Art Unlimited. Tuesday 14 June, 2011
DANIEL BUREN, Autour du retour d’un détour – Inscriptions, 1986-1988
tables of rough wood, paint, ink
image © WFW

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In 1986, DANIEL BUREN conceived a permanent work for the courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris. Entitled Les Deux Plateaux, it consists in a series of columns arranged in an area of 3000 square meters. During the construction phase there was heated debate about BUREN‘s intervention and about the concept of integrating ancient and contemporary art.

Passers-by, to whom the artist deliberately chose not to deny a view of the site by erecting a perimeter barrier that was only waist high, contributed to the querelle by writing their comments on the outside of the fence.

In the 1988 exhibition at Le Magasin in Grenoble, Autour du retour d’un retour-Inscriptions, BUREN used the old fencing of the site to create a path that reproduced that of the Palais Royal. On the outer side of the fence (the one delineating the walkway) it was possible to read what the passers-by wrote: on the inner side, there were contrasting red and white stripe.

A version of this work is presented at Art Unlimited!