.Aimé Maeght - Fantasy
Here is an extract from my book where all the fantasy of my grandfather Aimé Maeght is honored.
In the photo here he is in the company of Georges Pompidou, then President of the Republic, accompanied by his wife Claude, during an official visit to the Maeght Foundation.
"I often stop by unexpectedly. I learn from my grandfather. I like to isolate myself with him in his library, he lets me leaf through his beautiful books, shows me his latest discoveries – the greatest bibliophiles would lose their minds in front of such treasures. He makes me listen to records received from the four corners of the planet, comments on the press for me... At almost seventy years old, he collects video works. He is interested in all forms. of art, to the modernity of tomorrow Installed on the sofas designed by Charlotte Perriand, we talk for hours. He questions me with interest about my tastes, my preferences, the reactions of my friends of my age to this or that trend. .
Every day, it nourishes my mind and shapes my outlook. He only talks to me about beauty, aesthetics, balance, style, always beautiful things. Sometimes we escape and he guides me to a museum, takes me to visit the construction site of the future Georges-Pompidou Center which will open thirteen years after the Maeght Foundation... It is on the model of the Maeght Foundation that the Pompidou Center will bring together permanent collections and temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, music, with IRCAM, live shows, library, reception of artists in workshops, all in an ultra-contemporary building. But while I am resolutely against its construction in the heart of Paris, Grandpa applauds its establishment. “No nostalgia, it is precisely in the heart of this historic district that the most innovative art must assert itself. Go back to live in a hut in Lutèce if you're not happy! » he says to me. More than fifty years separate us and yet he is the youngest in spirit.
With him, everything is a subject for heated conversation: what is the role of the State, what is a collector, are galleries necessary for artists, are artists manageable, should they be publicized ? He is never taken by surprise because he constantly asks himself questions about his time. So many things excite him. More than his passions, he transmits THE passion to me."
