The museum existed on the first floor of the Palais d'Yen administration building (built by Auguste Perret, 1936–46) for only one day. In fact, it was an installation - a reflection on the theme of contemporary culture, social consciousness and the place of the museum in the world.
Despite the brevity of its “life,” the “24-hour museum” managed to fulfill most of the functions of a typical such institution: it opened in the evening with a gala dinner for the elite, then there was a closed party like a disco; from the early morning of the next day, the general public could visit it for free, in the evening came the turn of excursions for schoolchildren, and everything ended with a finissage.
The exhibits were works by Vezzoli, created specifically for the museum, combining antique sculptures with images of modern actresses, singers, etc. Koolhaas and AMO have developed three zones for them, referring to different sides of the museum as an exhibition space and a social institution.
The main, experimental or modern area is a large metal cage illuminated by pink LEDs; most of Vezzoli's "statues" are on display and dinner was held there. Classical, or propaganda (in the spirit of museums of totalitarian regimes) space - a wide staircase with a "main" statue against a background of red draperies; finissage was carried out here. The informal area, storeroom, or "parlor of the outcast" is bounded by green velvet curtains; it was also used as a disco. One of the key themes of this work of AMO was the widespread commercialization of public museums, which, obviously, was reflected in the "dual purpose" of all premises.
This is not the first OMA / AMO collaboration with Prada in the artistic field: before that there was the Seoul Prada Transformer, a temporary cultural center, for the change of functions of which it was necessary to turn it down one way or another. But more important is cooperation directly related to the Prada business: along with boutique projects and the reconstruction of the Prada Foundation complex in Milan, OMA / AMO has been arranging fashion shows for this brand since 2004. In January 2012, their designs for the fall / winter 2012 menswear show echoed the retro flair of the collection with their deep red color and black geometric patterns.
N. F.
