CLAMART, France—The street is typical French suburbia, gray and peaceful, a far stretch from the narrow sidewalks, rooftops and, in early 20th century, artists’ studios of Montmartre, but only a few kilometers from Paris. Yet, in the 1930s, up this steep and curvy stretch, lived two members of the avant-garde — Jean Arp and Sophie Taueber. Joan Miro, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp and James Joyce were among their visitors.
Arp (1886-1966) was a pioneer of surrealism and a member of the Dada movement, the branch of surrealism that called for a return to childhood spirit and the destruction of all established rules. After working in Zurich and then in Paris in Montmartre, he and Taueber, another free thinker (they eventually married), bought a piece of land in Clamart and built a house at the edge of a forest. Taueber designed it, influenced by the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.
More than 80 years later, the three-story “maison-atelier” still stands, and a decade-long renovation has just been completed.
“It’s a house imbued with the serenity and simplicity of both artists,” said Claude Weil-Seigeot, the president of the Arp Foundation in France. “When I saw all of this might disappear if no one acted, I decided to give battle,” she said.
Keeping the building “modest and intimate” was a prerequisite for Ms. Weil-Seigeot when work began on the house in 2003. The renovations, including the construction of a little bookstore that opens onto the garden, were all done using the typical “meulière” stone of the Paris suburbs that Taueber had used in the ’30s. Ten years later, the work, done little by little so the house would not have to close to visitors, is finally finished, simultaneously with the publication of “Atelier Jean Arp et Sophie Taueber,” an art book, with text by Renaud Ego, on the history of the house and its occupants.
There are three Arp foundations in Europe: The one in Clamart, which preserves the atelier where Arp lived and worked for most of his life; one in Locarno, Switzerland, founded by Arp’s second wife, Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach, and the Stiftung Arp eV, a German organization, which holds the rights of reproduction of Arp’s work and owns most of the artist’s sculptures.
Relationships among the three foundations were problematic in the past, according to the German foundation’s curator, Maike Steinkamp.
“Now the aim is that we cooperate; when there are problems with authenticity, we talk,” she said. A publication released last year, “Hans Arp. Sculptures— A Critical Survey,” by Kai Fischer and Arie Hartog, took note of all known sculptural objects related to Arp including posthumous and unauthorized casts, causing some controversy with its revelations.
Its aim was to create transparency in Arp’s work, said Ms. Steinkamp. “We are happy with that objective and will now not be casting any new sculptures because of all the problems the survey revealed about the past.”
The German and French foundations wrangled over some of Arp’s work; some of it had been moved to Germany. Once it had been established that it was Arp’s wish that they remain in his atelier, they were returned. Most of the sculptures are now back on view in Clamart. “When I’m asked who picked the sculptures to be on show here, I like to joke and say ‘it was all work of the bailiff.’” Ms. Weil-Seigeot said, smiling. “It’s the bailiff’s collection.”
Only about 2,000 visitors tour the house each year, she said, by necessity. “It’s so intimate, when there are more than 30 people in the house at once, it’s panic!”
Through the windows, up the stairs, you can peer into the artists’ workspace. There you see drawings, collages, words and sculptures. Even in deep winter, Arp’s sculptures reflect the garden’s afternoon light.
“He was very attached to the dialogue between nature and his art,” Ms. Weil-Seigeot said.
Trees tower above the studio with only natural light filtering in. In his definition of Dada, Arp introduces nature:
“Dada is direct like nature and tries to give essential room to every thing. Dada is for infinite meaning and definite media,” he wrote.
His sculptures have the shapes of curvaceous bodies, old sinuous trees or seashells that stayed underwater so long that their surfaces have eroded.
“We try to let visitors approach the artwork freely, we don’t want to impose any cultural filter on them,” Ms. Weil-Seigeot explains, following the artist’s desire to let art speak to the senses.
“One has to create like nature,” Arp once said.
When schoolchildren come for group visits, they are given gloves and are allowed to touch the sculptures in the garden to feel their smooth surface. No words are needed.
“They are the ones who understand it the best,” says Ms. Weil-Seigeot. “Because they have no filter yet.”
The Fondation Arp is at 21 rue des Chataigniers in Clamart. Visiting hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. by appointment. More information at www.fondationarp.org
