James Coleman's Conceptual Intervention at the Louvre

James Coleman created a site-specific installation for the Louvre's exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and manuscripts (May 5–July 14, 2003). His work consisted of sequences of four small backlit screens placed throughout the exhibition path, displaying black-and-white reproductions of Leonardo's works not included in the show. These 'reproductions of reproductions' formed micro-narratives through the arrangement of vignettes and captions, with one intentionally blank screen referencing cinema's inability to achieve absolute black. The installation also included a large digital projection of Leonardo's 'The Last Supper' in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, where immense computer-controlled images slowly shifted between stillness and tremor, inviting patient viewing. The computer hardware was displayed behind glass, exposing the work as a 'vision machine'. Coleman's piece engaged with issues of representation, exhibition, archive, and museum function, creating parallels between museographic and surveillance systems, reproduction and label, documentation and artwork. Curated by Françoise Viatte, the exhibition juxtaposed Coleman's conceptual framework with Leonardo's own inventive methods.