather modern, characterless architecture and close proximity to the sea and the Calanques, I arrive at the Musee d’Art Contemporain (MAC). A grey, dull and seemingly sad looking building, largely reminiscent of my days at the University of York which was surprisingly heralded for its brutal sixties architecture, its lack of classicism and rather functional aesthetic. A suitable façade considering its contemporary exhibits: abstract, seemingly empty and often thought provoking.
I had flashbacks of my visit to the MACBA in Barcelona, which was more creatively curated with a range of authoritative artists. Yet Barcelona is famed for its artistic development and exposition. What I liked about the MAC in Marseille was its lack of conformity and in particular the use of space and light, which allowed me to really focus on some of the obscure and at times puzzling art and sculpture that was scattered around the varied rooms, each large, white walled with high ceilings and heaps of natural light. There seemed to be a heavy focus on sculpture using materials such as compressed metals, motors and vehicles in the museum’s permanent collection. There was something thought provoking about the nature of recycling materials that ultimately pollute the environment and manipulating such materials into having a new utility. Artists such as César (great pieces using compressed metals from cars), Gabriel Orozco, Ben, Dieder Roth, Basquiat and Rodney Graham retain permanent fixtures in the gallery.
Photographer, artist, French writer and self-professed ‘bon vivant’ Edouard Levé is currently being exhibited with his two photography series Amérique and Autoportrait. A series of stark photography, Amérique picture small American towns named after cities in other countries. Where as Autoportait draws on Levé’s disconnected assertions and self-description in an almost adolescent aesthetic of choreographed images using the same group of models in often seemingly intimate and sexual positions yet manages to remove all trace of emotion and sexuality. I particularly enjoyed the Amérique series in that it expresses an ironic yet seriously relevant commentary on America’s power and involvement in the varying wars and political battles around the world in stark contrast to its own social identity and how the various names of cities around the world have been borrowed and forgotten in America’s state empire.
It was certainly an intriguing visit. Originally I was rather ignorant to Marseille’s art scene, with little on offer to help fuel my curiosity as thelarger percentage of the city’s cultural outlets and galleries were closed to the public in hot anticipation of 2013’s Capital of Culture mark. Kind of hilarious that in the run up to making culture more accessibleto Marseille’s residents and visiting tourists, it renders ALL cultural outlets inaccessible for a good seven months prior to showdown.
The MAC reminded me of London’s not long opened White Cube in Bermondsey Street: the perfect environment and space for a collection of obscure and abstract pieces of art yet a bit off the beaten track with regards to transport and location. It can definitely be said that the MAC seemed almost amateur (or was it just super laid back?) in its visitor information and helpdesk, there wasn’t much security or public monitoring allowing the gallery visitor a sense of freedom often encroached on in galleries of the same format in bigger and more popular cities. Leaflets and flyers detailing the artists work and information on the gallery were difficult to find. I liked it, and I think it has something to say about Marseille’s art community – not developing in light of next year’s grand event, but very much present, vocal and comfortable moving at its own pace:one just needs to hunt it down.
fisforfrance. 