conspiracy

www.thebiblog.net, conspiracy, january 12, 2011

inverted pyramid at the louvre, designed by i. m. pei, paris, 1989

in dan brown's the da vinci code, the author attaches special importance to i. m. pei's 1989 addition to the louvre in paris, which they conclude is the burial site of the holy grail. what is curious about brown's hypothesis is that it assumes a complicit architectural profession _ and in so doing tilts our understanding of modernism on its head. while pei's work is often viewed as an exploration into the volumetric potential of basic geometries, brown interprets it as an infatuation with symbology. while pei has argued that the pyramid was "most compatible with the architecture of the louvre, especially with the faceted planes of its roofs" and that his pyramids were in no way representative of the great pyramids in egypt, according to brown, pei's pyramids are foremost wayfinders for members of the priory of sion. the pyramids represent a v, feminine vessel (vagina), or holy grail. pei's architecture thus leapfrogs modernism altogether and has more in common with the other modern symbologists, post-modernists, such as robert venturi (whose last name coincidentally begins with the letter v). through brown's eyes the pyramids at the louvre are architectural ducks, erected inside of a courtyard made up of some of the most lavishly decorated sheds in the world.

pei's life long devotion to the priory of sion has resulted in a laundry list of pyramidal sionic signposts:

• the east wing, national gallery, washington, 1978

• javits convention center, new york, 1979 (pyramidal space frame)

• ibm office building complex, somers, ny, 1989

• bank of china tower, hong kong, 1990 (stacked pyramids)

• one canada square, London, 1991

• guggenheim pavilion, new york, 1992

• rock and roll hall of fame, cleveland, 1998