The Chanel Pavilion in Central Park@Art

Nicolai Ouroussoff writes: "The wild, delirious ride that architecture has been on for the last decade looks as if it’s finally coming to an end. And after a visit to the Chanel Pavilion that opened Monday in Central Park, you may think it hasn’t come soon enough."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

"Designed to display artworks that were inspired by Chanel’s 2.55, a quilted chain-strap handbag, the pavilion certainly oozes glamour. Its mysterious nautiluslike form, which can be easily dismantled and shipped to the next city on its global tour, reflects the keen architectural intelligence we have come to expect from its creator, Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-born architect who lives in London."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

"Yet if devoting so much intellectual effort to such a dubious undertaking might have seemed indulgent a year ago, today it looks delusional."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

The interior of the pavilion.

"It’s not just the economic turmoil, although the timing could hardly be worse. It’s that the pavilion sets out to drape an aura of refinement over a cynical marketing gimmick. Surveying its self-important exhibits, you can’t help but hope that the era of exploiting the so-called intersection of architecture, art and fashion is finally over."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

A video project by the Japanese artist Tabaimo.

"The pavilion was first shown in Hong Kong and Tokyo. It will be on view in New York through Nov. 9. Chanel is paying a $400,000 fee to rent space in the park and has made a gift of an undisclosed amount to the Central Park Conservancy as part of the deal."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

The entrance.

"It’s not that hard to see why Ms. Hadid accepted the commission. One of architecture’s most magical aspects is the range of subjects it allows you to engage, from the complex social relationships embodied in a single-family house to the intense communal focus of a concert hall. Great talents want to explore them all."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

"The company’s money couldn’t have bought a prettier site. The pavilion stands on Rumsey Playfield, near Fifth Avenue and 69th Street. Groves of elm and linden trees frame the pavilion to the north and south; a long trellis draped in wisteria flanks it to the west. The area is carpeted in colorful fall leaves."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

An installation by Lee Bul.

"Opening the pavilion in Central Park only aggravates the wince factor. Frederick Law Olmsted planned the park as a great democratic experiment, an immense social mixing place as well as an instrument of psychological healing for the weary. The Chanel project reminds us how far we have traveled from those ideals by dismantling the boundary between the civic realm and corporate interests."

Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times

@Source:http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/20/arts/20081021_ZAHA_SLIDESHOW_index.html