Projection of pyramids on the wall of the medieval foundations of the Louvre. © Michal Rovner /...

From May 19th, the Louvre will present Michal Rovner’s exhibition “Histoires” in three areas of the museum: The Cour Napoléon; the Medieval Louvre; and the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities. These important three site-specific creations have a special resonance within this universal institution.
“It is a great challenge to communicate with the Louvre, which contains all those places and times and fragments of human culture, from my point in time and place” says Michal Rovner, the Israeli artist who was also the subject of an important solo exhibition in France in 2005 when her retrospective “Fields of Fire” was presented at the Jeu de Paume. Coming from her lifelong experiences with sociopolitical conflict in the Middle East, “Histoires is a timeline of breaks” says the artist.
In the Cour Napoléon, Rovner and her team of Israeli and Palestinian stone masons built two monumental stones structures entitled Makom II

Makom II© ADAGP, 2011 Courtesy: Michal Rovner

and Makom IV (meaning “space” in Hebrew) from the stones of destroyed Israeli and Palestinian houses. Makom II, weighing approximately 40 tons, was constructed with stones collected from Jerusalem, Galilee, Hebron, and Bethlehem, among other cities. Despite the different sizes of the original stones Rovner decided not to cut them to the same size but found a way to fit them together. This complex puzzle resulted in a simple square structure pierced by a narrow vertical opening, allowing viewers a glimpse inside. Facing Makom II in the courtyard of the museum is Makom IV, weighing an estimated 70 tons, assembled with dark stones from the border of Israel and Syria, has a violent diagonal fissure that nearly dissects the wall in half.
David Grossman, the distinguished Israeli author, summarizes the quintessence of Rovner’s work in his accompanying catalogue essay:
“One can sense the life—memories that settled among them, the echoes of struggles that surrounded them—the clash of tribes, of nations, of religions and armies that fought one another over land or power or honor, over freedom, over home. More than anything, they evoke the fragile human individual, crushed between these forces.”
Two giant frescos in motion will be projected on the stone walls of the palace’s original foundation in the Medieval Louvre, transforming the museum into an archeological site. By projecting images of the museum onto the medieval stones, some of which are broken and fragmented, Rovner creates a sort of futurist restoration of the Louvre. The second projection, composed of thousands of moving human figures, appears to be an ancient, enigmatic text. In the Levant (the museum’s Department of Near Eastern Antiquities),
small works of stones and light evoke ancient text in movement or an imprint from a far time.
In conjunction with the exhibition Michal Rovner, "Histoires" at the Louvre (May 19th to October 24th) the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton will present "Making of Makom".   The exhibition documents the construction of the two monumental stone structures that will be in the Louvre’s Cour Napoléon. Through photography and film the exhibition reveals the many dimensions, both sculptural and human, of this extraordinary project.
The Espace culturel will host a special event for the launching of Dans Tes Bras (Hug), a book created by Israeli author David Grossman and Michal Rovner and published by Steidl. Their collaboration is a rare encounter of two great talents working together to create a unique publication that has the power to touch people of all ages. A preliminary sketch for the book will be included as part of the exhibition. Michal Rovner and David Grossman have been invited to discuss the book as well as their other creations at the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton on May 26th at 7pm.
In partnership with the musée du Louvre, presenting the Michal Rovner, Histoires exhibition in the Medieval Louvre and in the Near Eastern Antiquities Department from May 19th until August 15th 2011, and in the Cour Napoléon until October, 24th 2011.

For more information visit:  www.louvre.fr/llv/exposition/

or www.louisvuitton.com/espaceculturel/

Published 16.05.2011