Julian Schnabel calls Ara Pacis Museum "an air-conditioning unit"

Frankly, I think Schnabel is a blowhard (from Italy Mag):

Well-known artist Julian Schnabel on Thursday provided heavy ammunition for the many critics of Rome's new home for the Roman Empire's most famous peace symbol.

Speaking on the sidelines of a new show he is giving here, Schnabel called the Ara Pacis museum, designed amid fierce polemics by his eminent countryman Richard Meier, "an air-conditioning unit".

"Modern museums are all the same, all glass and marble."

"They're soulless," said Schnabel, whose first-ever Rome show will be at the famous Palazzo Venezia from May 4 to June 26 before moving to Milan.

"People have to realise we're just ghosts, we're going to be leaving pretty soon, so we have to seek beauty in the present and use the things we have, not novelties," said the 55-year-old New York artist and film-maker, whose works dot the world's leading museums.

Schnabel was flanked by a delighted Vittorio Sgarbi, the outspoken art critic, now Milan cultural chief, who once urged students to bomb the building and accused the American architect of "knowing Rome like I know Tibet".

Knowing his paintings I think the phrase "seek beauty in the present and use the things we have, not novelties" is especially egregious. And having your building called "an air-conditioning unit" could be considered a deconstructivist compliment actually.

Last update: December 17, 2024 6:52 PM