When does popular culture become art? I thought about this at the vernissage of a delightful exhibition called Futur Antérieur at the Galerie du Jour in the Marais. The show is supposedly devoted to «retro-futurism, steampunk and archeo-modernism». It's actually about science fiction. Or, perhaps more accurately, memories of the future: what artists of the past thought our present would look like. So alongside designs for Jules Verne's Nautilus, you have 19th century skyscrapers, rocket ships from the 1920s and laser guns from the 1950s – and so on. Some genuine steampunks – roughly speaking, men and women dressed in the garb of Victorian science fiction – completed the colourful mix.
What struck me was that the exhibition made no distinction between the work of respected contemporary artists like Laurent Grasso and Xavier Veilhan and the numerous comic strips, toys, gadgets and movie storyboards on show. In fact, it was hard to tell when the serious art ended and the popular culture began. But I'm sure that was entirely the point: the exhibition is not a celebration of Art, but of Imagination. Are the writers of science fiction less creative than painters or sculptors? I don't think so. And neither does Jean-François Sanz, the curator of this highly entertaining show. It ends on May 26, so go along while the past is still present.
