Success shreds JR's Louvre illusion

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A whimsical collage in the courtyard of France's Louvre art museum had a short shelf life after a swarm of tourists and art lovers left it in shreds.

French artist JR and 400 volunteers put the final touches to the huge collage on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Louvre's glass pyramid.

On Saturday he tweeted a photo of the 17,000 square meters (183,000 square foot) work which, from a certain angle, made the pyramid appear to extend deep into a quarry of white rock, and invited the public to come take a look.

French contemporary artist and photographer Jean Rene (C), aka JR, poses with volunteers during preparation works of his installation in the main courtyard, the Cour Napoleon, of the Louvre Museum in Paris, March 27, 2019. /VCG Photo

Come they did, and within a few hours the fragile 2,000-odd sheets of paper were torn to pieces, returning the site to its natural state in what could almost be called a work of public performance art.

Art lovers were not amused however, and some expressed themselves on Twitter with comments such as "really disappointing bad experience today for the Louvre pyramid's 30th anniversary."

Another noted that "JR's art piece was more fleeting than foreseen."

Another artwork by JR in 2016 made it seem as if the Louvre Pyramid disappeared. /Xinhua Photo

The artist was more philosophical Sunday. "The images, like life, are ephemeral," he tweeted.

Three years ago, JR, whose real name is Jean Rene, gave the pyramid a very different treatment, covering it in a giant trompe-l'oeil that made it seem like it had disappeared.

French artist JR surrounds Louvre Pyramid with giant collage

(Top Photo: French contemporary artist and photographer Jean Rene (L), or JR, is helped by volunteers during preparation works of his installation in the main courtyard Cour Napoleon of the Louvre Museum in Paris, March 27, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP