The Lambert Collection in the zonzon of Avignon!

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Yvon Lambert is one of the major modern art collectors in France. He has had a number of galleries in Paris and New York, but in recent years he settled in Avignon and opened a museum there in 2000. It became anchored there in 2008 when he decided to donate 300 pieces of his collection to the French state, with a value of 63 million euros. In the end, he donated 450 works and was given use of the Hôtel de Caumont for 20 years. It is a stunning manor that I visited a few years ago upon the insistence of one of my friends, who is from Metz and has never even been to Avignon, but he was so persuasive that I knew I had to go there. I will now confirm that the Musée Lambert is a "must see" for anyone who visits Avignon and has an interest in contemporary art.

Yvon Lambert closed his New York gallery in Chelsea in 2011 and his Paris gallery is closing in December 2014, because now Avignon is the only city that interests him. But he has now donated another 556 artworks to France, leading to the closure of the Hôtel de Caumont for total renovation and extension this year. It will not reopen until summer 2015. Since his whole life is dedicated to exposing his art collection, a temporary solution had to be found. So from May 18 until November 25, 2014, he has taken over the ancient Sainte-Anne prison inside the walls of Avignon. The prison closed in 2003, and I had read that there was a plan to turn it into a luxury hotel, but the first round of bidding was a total failure. I read that there was another round of bidding in 2009 and the Marriott group bought the prison. Work was supposed to start in 2010 with an opening date of 2013. None of this ever happened, and I don't know why. In 2014 the prison remains untouched -- except for the current exhibition.

I knew it didn't open until 11 a.m. but I was already walking around it an hour ahead of time.



Yes, that pink blob is my finger, because I am not used to taking photos with a telephone.







By 11 a.m. it was clear that I was not the only person who wanted to spend time in zonzon (that is French criminal slang for "prison").

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Naturally, it is very clear that you are going to visit two different things at the same time -- a prison and an art show.



It is impossible not to let your imagination run wild with how you would feel if you entered a place like this as a prisoner.









A glimpse of one of the inner courtyards gives an idea of the age of the place.



The "water" in this pool was actually a bouncing sheet of plastic.

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Naturally, many of the artists are quite famous.





In many cases, the cells were not open and you had to look through a grill or a peephole.













If I were incarcerated in a zonzon, I would totally horrified if I had to look at blurry pictures of clowns.

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A very important part of the experience was to see what prison conditions were really like.

Just seeing that was a major slap in the face, because one of the plays that I saw (I will talk about it and the other plays later on the theatre board) was a true story about being in prison, and it mentioned stuffing a blanket in the Turkish toilet at night to keep the rats from crawling out and also dipping out all of the water during the day to push one's face down into the hole to talk to people in different cells.

Yes, it is important to see this again and again to really understand it.



There were 3 levels to visit in all, but it wasn't time to climb the stairs yet.





This cell was decorated with human feces, and the aroma was very present. This won't surprise anyone who saw Michael Fassbender in Hunger.



Real life was extremely present here, unlike most museums.

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Good news! We have now graduated to nice cells with a door to hide the toilet!



The metal frame at the bottom is for holding a television set.









Here is an interesting display of "prison issue" personal items.





There was a wide variety of badges for visitors.

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This is fascinating. I visited a museum in Avignon in 2008, but it was boring, traditional, and austere. I'm looking forward to seeing more photos, assuming you have more to post.

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There is a cliff overlooking the prison. These are friends and family calling down to their loved ones from above.

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Some of the artworks were videos playing in long dead end corridors. They were not popular in the stifling heat.



The condition of the walls held a particular fascination for me. They were probably more interesting for prisoners to look at than blank perfectly painted walls.



A lot of the administrative equipment was left just as it was when the prison closed.

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There certainly seems to be an extraordinary amount lot of detail to take in, and I wonder how it would be to switch from thinking about prison life, to relating to the art displays, and back again.

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I imagine that three cellmates decided to nationalise their toilet door.









I had gone through numerous corridors by now and changed level a number of times. This probably would have taken hours when the prison was still functioning.

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This German series of photos was of people arranged chronologically by age, waiting for incarcerated loved ones.









Suddenly the ceiling became playful.







Some of the cells were considerably more spacious. But I had no information on how many residents were supposed to live in a cell.



Whenever there is a peephole, you have to peep.







Here is a word that is more important than the traditional "LOVE" for a lot of people.

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Finally going back down from the top level. Oh, it was so hot up there!



The "Chez Zonzon Café" tried to attract clients.



I was insufficiently dehydrated to make a stop there.



The anti helicopter net had mostly collapsed into the courtyard. Anti helicopter nets have proved to be essential in French prisons.



So, back into prison...

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Time to visit the women's section of the prison!



The courtyard seemed sufficiently pleasant, even with the collapsed helicopter nets.





But prison women sometimes have extreme ideas.





Oh my goodness! The women's cells have both a toilet and a bidet. Très chic!

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Female prisoners could look at fireworks all the time.







Paint peeled in the women's section just like in the men's section.



This was probably a more recent area in the prison, because the authorities had cleverly discovered that toilet tanks should not be in reach within the cells.



The warden is watching you.

It was time to go, but I was extremely happy with my visit to such an unusual exhibition. There are not many occasions that one gets to see art in such an unusual venue, and I think that I would have made a special trip to see it even if I had not been going to the festival in July.

Here is the official website: The Disappearance of the Fireflies

Interestingly enough, just this week, the nearly identical Parisian prison "La Santé" closed for 4 years for renovation. There were television reports showing it, and it had the same squalid cells and peeling paint that I saw in Avignon, but for some reason they did not show the "celebrity" cells. Major French politicians and captains of industry have been incarcerated there but most certainly not in the same conditions.

It was mentioned that during the heritage days in September, the prison will be opened for visits, and I have to admit that I am definitely tempted to make a visit, even if I already know most of the visuals.

[tod2]

That was an excellent tour around the museum Kerouac! I can't say I'm a fan of Lambert's art but it does cause one to try and figure out his thinking.
Thanks for the tip on the old La Sante prison opening to public for some days in September - I would like to see the interior remembering we walked past it one day, to see the only old Pissoir left in Paris. I wonder if that is still there...

[Deleted]

I think one of the best things about modern art is that we are allowed not to like it, unlike classical paintings by the Old Masters. If you say "I don't think Rembrandt, Da Vinci or Renoir are all that good," you could possibly be escorted out of a museum, but with this kind of stuff it is just fine to say "this makes no sense to me" or "what a waste of time" or every now and then "that's kind of cool." For this reason, I have great admiration for collectors of modern art, because they are taking real risks, just like when a few people decided to buy the Van Gogh paintings that everybody thought were terrible.

It is also true that it has perhaps become too easy to create certain things and call them "art" which is obviously what just about all of us think when we see a pile of old paper bags or broken plastic toys in a museum.

[tod2]

Kerouac - I'm so releived. I don't reject everyting, but I am looking at modern art through tired old eyes and very little time to educate the "arts" in my lifetime.
So glad you have the energy and curiosity to want to check it out! I can't thank you enough.

[bixaorellana]

Good grief! Can't imagine where I was or what I was doing, but I completely failed to see this BRILLIANT thread until late last night.
(It was listed in "More topics from this board" at the bottom of another thread.)

Went through it twice last night & just enjoyed -- if that is the right word -- it again. Beyond the quality of the various works of art, the curating of the exposition is beyond perfect. The perfection of the matching of art work to space is an art form in itself, with art and space resonating in harmony and also individually.

I am curious about how much of the art was solicited specifically for this exhibit. The photos of people waiting for their imprisoned loved ones, for instance -- do you suppose that was already part of Lambert's collection?

Whatever, the website's lyrical description gives some insight, but your unfolding of your visit there really is an eye-opener, both to the art and to the reality of prison life. As you wrote: A very important part of the experience was to see what prison conditions were really like. Despite the empathetic feelings of despair and fear those conditions evoke, your text and and the accompanying images of Suddenly the ceiling became playful artfully balance not only truths of human existence, but gracefully bounce our consciousness back to the art work.

Thank you for enduring the heat to bring us this remarkable event!

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Thanks. Actually, I think I missed posting a few of the interesting pictures, so I will have to search my files again.

[bixaorellana]

I wish you would!