The 2011 event: Pierre Cornette de St Cyr's Imaginary Museum
Following Histoire(s) de carnets,which marked Le Salon du Dessin
Contemporain’s move to the Carrousel du Louvre last year, we have
decided to introduce a new concept to the trade show. Remaining loyal to the
idea of showcasing every aspect of drawing, we have designed a new format for DRAWING NOW PARIS whose content,
entrusted to a loving and expert eye, will play on contrasting perceptions of
the future.
To
do this, we have adopted a method – the
Imaginary Museum – previously proposed by one of the most discerning
aesthetes of the 20th century, André Malraux. This method
encompasses all formats, styles and techniques, thereby promoting the diversity
and variety of contemporary drawing. Although, for Malraux, the museum without walls evoked
all masterpieces, we intend to put it to a use which is more practical, more
humble, but possible just as exemplary. To achieve this we needed to enroll a
leading figure to put together "his" own museum without walls for
contemporary drawing, by inviting him and supporting him in the organization an
exhibition curated entirely by him.
He
is a familiar figure in the art world who has always demonstrated his passion
for drawing – he is Pierre Cornette de
Saint-Cyr. What is less well known, however, is that the famous auctioneer
was one of the very first – if not the first – to offer, in 1976, a
contemporary drawing prize which existed for several years. We wanted to pay
him the tribute of inviting him to inaugurate this new approach.
So
it is therefore "Pierre Cornette de
Saint-Cyr’s Imaginary Museum".
Philippe Piguet,
artistic director
