A rectangular patch of sand in Central Park may be the last place you’dexpect to find a gleaming “Star Trek”-style spacecraft. But an artpavilion that resembles just that will make a temporary landing therethis fall.Called Mobile Art, the structure itself was designed by the renowned London architect Zaha Hadidand will occupy the Rumsey Playfield, midpark at 70th Street, from Oct.20 to Nov. 9. {It is Ms. Hadid’s first New York building, albeittemporary, and has already made stops in Hong Kong and Tokyo and isheaded later for London, Moscow and Paris.} Yet beyond itsartistic mission, the pavilion is a provocative advertisement. Chanel,the fashion brand, commissioned Ms. Hadid to create the travelingstructure to house works by about 15 hot contemporary artists. Each wasasked to create a work that was at least in part inspired by Chanel’sclassic 2.55 quilted-style chain handbag, so named because it was firstissued in February 1955. Maureen Chiquet, Chanel’s global chiefexecutive, declined to give specifics on financial arrangements. Butofficials familiar with the project, requesting anonymity in deferenceto Chanel, said that the fashion house was donating a sum “in the lowseven figures” to the Central Park Conservancy. Chanel will also pay the city a “use fee” of $400,000. Artistsrecruited for the project include Sophie Calle of France, Sylvie Fleuryof Switzerland, Subodh Gupta of India and the Russian collective BlueNoses. The resulting works in the show, organized by Fabrice Bousteau,editor in chief of Beaux Arts magazine, include sculpture, photographs,videos and installation pieces. Many of the artists exploredthe notion of the handbag as a cultural symbol, often with a dash ofirreverence. Mr. Gupta produced “All Things Are Inside,” a videoinstallation that is a meditation on people in transit, like an Indianlaborer who returns from Dubai. It also includes clips from Indianfilms in which the handbag emerges as an element in a human drama. BlueNoses created “Fifty Years After Our Common Era or Handbags Revolt,” aninstallation of packing boxes in which videos show satirical moments inthe life of a handbag. Ms. Fleury created a giant Pop Art-style quiltedhandbag lined with pink fur; inside is a makeup compact in which youcan view a video of women shooting handbags with guns. The genesis for the project was the handbag’s 50th anniversary in 2005, when Chanel’s designer, Karl Lagerfeld, issued a new version of the purse, Ms. Chiquet said. The project took several years to come to fruition. Admission to the exhibition in Central Park will be free, although visitors are advised to book timed tickets at chanel-mobileart.com. Withthe weakened dollar New York has become a magnet for European and Asianvisitors, and city officials are hoping that the art pavilion will be adraw for tourists. They cited precedents like Christoand Jeanne-Claude’s “Gates,” in which 7,500 gates festooned withsaffron-colored fabric panels were positioned along Central Park’spathways for 16 days in 2005, or the four waterfalls designed by theartist Olafur Eliasson that grace the shores of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Governors Island this summer. “Right now Central Park is one big international duty-free zone,” said Adrian Benepe, the city’s parks commissioner. “You can’t walk through it without hearing lots of different languages.” DouglasBlonsky, president of the Central Park Conservancy, said the pavilionwould fit perfectly on the 1.5-acre playfield. “It’s low enough so itwon’t disturb people,” he said. “We wouldn’t use the Great Lawn orSheep Meadow. It’s not taking over someone else’s space. It’s a neatlittle surprise.” He and Mr. Benepe described Chanel’s donationas a windfall for the park. The money will go toward enhancing itshorticulture, particularly in the area from 85th Street to the HarlemMeer. Asked whether he anticipated criticism for allowingChanel to a
www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/arts/design/24zaha.html?hp