Last June, during my two-month sabbatical, I decided to visit the Louis Vuitton Foundation (LVF) in Boulogne. The idea was birthed out of wanting to shift from consuming Instagram content to experiencing true art. I have felt so disillusioned with social media these past few years, and I realised I was doing far more consuming than creating.
Checking out the Alexander Calder expo at LVF seemed like a good place to start. I knew that in the basement of the LVF there was a striking light installation designed by Olafur Eliasson, and that drew me too.
© Malcolm McLoughlin
What I had not banked on was just how moved I would be by the actual architecture of the building. Designed by the legendary Frank Gehry, the LVF is a space dominated by great glass sails and meandering corridors. It struck me that the building matters just as much as the art inside it. The space complemented the intricate, kinetic world of Calder that ran the spectrum of the arts.
© Malcolm McLoughlin
I am a person who is always moving, always on to the next thing before the current thing is even finished. Looking at Calder's work forced me to stop and watch as his suspended metal "mobiles" hypnotically shifted in the air. Something in me cracked open, and I felt a million miles removed from the dopamine-inducing scroll that promises so much but ultimately delivers a sense of emptiness.
© Malcolm McLoughlin
My visit to the LVF that day lit a fire in me to visit more expos in Paris. And what an absolute privilege it is to live in this city and know that even after 19 years here, there is still so much more to explore.
