Centre Pompidou Malaga is located between Docks 1 and 2 of the port of the city and in front of the waters of the bay of Malaga. It’s impossible to miss the building known as El Cubo or The Cube, as it is actually cube shaped with coloured square glass panels on all sides.
The entrance fee was €7 for the semi-permanent exhibition, A TIME OF ITS OWN – Freeing yourself from the shackles of everyday life, comprised of six rooms all about time: time for leisure, holidays etc.
Walking down a long slope with wide steps, I came to the collection, which included an interesting range of paintings, including a Picasso, Martin Parr photographs, sculptures and other interactive displays.
The ticket price included a complimentary handheld audio guide, but I found the narrative so pretentious, I hardly used it.
Likewise, some descriptions alongside the paintings were equally bamboozling. A small painting by a lady called Etel Adnan, which frankly could have been done by a five-year-old, suggested: the juxtaposition between simple shapes and solid block of colour creates poetic compositions where imagination takes over and journeys through a fantasized space-time. In addition, the piece was ‘untitled’ one of my pet hates as when someone has had the imagination to create something, and presumably worked hard on it, it seems inconceivable not to go the extra mile and think of a title.
However, there were exhibits I really liked. One was a long line of ever-increasing colourful ball shapes starting with a piggy bank, going through a fish bowl, globe, a puffer fish, lampshade etc before ending with a circular tuk tuk. There was a black and white film called Semiotics of the Kitchen featuring an apron-clad housewife introducing items in her kitchen and demonstrating fervently their movement – it sounds bizarre but was strangely compelling. Another 90-minute film had an adult dressed as a clown. The clown was sleeping but made occasional movements, but I decided life was too short to watch the whole thing.
I spent around an hour looking round, and also visited the comprehensive gift shop at the end.
Whilst reading information afterwards in answer to the question ‘Why go?’ it said if you like art that raises an eyebrow (or both) and don’t mind being shocked, puzzled or amazed at what you see. You also want to know what’s in that Cube, and you love a good museum shop. And it’s open on a Monday! I thought this probably summed it up very well.
