Philippe Stark puts pataphysics in the spotlight at the Carnavalet Museum

A three-minute walk from the Hotel Les Tournelles is the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris, which recently reopened its doors after lengthy renovation works. Today, it offers an incredibly rich permanent exhibition covering the history of Paris from prehistory and the Neolithic dugout canoes discovered during construction work on the Bercy quays, all the way up to contemporary times. But the museum also hosts a wide variety of temporary exhibitions. Until August 27th, 2023, you can look at the world from a different angle thanks to Philippe Stark and his exhibition entitled Paris is Pataphysical.

Stark and pataphysics

Philippe Stark has built an international reputation as a designer thanks to his many creations across a wide range of uses. These have sold in large quantities, and many have become iconic. Putting the good and the useful before the beautiful, he also seeks to democratise design in general. Thus, he has become firmly established on the creative scene without ever denying the fascination with the bizarre that led to him joining the College of Pataphysics. Established in 1948, inspired by the imagination of the French writer Alfred Jarry, the college collects and administers “learned and useless” research on pataphysics. Jarry himself defined pataphysics as the “science of imaginary solutions which symbolically grants lineaments the properties of objects described by their virtuality”. Followed through the decades by many brilliant and offbeat minds who still make up the College and who bear high-sounding and ironic titles, pataphysics is a form of calculated absurdity that is creatively stimulating, satirical and deeply philosophical.

The journey that is Paris is Pataphysical

With this extraordinary exhibition, Stark combines two of his passions: his beloved Paris and pataphysics. He offers a reinterpretation of the places he loves, passes through and lives in and invites you to appropriate them through a journey that is almost an initiatory experience. Tourist places, places of power, and places of celebration are transfigured under his magician's wand. The beautiful mingles with the strange, sensations take shape, and contours blur. From this journey, unique and specific emotions are born, their intensity varying over the course of the experiences and emerging as new. Ultimately, this totally extraordinary exhibition is a powerful declaration of love from Philippe Stark to his city. If you want to make the most of your visit, remember to book your entry on the Musée d’Histoire de Paris – Carnavalet website to avoid waiting at the door. Complete this journey of discovery by browsing the permanent exhibitions devoted to the history of the City of Paris.

Located in the Haut Marais, the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris offers a rich experience. It is also characterised by the originality of the temporary exhibitions it hosts, such as the current Paris is Pataphysical, but also La Régence à Paris, which will open on October 20th and examine little-known aspects of the Regency period in the capital.

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Photo : PackShot

Hotel Les Tournelles, a 3-star hotel in the heart of the Marais