Understanding ‘L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped’

Wilson Tarbox | Frieze | 28th September 2021

The Arc de Triomphe is now being unwrapped IRL, with little sign of a critical consensus. One French journalist tweeted “I am ashamed.” A writer happily admits the wrapping is both “nonsensical” and “transfixing, like seeing a frozen waterfall.” To another, it’s “joyous and lurid” and a reminder that “all things must come to an end”. Finally, a Paris resident – “I pass the Champs-Élysées most days. I never even notice the Arc de Triomphe. But now, I see it.”