1985-86
Marble and concrete
Palais Royal inner courtyard-Paris, France

This was Buren’s first permanent public project. With a total of 252 striped columns, made from marble and concrete, these took up the entire inner courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris. There was also red and green lights and swirling water feature running under a metal grill. The columns are evenly spaced, but sometimes vary in height. This piece is a highly controversial, as eight days before the installation was due to for completion, angry residents of the Palais Royal halted construction. The construction eventually continued, and two months after work continued, they “decided to tolerate rather than tear down”. The base of the columns go down into the basement of the courtyard and rise up to the ground level. This is to show the uniting of the past, present and future by symbolizing the historical relationship between underground and street level Paris.