[Paris, art center]
Centre National de la Photographie (CNP)
Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, 11 rue Berryer (corner of avenue de Friedland), 75008
01-53-76-12-32 f: 01-53-76-12-33
Mon, Wed-Sun, 12-7; closed Tues
admission: 30/15F
métro: Étoile

CNP is without a doubt the best place to see high-quality contemporary photography in Paris. The location in an elegant old mansion is a bit surreal since you first climb a grand baroque staircase and then enter barren, somewhat shabby rooms with unconventional artworks hanging on the walls or deposited on the floors. Despite the initial impression and the oddities of room sizes and shapes, the galleries are flexible enough to accommodate the varied scale of contemporary photographs as well as photo-installation and video-projection projects.

Exhibitions feature work by emerging artists, often presented for the first time in France or Europe. On a single visit you may see several one-person shows or a group show that brings together diverse creations under the umbrella of a timely and original theme. Typically the art is impressive and innovative in concept, technique and format. Since CNP does not have a permanent collection, all works are on loan or are temporary creations made on-site specifically for an exhibition. Some work is also the result of a residency or experimental project sponsored by the center. Recent exhibitions: Peter Beard, Anna and Bernhard Blume, Sophie Calle, Hannah Collins, Pascal Convert, Wyn Geleynse, Anthony Hernandez, Manfred Jade, Henrik Plenge Jakobsen, Valérie Jouve, Andréa Keen, Carl de Keyzer, Zoe Leonard, Ryuji Miyamoto, Eric Poitevin, Olivier Rebufa, Eugène Richards, Thomas Ruff, Sam Samore, Patrick Tosani, Contemporary Austrian Photographers. CNP publishes many catalogues associated with its exhibitions and an informative quarterly journal with articles on current exhibitions and essays on notable people or relevant topics.

[Paris, architecture, public art]
Tadao Ando, Meditation Space, 1996
UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75007
01-45-68-03-71
Mon-Fri, 9-6
admission: free
métro: Ségur or École Militaire

Beyond the patio, at the most remote part of the back courtyard within the UNESCO headquarters, is a cylindrical structure commissioned to symbolize peace and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the adoption of UNESCO's constitution. Designed by the architect Tadao ANDO, Meditation Space(1996), is an extraordinary work that exemplifies the majesty and emotive power of a simple contemporary monument. To enter, you walk down a ramp and angle back across a shallow pond that encircles the structure with a continuous film of flowing water. The doorway is a cutout opening at the base of a two-story concrete form marked only by the regularity of the casting holes and grid lines. This doorway and a duplicate one on the opposite side also serve as windows, bringing light into the interior, which is otherwise a darkened sanctuary permeated by a deep aura of tranquility. Except for four high-backed armchairs that have a regal bearing despite their industrial, black-steel reductive shape, the space is empty. (The chairs are set back against the wall as pairs facing each other.) The design of the stone floor - concentric circles, radiating lines and a cross axis - only strengthens the circular, centering shape of the cylinder space without becoming an additive element or decoration. The interior floor and base of the pond bear symbolic meaning, however, since the granite comes from Hiroshima and was exposed to the atomic bomb fallout. It is just this subtle, unpretentious sense of symbolism and the expressiveness of basic elements that makes Ando's edifice an impressive monument to peace.

[Lyon, public art]
Anne and Patrick Poirier
La fontaine des géants, 1985
espace de l'Europe Jean Monnet
métro: Charpennes

From the métro, walk a few blocks down rue Henri Rolland; cross rue Jacques Brel; enter the park; walk forward veering to the left. (This is referred to as the Tonkin neighborhood.) If you don't immediately see the fountain, follow the voices of kids who seem to be a constant presence in and around it, weather permitting.

The Poiriers typically present fragmented classical images in their art, suggesting the collapse of order or Western civilization. In The Fountain of Giants they have outdone themselves by creating a marvelous, witty, surreal fountain that is a perfect artwork for a neighborhood park. A heap of rocks piled high into a mountainous mass sits in a bed of water, with jets of water spraying inward from the corners of a surrounding shallow pool. Interspersed with the rocks are marble fragments of classical sculpture - four gargantuan eyes and one colossal mouth - and architecture. Mixed among this conglomerate are two large bronze arrows, one of which sits atop the mass pointing downward. On the one hand, the fountain fascinates children who clearly respond to its form and imagery. On the other hand, it is visually and conceptually provocative as a "serious" work of art, raising all sorts of questions about survival, heritage, contemporary culture . . .