Matthew Wieseltier

Arriving at the Palais de Tokyo, one is immediately greeted by a massive skatepark facing the Seine. There is ample graffiti and teenagers in oversized clothing populating staircases and ledges, sending the message that this is a center of counterculture. The point of this institution, from this first impression, is to embrace outsiders. This is especially notable considering the location – it is very close to the Eiffel Tower, a monument to traditional Parisian culture. From the outside, the Palais de Tokyo is set up to be a kind of counterpoint to the Louvre and other such traditional institutions of Parisian art.

The lobby of the Palais is filled with concrete, brutalist architecture. Light pours in through huge glass windows, illuminating a bookstore, trendy cafe, and some seating areas. As one heads down the stairs, the lighting is sublime, especially in the late afternoon when our class visited. There are a few pieces from the exhibits on display on the landing of this staircase, giving the visitor a hint of what is to come. One of the pieces that stood out was a collection of everyday belongings (shoes, a watch, a briefcase) surrounded by coffee beans, giving these objects a kind of vibrant energy. I believe this was part of the “Keep Da Fire Burning” exhibit, by Jay Remier.

The three exhibits on display when we visited were a retrospective of Sarah Maldoror’s revolutionary work in film, a stylized disco hall of sorts created by hip-hop producer Jay Remier, and a display of paintings hanging from the ceiling created by Brazilian artist Maxwell Alexandre. These exhibits all had the unifying theme of decolonization and commenting on the intersectional racism experienced by Black people across the world. Being a film major, I was particularly drawn to the first exhibit, as it took clips from Maldoror’s various films and displayed them all in the same room on different screens. This created a kind of collage effect, allowing the visitor to experience multiple films (with audio) at once – it was certainly an innovative way of looking at cinema.

After I was finished looking at these exhibits, I found myself wandering around the rest of the Palais, looking for other art that was not really there. There were many spaces that looked like they could have housed other exhibits, but seemed inexplicably empty. There were a lot of lobby-like spaces, with windows allowing the space to fill with natural light, but many of these spots seemed devoid of life. In certain spots it was almost eerie how little there was to fill the space. The website had listed an exhibit about mind maps that was nowhere to be found. However, there was still a lot going on that was not necessarily an art exhibit. There was a fun, retro-themed take on a metro photo booth right next to the door, the aforementioned cafe (they had incredible fresh juices), and what looked like a fashion week booth at the top of the staircase leading to the exhibits. There was also a workshop where a group of children were creating their own art.

Considering the Palais as more of an institution dedicated to contemporary art, creation, and counterculture, one can see more of its value. They run programs dedicated to learning more about art, and have all sorts of activities to do that are not looking at art. As a hotspot for trendy Parisians, it works quite well. However, I really wish there had been more art to look at. The building itself is cavernous, and the empty space was noticeable. The exhibits were extremely stimulating, but each was limited to a single large room (the exception being the Maldoror exhibit, which also had a screening room). The whole space suggested so much unrealized potential. It felt like being at a dinner where the waiter brings out a massive tray which has only a small amount of food. Despite the sublime quality of the food, one is left wanting more. An important caveat: According to our professor, there is usually much more art on display than there was when we visited. Fashion week likely took up a lot of the space for art. I would love to visit at a time when the museum’s full potential is on display.

Chioma Nwoye

Maxwell Alexandre’s exhibit New Power showcases Black people both guarding, interpreting, and socializing in the realm of a museum, in which the portraits are nothing else but gold. The difficulty navigating this exhibit mimics the complexity of the overarching museum with room-like sections and blockades, paralleling the challenged experiences of navigating the art world and greater society while Black. The influence of Alexandre’s hometown and culture of Rochina, the largest farvela in Brazil, is evident in his work as he shows the heavy police presence and discriminating surveillance towards the Black subjects he draws to life. When discussing his inspirations for the exhibit, Maxwell Alexandre recalls the slogan Pretos no topo (Blacks on top) that is gaining traction amongst Afro-Brazilians through rap. A phrase that encapsulates the desire for Black people to gain agency by controlling the narrative and image that is so frequently overtaken.

I find this commentary on the underrepresentation of Black people in places of success (and privilege) is both ironic and fitting for Alexandre’s exhibit. Fitting, as the other exhibits on the floor such as Sarah Maldoror’s Tricontinental Cinema and Jay Ramier’s Keep the Fire Burning are also by Black artists on exhibition. However, I do find this concept to be contradicting in its location of display due to the history and leadership of Palais de Tokyo as well as Netflix and Forbes. While it is certainly wonderful to see the accomplishments of Black artists gaining space in the biggest contemporary art museum of Europe, I do not find momentary exhibitions to be enough in reaching Black liberation through art. In order to truly liberate marginalized people including contemporary artists, I believe there needs to be more redistribution of power rather than simple answers of diversity that may support the same oppressive narrative.

Despite my criticisms, I do wish to recognize the potential in how Alexandre continues to challenge these power structures in his previous works that share in the display of New Power various forms of Blackness. Similar to the portraits and frames in the exhibit, Alexandre maintains the gold theme centered in the hair of its subjects. This concept builds upon Alexandre’s earlier cover rendition for the Netflix original Coisa Mais Linda, in which he highlights the alternative possibilities of the series having a cast more diverse than ¾ white women;. a message that was relevantly used again for his spin off the cover of Forbes when he concluded that he would be the only Black model for the 30 under 30s.

I found the depiction of Black youth in Alexandre’s work to directly speak to the depth of oppression within museums as an institution themselves. While the children are shown experiencing moments of what seems to be an almost ignorant bliss as they are witnessing the art, they are constantly supervised by adults and/or law enforcement. The unwarranted police presence is especially evident in the piece that displays a young child walking towards the velvet rope distancing the viewers from the art and an officer running full speed to stop him. From their inattentiveness to the guards that stalk them at every corner daring them to step too close, to the patriotism as they wear clothing branded Rio, these children represent defiance to singular interpretations of art which I found spoke to the greater museum as it centered exhibits done by artists holding marginalized identities and decolonial interests. This exhibit is a good example of highlighting issues within race and class, however, its mere existence at Palais de Tokyo does not do work to illustrate what genuine Black liberation looks like, which includes the liberation of everyone from harmful systemic structures, not simply redistribution of power positions.