The Temporarily Permanent
Artwork: designslinger]
The portable Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion has landed at it's latest temporary location in
New York's Central Park. The art exhibition building is in town just as Cooper-Hewitt's Design Week gets underway. The structure was designed by architect Zaha Hadid in collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld, and is said to have been inspired by a vintage quilted Chanel handbag. The pavilion made it's inaugural appearance at the Venice Biennale before starting a world tour that began in Hong Kong this past April. Fifteen artists have work on display in the little building which will be open to the public, at no charge, from October 20 - November 9, 2008. Then, the 700 components that make up the exhibit facility will be packed up and the pavilion will move on to it's next venue in London.
[Images: Centennial Arch, 1889, mcny.com; Washington Square Arch, 2007, xrrr via flickr; Illustration of the
New York has a long history of temporary structures erected for a specific purpose.
Arches have been constructed over major Manhattan thoroughfares to celebrate all kinds of momentous occasions. In 1889, architect Stanford White was asked to draw up plans for a temporary memorial arch that would span 5th Avenue just above the entrance to Washington Square. The Centennial Arch would commemorate the 100th anniversary of George Washington's first inauguration as President of the United States. The structure was made of wood, plaster and lath, with a polychromed statue of George standing on top. It was painted white, draped with flags, and had incandescent lamps that lit up the major highlights of the arch's details at night.
The archway was such a success with the citizens of New York, that a committee was
formed to raise money so a permanent arch could be built in Washington Square Park. Stanford White was called upon once again to design the arch, but this time it would be built out of marble instead of wood and plaster. Located south of it's temporary location, the new memorial was dedicated in 1895, and is one of New York City's most recognized landmarks.
the building in 1920, gapw.com; Museum of Science and Industry, 2007, tomdobb via flickr /Artwork: designslinger]
In 1893 the World Columbian Exposition opened on Chicago's lakefront. The Fair was
located on former marshland with major exhibition buildings constructed of a steel frame-work covered in lath and plaster and painted white. Since the exposition was only a temporary event, there was no need to spend a lot of money constructing structures that would be demolished at the end of the Fair. One building was considered as a possible candidate for a longer life once the Fair ended that October; the Palace of Fine Arts which stood at the northern end of the 600-acre complex. As time went on buildings collapsed, burned down and were eventually demolished, but the plaster and lath of the Fine Arts hall held up against the harsh Chicago weather longer than anyone would have expected. But by the 1920s, the building began crumbling and a decision was made to erect a permanent structure with a limestone exterior that would look just like the plaster structure it was replacing. The new building became the home of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and the former marshland became Jackson Park.
Once the Chanel Pavilion wraps up it's globe-trotting tour in Paris in 2010, perhaps the
little temporary art gallery will find itself a permanent home in a Parisian park.
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