PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia is taking art to the streets – and bringing the streets into the museum – as part of a major new exhibition that looks at engaging with public space and the urban experience.
“Person of the Crowd: The Contemporary Art of Flanerie” runs from Feb. 25 to May 22, adding a decidedly present-day edge to the museum known for its legendary trove of Renoirs, Cezannes, Matisses and Picassos.
More than 50 American and international artists are featured in the exhibit, which not only takes place inside the museum’s Roberts Gallery, but also reaches into the streets of Philadelphia itself, via street performances, billboards, posters, themed walks and public participation in the show’s social media components.
“It’s the Barnes’ most ambitious project to date,” said Thom Collins, the museum’s executive director and president.
The idea of “flanerie” stems from an 1840 Edgar Allen Poe story called “The Man of the Crowd.” It introduced the concept of a “flaneur” (a French word meaning “one who strolls”) who ambles through the city streets, observing its fabric and inhabitants. Two decades later, poet Charles Baudelaire brought added attention to the idea of the “flaneur” when he called it the engine behind the new art movement of French Impressionism.