LernerMedia™ Journal

Louvre shopping annex - inverted pyrimids

As this journal starts here in Paris, I suppose it is appropriate that the first post about “Places” is based on observations made here last December. I wish to thank my daughter Adeline Wilmoth Lerner (Ellie Lerner) for her pictures and for preparing the initial draft of this post. — Cheers, Lee

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In the closing scene of the movie The Da Vinci Code, Tom Hanks’ character peers downward from atop an inverted glass pyramid near the entrance to the Louvre that supposedly marks the resting place of a grave representing the Holy Grail, the goal of thousands of mythical quests. In reality, this now famous movie prop and communal space is nothing more than an artistic skylight that is set in the underground shopping center annexed to the Louvre.

The landmark skylight is now the quest of thousands of tourists, and on the outside is now covered most of the year to keep those tourists off the glass.

The inverted pyramids were obviously intended to compliment the main glass pyramid in the Louvre courtyard and to functionally spread light about the shopping annex atrium. Fortunate to work and visit at the Louvre–and the shopping annex–several times a year, I can personally assure everyone that all that lies in the floor underneath is a parking garage. Moreover, contrary to the claims made in the movie, the inverted pyramids are actually several hundred yards off the rose line running north and south through Paris that is marked by golden “Arago” discs.

With free time one afternoon, Ellie and I stood off to the side of the inverted pyramid to take pictures of people reacting to the space while we waited for Brenda to finish her portion of the days work. I watched as crowds continually gathered to snap group pictures, touch the pyramids, and discuss the book or movie. Some visitors played the role of pilgrims and bent to kneel and pray.

It was maddeningly ridiculous.

What made it maddeningly ridiculous over simply pop culture ridiculous was that off in a corner of the atrium stood an almost totally ignored maze of storyboard panels put up by UNICEF and Medicien Sans Frontiers that carried pictures of hungry children and AIDS orphans that offered real challenges to the mind and heart.

UNICEF Exhibit posters

This was a media (and design) failure. The message on the panels was profound, but the media carrying the message could not compete or connect in that time and place.

Perhaps if the space had been rearranged so that in flocking to the inverted pyramid visitors had to pass thorough the maze of panels, or had the panels surrounded the pyramid, then perhaps a mass of minds seemingly open to the mysticism of a movie might have dwelled for a moment on the panels. Time enough, perhaps, to stir them to a real world quest to tackle real world global issues.

What better symbolism to remind us that although the media is not the message (or should not be), choice of media and engaging presentation are critical to the success of even the most profound of messages.

Give an erector set this iDay!

Olivia Judson, a research fellow in biology at Imperial College London, offers insightful commentary on science in columns regularly published in The New York Times. In her column titled “The Ten Days of Newton” published in the on 24 December 2008, Ms. Judson writes:

“Some years ago, the evolutionist and atheist Richard Dawkins pointed out to me that Sir Isaac Newton, the founder of modern physics and mathematics, and arguably the greatest scientist of all time, was born on Christmas Day, and that therefore Newton’s Birthday could be an alternative, if somewhat nerdy, excuse for a winter holiday.” read more of Olivia Judson’s column | K. Lee Lerner’s comment

Spread credit on eliminating Guinea worm disease

Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas D. Kristof writes op-ed columns that appear twice each week in The New York Times. In a column titled “Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush’s Future” published 5 December 2008, Mr. Kristof writes:

“Jimmy Carter is by far the best ex-president the United States has ever had, and he underscored that again this morning by announcing that Guinea Worm cases have reached an all-time low. For those of you who have never heard of it, Guinea Worm is one of the worst parasites you can get. The worms burrow inside of you, grow to almost three feet long, are incredibly painful, and finally pop out of the skin and have to be reeled out, inch by inch, over many days. They are an ancient affliction in tropical countries, but Carter has led an effort to eradicate them.” read more of Nicholas D. Kristof’s column | K. Lee Lerner’s comment

Olivia Judson, a research fellow in biology at Imperial College London, offers insightful commentary on science in columns regularly published in The New York Times. In her column titled “Back to Reality” published 2 December 2008, Ms. Judson writes:

“President-elect Obama already has a long to-do list. But here’s another item for it: to restore science in government.”

“The most notable characteristic of the Bush administration’s science policy has been the repeated distortion and suppression of scientific evidence in order to fit ideological preferences about how the world should be, rather than how it is.” read more | K. Lee Lerner’s comment

This journal/blog is a new venture for LernerMedia, and a bit of a personal experiment. As many of you know, we’ve resisted blogging (especially in deference to our use of more robust internal forum sites). However, while on our annual December working trip to London and Paris, our media savvy colleagues have convinced me that my thinking is passé, and that it is important to establish a more personal “web footprint.” I remain skeptical, but I’ll give it a try.

We intend to experiment with this site, exploring how we can balance our continued commitment of confidentiality to clients with use of new media to help develop and promote our own film and media projects. Is groups.

C’est toujours quelque chose.

Alas, we are a “tweener” company. We’ve grown to that awkward stage for a family company where we are too large to be able to answer our personal email as quickly or as personally as we would prefer — yet we remain far too small to callously disregard our colleagues by having correspondence filtered through feudal minions while we recline, sip wine, and eat grapes peeled by aforementioned minions (who also play various musical instruments and dance for us at our pleasure).

We’ll see how my grizzled sense of humor translates to an online journal/blog.

Our colleagues’ comments and suggestions are always welcome, my only stipulation being that we must respect our workproduct and confidentiality commitments to our clients. For example, comments from colleagues and advisors about existing projects should continue to be posted on our internal forum sites. Please read our rules (although sometimes we simply consider them more like “guidelines”).

Happy Holidays and Bonne Année!

Cheers, Lee

Rue Jacob, Paris.