"I'm a Security Guard at the Pompidou" Author: [France] Aurelie Ellou / [Spain] Sagal Fourniers Publisher: Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House

Introduction · · · · · ·
A 35-year-old rich second-generation went bankrupt unexpectedly and came to the art museum to work as a security guard to make a living.

With hand-painted lines as flamboyant as gorgeous string music

A series of artistic masterpieces that have gone down in history

Start a sensory journey that is both real and imaginary

There are a thousand different interpretations of art in the eyes of a thousand people

The important thing is to believe what you see

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◇ Editor's recommendation

Never underestimate the power of art!

It can make you feel mixed emotions of sadness and joy, infatuated, and drag you into another world.

Follow the rookie security guard Frederick to roam around the Pompidou Center, communicate with the masters face to face, and interact with the masterpieces up close.

Open up the gallery in unexpected ways.

◎ Perhaps you have also heard of "Stendhal syndrome"?

The famous writer Stendhal came to Florence and was surrounded by historical and cultural relics. For a while he felt difficulty breathing and dizziness. The doctor diagnosed that this was caused by being exposed to a large amount of art in a short period of time and being too emotional.

Our hero, Frederick, also suffers from this strange disease. He accidentally came to the Pompidou Center to work as a security guard, and was overwhelmed by a large number of masterpieces, which overloaded his brain with information. He felt the strong emotions carried by the works, and could even communicate directly with the creators through them... Art awakened his dormant self, but the excessive emotions also made him gradually lose control...

◎ Break free from the bound lines, integrate the colors of feelings, and play a symphony of emotions

The script was written by a French film director and drawn by a professional Spanish cartoonist. The slender characters seem to have walked out of a Kafkaesque fable, and the low-saturation colors change with the protagonist's mood. The illustrator Sagar likes to compress a series of actions into one frame, turning slow shots into fast shots, giving the picture a sense of rhythm. The strong personal feelings contained in modern and contemporary art are further amplified through the exaggerated expression of comics. The originally silent still life is telling, expressing, and shouting, blending into a symphonic poem of emotions.

◎ Go deep into the Pompidou Center and experience the daily life of museum staff

This comic book was created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Pompidou Center, the "palace of modern and contemporary art." Many scenes are taken from this avant-garde and eye-catching iconic building, such as the avant-garde facade surrounded by colorful pipes, the lobby with a full sense of design, and the observation deck overlooking the center of Paris... The Pompidou Center itself is a work of art. Together with the new male protagonist, you can "wander around" in this building full of ambushes and surprises, observe the employees of the art museum, blend into their circle, complain together, express your opinions boldly, and comment on the works of art.

◎ Look for art Easter eggs scattered around and explore the stories behind famous works

In this comic dedicated to modern and contemporary art, there is an art Easter egg on almost every page. Follow the protagonist as he wanders through the exhibition hall and find the masterpieces in the background. Why did the urinal signed by Duchamp become an epoch-making artistic symbol? What social phenomenon is Takashi Murakami's sculpture of a two-dimensional girl in a miniskirt satirizing? How was the "Anthropometrics of the Blue Period" stained with Klein blue "drawn"? Modern and contemporary art has built a barrier with a unique discourse system. Can you pass this test of aesthetics and taste?

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◇ Introduction

Frederick, a rich second-generation, is 35 years old this year, but has never worked a day in his life.

He was originally very wealthy, but misfortune left him penniless.

He had to go out to work and accidentally got a job at the Pompidou Center.

He doesn't know how to do this or that, so he has to work as a security guard here.

Although he knew nothing about art, he had his own unique understanding of the works.

He can hear the melody flowing between the abstract colors and feel the emotions of the characters in the portraits.

You can even have a conversation with the creator through the work...

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◇ Recommendation

This comic makes you want to go to the art museum in person to experience the rich feelings that art brings. It can be said to be a pleasant guided tour!

——French comics website Sceneario.com

A touching, novel story full of warmth and fantasy.

——French comics website BDgest.com

The tone of this work is humorous and lighthearted, but it can provoke quite profound thinking. Perhaps there is a dormant Frederick in each of us.

——Babelio reader

Everyone is free to form an opinion about what is art, what is kitsch, what is gimmickry. This comic takes us on a journey through the Centre Pompidou, its visitors, and allows us to pause and reflect on what is beautiful and what is not, what makes people think or feel, and what can be considered a work of art.

——Babelio reader

About the Author
Author: Aurélie Herrou

A film industry practitioner, currently living and working in Barcelona. She was the director and screenwriter of the feature film "In the Box". "I'm a Security Guard at the Pompidou" is her first comic book.

Illustrator: Sagar Forniés

Cartoonist and interior designer. Graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona. He worked as an art director at the animation studio Full Animation and also published books in collaboration with the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the Pompidou Center.