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Sarkis Passages: A Living Museum at Centre Pompidou

exhibition · 2026-04-23

At the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Sarkis's exhibition titled 'Sarkis-Passages' runs from 10 February to 21 June 2010, portraying the museum as a dynamic organism. The artist engages with spaces such as Brancusi's studio and Beuys's Plight room, aiming to 'heal' the artworks within. He casts a segment of Pudovkin's film 'Tempête sur l'Asie' onto Brancusi's studio and invites visitors to experience Beuys's Plight while wearing felt slippers. Additionally, on 7–8 June, he presents a reinterpretation of John Cage's 'Roaratorio' at Ircam. The exhibition progresses with the inclusion of a vitrine showcasing items from his collection and a model of his Villejuif studio, embodying Sarkis's 'Kriegschatz' concept that challenges traditional museification.

Key facts

  • Exhibition at Centre Pompidou, Paris, 10 February – 21 June 2010
  • Sarkis intervenes in Brancusi's studio, Beuys's Plight, and Bibliothèque Kandinsky
  • Projects Pudovkin's film fragment onto Brancusi's studio
  • Reopens Beuys's Plight with visitors wearing felt slippers
  • Stages John Cage's Roaratorio at Ircam on 7–8 June
  • Installs rotating sculptures with magnetic tape and statuettes
  • Live webcam feed from Sarkis's Villejuif studio
  • Adds vitrine opposite André Breton's studio wall from 4 April
  • Model of Villejuif studio with neon crosses in Russian Constructivists room
  • Ikones displayed spontaneously like Malevich's 0.10 exhibition
  • Concept of Kriegschatz (war treasure) opposes static museification
  • Draws on Aby Warburg and Walter Benjamin
  • Invents 'living museum' as envisioned by Georges Duthuit

Entities

Artists

  • Sarkis
  • Constantin Brâncuși
  • Joseph Beuys
  • John Cage
  • Kazimir Malevich
  • André Breton
  • Vsevolod Pudovkin
  • Georges Duthuit
  • Aby Warburg
  • Walter Benjamin
  • Frances Yates
  • Pontus Hulten

Institutions

  • Centre Pompidou
  • Ircam
  • Bibliothèque Kandinsky

Locations

  • Paris
  • France
  • Villejuif

Sources