Monumenta - Grand Palais — Isabelle & Pierre

May 15

May 15 Monumenta - Grand Palais

Monumenta 2016: Empires by Huang Yong Ping - Empire is an absolute form of power which thrives on its own expansion and which doesn't recognize citizenship, only subjecthood. To symbolize empire, Huang Young Ping evokes Napoleon with the cocked hat - Le Bicorne. Fascination with Snakes has turned into a symbol common to most civilizations, here as a symbol of mutation. Huge RTG Crane (Rubber-Tyred Gantry) can be seen in every industrialized port moving containers. Shipping Containers are the back bone of globalization as well as a symbol of the great revolution of trade - possibly a new example of Empire!.

Monumenta is an international event launched in 2007 by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Six artists have already been invited to participate in this unique form of exhibition within the impressive architecture of the Grand Palais.

Few figures:

Surface area of the main hall: 135,000 Square Feet - Height: 130 feet.
Containers: Total 305 - RTG Crane: 90 Feet in height - Serpent: 319 vertebrae, 568 ribs, and 845 feet in length - Cocked Hat: Weight 3 Tons.
80% Made in France, 20% in China - 5 foundries in France - 2 factories in China - Installation time: 12 days &13 nights (24/7) - 60 technicians.

All this for only 6 weeks!!

The artist:

Huang Yong Ping was born in 1954 in the southern Chinese port town of Xiamen. He studied fine arts. In the early 1980s, thanks to more liberal cultural policies, Huang Yong Ping discovered classical Chinese art as well as Western artists and thinkers. From 1985 to 1987 he was the leader of the Chinese avant-garde "Xiamen Dada" movement. In 1989, Huang Yong Ping was invited to participate in the "Magicians of the Earth" show in Paris. Just then, the Tiananmen Square incident occurred so Huang Yong Ping decided to remain in France permanently and became, a year later, a French citizen. He represented France, along with Jean-Pierre Bertrand, at the 1999 Venice Biennale. He returned to China for the first time in 2000, for the Shanghai Biennial. His works and the issues they raise - coexistence among different groups, religious questions, the history of civilizations - have received an enthusiastic reception in numerous museums in both Asia and the West.