daniel buuren monumenta

Sculpture in situ, public commission for the main courtyard of the Palais-Royal, Paris.

Filling the entire main courtyard of the Palais-Royal, The Two Plateaux are composed of a set of facetted columns installed in relation to the architecture of the building, the position of the colonnades, the convexity of the ground and the declivity of the basement. The tops of the columns in the central area are aligned and form the first “plateau.” Columns of the same height are installed in trenches and their gradual sinking reveals the slope of the “plateau” below ground level, where water is running. The work interacts with the place, exhibits, unveils and animates it. Despite nationwide controversy, a work stoppage, a sabotage threat, and signs of incomprehension scrawled on the hoardings, the work was finished in July 1986.